October 3 was International Walk and Bike to School Day and we had an amazing experience all over the Bay Area celebrating the benefits of active transportation for our children. I spent the day at a media event in San Francisco with students at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School. Assemblymember Tom Ammiano—who I reached out to recruit to the event, and whose granddaughter attends the school—along with MTC Commissioner and SF Supervisor David Campos, and school board president Norman Yee walked with the students, forming a walking school bus from Parque Ninos Unidos in the Mission District to the school. The walk ended in a rally at the school, in which officials speaking in English and Spanish congratulated the students and expressed their support for the day.
It was wonderful, and the unusually warm weather made it a particularly amazing experience! I’m sure the children had a great time. Principal Jennifer Steiner announced the school would continue to do walking Wednesdays from the park to the school—great news!
I also think the policymakers had a great time! Tom Ammiano, who newly sits on the California Assembly Transportation Committee, and Dave Campos, who sits on MTC, both make decisions at the state and regional level that impact funding for Safe Routes to School programs. I hope they got an even better perspective on how important these programs are to our children.
More info can be found at Walk San Francisco, and the story was covered here.