Saturday Event Promotes Safety, Healthy Kids & Cleaner Air

Tomorrow, Saturday, August 27th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hannah Community Center, you’ll find Walk and Roll Safety Day, a family-oriented event offering walking and biking education activities including an obstacle course, safety training courses, bike safety checks, helmet fittings, and more.

There will be activities for kids ages five to fourteen, as well as helpful information for parents and caregivers.

Ginger Ogilvie, one of the event’s organizers, said the goal of the event is to “…encourage active, non-motorized transportation to and from school for kids K-8, and to help make getting to and from school safer for our students.”

Ogilvie also noted that active transportation has health benefits for students and reduces traffic congestion and pollution around schools.

Giving a bit of background information about Walk and Roll Safety Day, Ogilvie explained that “East Lansing Safe Routes to School is a District-wide group of concerned parents who worked with ELPS to apply for a mini grant from Michigan Safe Routes to School in the spring. This event was part of our proposal for the mini grant, and is a great way to kick off the school year and get kids and families thinking about safe walking and biking practices.” This community event is also supported by the City of East Lansing.

Walk & Roll Safety Day will take place in the Northwest parking lot of the Hannah Community Center. Event organizers encourage families to walk or bike, especially if they plan to participate in bike-related activities. If you don’t have your own bike, a small number of bikes will be available for borrowing.

Ogilvie cautioned that parking spots will be limited due to a day-long conference at the Hannah Center, so drivers should plan to park on Centerlawn or consider parking a short distance away and walking to the event.

For more information on Walk and Roll Safety Day, you can like their page on Facebook. Parents and community members who would like to learn more about ways to improve street and sidewalk safety around our schools can join the East Lansing Safe Routes to School Facebook group.

Note: This article was originally published on August 16, 2016.