CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS RELEASE 2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546 NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7456

FOR RELEASE: February 9, 2011

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062 FAX: (860) 594-3065 WEB SITE: www.ct.gov/dot

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The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program is pleased to announce that Ridge Road Elementary is the first school to complete the first component of the Walk It Bike It To School, Connecticut! Contest.

A fourth-grade class from North Haven’s Ridge Road Elementary School is the first classroom in Connecticut to complete the first component of the Walk It Bike It to School, Connecticut! Contest. The class walked and biked 375 miles, the equivalent of the perimeter of the State of Connecticut. 

Mike Annino, the All Star Walkers’ teacher, logged the daily mileage online, walked or biked to school by the team from October to December, at www.walkitbikeitct.org. The students are now competing to log more miles than any other class by April 15, 2011.

“In its second year, the Walk It Bike It to School, Connecticut! Contest has seen a significant increase in the number of participating schools,” said Sharon Okoye, Safe Routes to School coordinator. “We are hoping more schools join us for the second leg of the contest and compete to log the most miles overall.” 

This Contest encourages all Connecticut students in grades K–8 to participate by walking or biking to school and logging their mileage as a classroom. Teachers can log their students’ progress online at www.walkitbikeitct.org.

Classrooms are encouraged to enroll and continue logging miles in the Contest throughout the spring. The classroom that logs the most miles by April 15, 2011 will win the Contest. The All Star Walkers, along with the top three participating classrooms, will be recognized in the celebratory walk up the steps of the State Capitol in Hartford in May 2011. Prizes will also be awarded.

The federally funded Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program, which is administered by Connecticut’s Department of Transportation, sponsors the Walk It Bike It to School, Connecticut! Contest. For more information on the Contest visit www.walkitbikeitct.org.  For information on the SRTS program, please visit www.ctsaferoutes.org.