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Uploaded: Thursday, October 4, 2012, 9:37 AM
Walk & Roll days roll out throughout Palo Alto
Schools gear up with activities to reduce morning traffic
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| Palo Alto schools are celebrating Walk & Roll Week this week, with activities designed to encourage students to walk, bike, skateboard, scooter, carpool or ride the bus to school.
The goal of the week is to reduce the number of students arriving solo by car, thus easing congestion around schools and lessening greenhouse gas emissions.
Barron Park Elementary School students marked Walk & Roll Day on Wednesday, Oct. 3, and were rewarded with a visit from the Barron Park Donkeys, Perry and Niner, parent Cheryl Burns reported.
The event attracted city and school officials, she said. Palo Alto Mayor Yiaway Yeh arrived by bike and handed children Barron Park school pencils and stickers. Camille Townsend, a Palo Alto school board member, also greeted Walk and Rollers.
Barron Park Principal Magdalena Fittoria had participating students sign a Walk and Roll poster displayed in front of the school, according to Burns.
"The morning was calm, fun and a great success. The cars that morning were minimal, and the bike racks quite full with last count at 83 bikes," Burns said.
The annual bicycle count at the high schools last week showed the continued popularity of bicycling, according to Kathy Durham of the City of Palo Alto. At Gunn, two days' counts of the school's bike cages totaled 732 bikes and 768 bikes, up from 679 last year.
At Paly, where construction has hampered bike parking, the count last week was 758, slightly down from 787 last year, Durham said. But at both high schools, the number of cyclists has increased dramatically since 2001, when 160 bikes were counted at Paly and 230 at Gunn.— Palo Alto Weekly staff Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Fun!, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Oct 4, 2012 at 10:16 am We have so much fun walking to school. Our kids talk to their friends. I get to see my daughters' teachers and meet other parents. It is a real community builder...and we all get EXERCISE. It feels GREAT.
I bike home (I walk my bike on the way there, because my kids prefer to walk so they can socialize on the way) after I drop the kids off...and I avoid sitting in that horrendous congested car traffic at the school. I wonder why do people do that? It's so much nicer to walk with my kids and our friends, bike home and then go off on my longer trip to work. It's a great start to my day...and my kids' day.
I love it. Thanks for getting everybody out there! Great event!
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Posted by great job, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Oct 4, 2012 at 10:23 am Great job, kids. Hope the schools can install enough bike racks to keep all the bikes safe.
Drivers, please pay attention and be safe and courteous in school zones. Thanks.
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Posted by Eva, a member of the Barron Park School community, on Oct 4, 2012 at 11:05 am What a great festive event at Barron Park yesterday. It was great to see such a high level of participation by kids and parents alike. And the donkeys are always a hit with kids.
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Posted by Barron Parent, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Oct 4, 2012 at 11:29 am Kudos to the organizers and parent volunteers! They put on a great morning. Thank you to everyone (Mayor and School Board President!!) and all the kids who participated - it was wonderful to see you all there.
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Posted by Paly Parent, a member of the Palo Alto High School community, on Oct 4, 2012 at 11:29 am I am told that it is very difficult to find empty bicycle racks at Paly unless you arrive 10 - 15 minutes early. The kids don't have time to walk all over school looking for racks if the first place is full? Who should be told about this?
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Posted by bike racks, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Oct 4, 2012 at 11:36 am If there are not enough bike racks at your school, tell the Principal.
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