Columbia Bike, Walk, & Wheel Week includes school students

This morning, 7-year-old Veronica Fritz will be chauffeured to school like she is most mornings, but not in the manner one might expect. There will be no maneuvering in sluggish traffic as breakfast is eaten while seat belts are fastened. She will be accompanied to Ridgeway Elementary School with her friends on foot, by her mother, Dana Fritz, as part of the Walking School Bus Program.

“I get to walk and talk with my friends, and see things that I don’t get to see in my house like animals and trees and houses and my school,” said Veronica, who participates in the program four days a week. “Walking is definitely better than driving.” . . .

Seventeen schools are taking part in Bike, Walk and Wheel Week by incorporating active travel into their schedules. At Field Elementary School, students will head out on a schoolwide walk to a special breakfast station set up for them by Columbia College.