Bicycling and walking education has taken a giant step forward in Roeland Park, Kansas starting with some of the littlest of feet. On October 5th, Roesland Elementary had close to 350 participants in the International Walk to School Day event, where students, parents, PTA members, city officials and residents met at the Roeland Park City Hall and walked to the school.
The following week, Roesland Elementary became the first school in the Shawnee Mission School District to host the Bicycle Lesson and Safety Training (BLAST) program in partnership with BikeWalkKC. Seven cohorts ranging from 4th to 6th grade will participate and by the end of the program about 130 students will have the knowledge and skills they need to start incorporating safe bicycling skills into their daily activity. The program has garnered lots of attention; school administrators and neighboring police departments have taken the opportunity to come to the school to watch the students and BikeWalkKC’s youth instructors in action.
In addition to bringing youth bicycling education to Roesland Elementary, Roeland Park’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Ad Hoc Committee has recently completed a comprehensive report offering analysis of existing conditions and recommendations for addressing infrastructure challenges within the city. BikeWalkKC looks forward to supporting the efforts of this work with partners such as City of Roeland Park, neighboring communities and the Shawnee Mission School District.
BLAST programming in action at Roeland Elementary