The Walk or Wheel! (WoW!) Program encourages biking, walking and carpooling to school. We've been working with schools since 2009. WoW!ing to school means fewer single passenger car trips, cleaner air, lower carbon emissions and more fun!

With kids back in school, we're ready to help ramp up WoW! activity. Will you be our next champion?

GreenTown provides support to school volunteers to work with students to embrace, educate and empower them to think “Walk or Wheel!” .

• Positively impacts kids’ well-being

• Reduces vehicle miles, pollution and carbon emissions

• Boosts kids’ confidence and fosters bonding with peers

• Encourages a healthy, fit lifestyle

• Reduces local school traffic, improving kids’ safety

The City of Los Altos is working to build a more sustainable bicycle and pedestrian safety education program in local schools. Visit Los Altos' Safe Routes to School page for more information. Options for good bike safety education include:

• School Assemblies for Elementary Schools

• Hands-on Bike Rodeos for 3rd and 4th Graders

• Drive that Bike Classes for Junior High

• Raising Safe Cyclists for all Parents

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Bicycle Safety Brochure for Parents & Students

GreenTown also works with the Los Altos and Cupertino School Districts and Bullis Charter School to survey Los Altos/Hills’ student travel modes two to three times during the year. Findings include:

• More students WoW! to school in upper grades: approx. 40% of 6th graders; more than 60% of 7th and 8th graders.

• Junior High top the charts: approx. 65% of Blach and 45% of Egan students WoW! to school.

• Elementary Schools with greater WoW! student populations have high parent involvement and active WoW! programs.

• Fewer students WoW! to/from elementary schools with attendance areas on the other side of a major thoroughfare (e.g., Foothill or El Camino).

• Blach Intermediate consistently has the highest WoW! rates.

A Walking School Bus is a great way to encourage a healthy and environmentally friendly way of getting to school. This type of program is perfect for younger children who need supervision. It can be easily organized by parents and take place once a week, a couple times a week, or even everyday!

Steps for Starting Simple:

1. Families in the same neighborhood decide to walk together to and from school.

2. A route is designed and tested by adults for safety. Don’t forget to record how much time the entire route takes. Refer to the list of maps above to determine the best route for your walking school bus.

3. The group decides how often to walk together. Consistent walking school buses are often the most successful.

4. Create a phone list to ensure that all children have emergency contact numbers.

Let the Walking School Bus begin! Get Started with this planning guide!

Similar to the Walking School Bus concept, a Bicycle Train is a group of neighbors that ride their bikes together to and from school. This program involves more planning and training since children must understand bicycle safety and how to ride on a road.

Basic Considerations:

• Bicycle trains are best suited for older elementary children.

• We recommend that you start out by providing your children with a basic understanding of the rules of the road and bicycle safety. Practice as a group and have several parents on hand to help demonstrate.

• Every child must wear a bicycle helmet. Check to make sure that your child’s bicycle is working properly and is an appropriate size.

• More adult supervision is needed than for Walking School Buses. Consider having one adult for every three to six children.

See Bicycling to School Together: A Bike Train Planning Guide for an example of steps to implementing a bicycle train in your neighborhood.