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Walking, biking, and rolling gives you brain benefits that will make it easier to concentrate once you get to school, and you will get the happiness boost from exercise and being outdoors. Active commuting to school rather than driving is one way to reduce traffic congestion at your school and can also save almost 100 pounds of CO2 emissions per person per year. Here are some tips to help make your active commute safe and fun:
Choosing Your Route
The best routes are lower-volume streets that have supporting infrastructure like stop signs or lights at intersections, sidewalks for walking and rolling, or bike lanes for biking. The City of Minneapolis Walking Routes for Youth may be helpful for planning your route (scroll down to find all the versions of the map). Test the route on a non-school day. You’ll discover how long your trip takes and identify any potential hazards along the way.
General Safety
Biking Safety
For Parents
PAST EVENTS
Fall: Walk (Bike & Roll) to School Day, October 6, 2021. Thirty-five schools across MPS celebrated (scroll down), including this amazing event at Hmong International Academy.
Winter Walk Day: February 2, 2022. This event included a Proclamation from Governor Walz and many schools rescheduling due to below zero tempurature, like these friends from Lyndale.
Bike to School Day, May 4. 2022. Thirty awesome schools participated and in the afternoon on the Let's Roll MPS more than 100 students, staff, volunteers, and community members took a beautiful five-mile ride through city streets, a grand river, glorious parks, historic bridges, a couple islands, and even some woods (watch video)!
Home Wellness and Safe Routes to School
Family walks and bike rides are great ways to stay active and de-stress. Please see our Walking & Biking guide that will give you ideas for routes, safety tips, and more. You will also find additional resources for healthy eating, sustainability and physical activity at our Home Wellness Resources website. See especially the Wellness Wednesday sidebar for simple, non-technology focused ideas.
Jenny Bordon Safe Routes to School 612.668.2827 jennifer.bordon@mpls.k12.mn.us
Julie Danzl Whole Child Wellness 612.668.2857 julie.danzl@mpls.k12.mn.us
The Whole Carrot is a biweekly e-newsletter for MPS staff, parents, partners and community members containing MPS wellness news, events, opportunities and more. SUBSCRIBE
I WALKED LLEGUÉ CAMINANDO (Spanish) KUV TAUG KO TAW (Hmong) WAAN SOCDAY (Somali) INGII-PIMOSE (Ojibwe) Mani wahi. (Dakota & Lakota)
I BIKED LLEGUÉ EN BICI (Spanish) KUV CAIJ LAUV THIJ (Hmong) BAASKIIL BAAN FUULAY (Somali) INGII-TITIBIWEBISHKIGE (Ojibwe) Naic’ihmihma ohna wahi. (Dakota) Kahomni nunpa ogna wahi. (Lakota)
Note: The website formatting changes the Dakota and Lakota translations. See a better version in this word document.