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Newington, Connecticut - The Connecticut Department of Transportation is promoting International Walk to School Day. Several Connecticut schools have registered with the National Center for Safe Routes to School, and will be joining schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 3, 2007.

Walk to School Day began as a simple idea – children and parents, school and local officials walking to school together on a designated day. It is an energizing event, reminding everyone of the simple joy of walking to school, the health benefits of regular daily activity, and the need for safe places to walk and bike. Schools focus on health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment.

Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

Participating in Walk to School Day or Walk to School Month also gives schools a chance to increase the number of children walking and biking to school.  Successful programs involve the whole community and encompass the “Five Es”: evaluation, encouragement, education, enforcement, and engineering.  By participating in Walk to School Day, the school has already embarked on the evaluation and encouragement needed to create a successful program.

In the U.S., International Walk to School Day is expected to include 5,000 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in 40 countries around the world.

The Connecticut Department of Transportations’ Safe Routes to Schools Program supports International Walk to School Day along with America Walks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Safe Kids Worldwide, and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

For additional information, please contact the State Coordinator, Sharon Okoye at (860) 594-2367 or e-mail at sharon.okoye@po.state.ct.us.

You can also visit these Web sites:

Connecticut Safe Routes to School:         www.ctsaferoutes.org
International Walk to School in the USA    www.walktoschool.org           
National Center for Safe Routes to School www.saferoutesinfo.org