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Idaho Walk Bike Alliance and American Heart Association hosting Walk and Bike to School Day

Walk and Bike to School Day celebrated on May 8th
Posted at 6:58 AM, May 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-08 08:58:46-04

BOISE, Ida. — This Wednesday, the Idaho Walk Bike Alliance is teaming up with the American Heart Association for National Walk and Bike to School Day.

Students will walk or ride to school alongside parents, teachers, public officials, health partners, and representatives from IWBA and AHA. The walk starts at Winstead Park in Boise at 7:45 a.m. as students make their way to Anser Charter School in Garden City.

Walk and Bike to School events raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling while they engage children and parents to improve pedestrian safety, traffic congestion and environmental concerns. Events also build connections between families, schools and the broader community as part of Safe Routes to School programs and projects.

The American Heart Association also highlights the growing epidemic of obesity in America. Today, 1 in 3 American children and teens is overweight or obese. AHA supports Walk and Bike to School events as a way to build healthier communities.

Walk to School Day started in the United States in 1997 by the Partnership for a Walkable America and the first Bike to School Day was established in 2012 across the U.S. In May 2006, the National Center for Safe Routes to School was established to assist communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bike to school.