For Second Year Latimer Lane Will Host Walk/Bike to School Day

For the chairman of Latimer Lane's Safe Routes to School, the effort is not just about walking or riding for one day. What the day does represent is a multi-faceted, safety conscious way to educate kids and get them thinking. 

"One of my goals is to introduce them to the idea," Debbie Thibodeau said. 

On Oct. 2 (rain date Oct. 3), parents, teachers and staff from the school will participate for the second year in the Safe Routes to School program with a Walk/Bike to School Day. 

There will be 12 meeting locations, including a Farmington Canal Heritage Trail parking lot where some local officials will join parents and kids. The lot will also serve as an access point for those who feel there are too many safety barriers to walk or bike directly from home.  

Thibodeau said she worked to bring it to Latimer Lane after being inspired from the Safe Routes effort at Tootin' Hills, set this year for Oct. 9. 

At Latimer, some 225 students, about half the school, participated last year. 

Safety is paramount and the program aligns nicely with other safety programs taught in the schools, Thibodeau said. Safe Routes emphasizes the following: 

• Education 
• Evaluation
• Engineering 
• Enforcement 
• Encouragement 

Event details (as submitted)

Students, staff, and parent chaperones will meet at twelve neighborhood locations, then walk or bike to Latimer Lane School.  The largest walk and bike groups will be meeting at locations noted below. Last fall, more than 200 Latimer Lane students walked or biked to school in the rain for the school’s first Safe Routes to School event. 

7:30 a.m. Meet-to-Walk Group — Parking Lot on Latimer Lane, adjacent to Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. State and town officials including Rep. John Hampton and First Selectman Mary Glassman will greet students and chaperones, then accompany them on their walk to school.

7:35 a.m. Meet-to-Bike Group - Adams Rd. at Adams/Red Stone Dr. bike path

8:00 - 8:15 a.m. – Latimer Lane School 

Participants will be greeted by the Latimer Lane Safe Routes to School Committee and Simsbury Public Schools officials.  Student participants will receive small prizes and be eligible to win prizes donated by CT Safe Routes to School, our generous business community, and local advocacy groups. 

Simsbury Public Schools is also celebrating National Walk to School Day at Tootin’ Hills Elementary School on Oct. 9. 

Walk/Bike-to-School events are part of the national, Safe Routes-to-School initiative dedicated to improving conditions around schools so that more children can safely walk and bike to school, promoting healthy lifestyles and a healthy earth.

For more information, go to http://www.walkbiketoschool.org, http://www.saferoutesinfo.org, or http://www.ctsaferoutes.ct.gov/.