The Dubuque Safe Routes to School Partnership encourages all students to walk, bike, or roll to school that day.

One of the goals of the Dubuque Safe Routes to Schools Partnership is to increase the number of students walking, biking, or rolling to school each day. According to the National Household Travel Survey, only about 11% of students in kindergarten through eighth grade walked or bicycled to school in 2017. That's down from nearly 50% in 1969.

Active transportation like walking, biking, or rolling to school can provide numerous benefits, including:

• Enhanced physical health and mental well-being
• Improved student learning outcomes
• Reducing traffic congestion
• Increasing community connection
• Improving air quality and lowering emissions

Events like National Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day encourage families to choose walking, biking, scootering, or skateboarding to school and have been hosted across the country since 1997. Data has shown that even one-time events like this can lead to longer-term changes in travel habits.

Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day events also raise awareness of the need to create safer routes for walking and bicycling. They also emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, improving pedestrian safety, reducing traffic congestion, and raising concern for the environment. The events build connections between families, schools, and the broader community.

The Dubuque Safe Routes to School Partnership is led by a coalition of representatives from the Dubuque Community School District, the City of Dubuque, the Safe Routes to School Manager for the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, and many others.

Additional information can be found by visiting the National Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day website. For additional local information, contact Assistant City Planner Jason Duba at 563.589.4223 or visit the Safe Routes to School page on the City of Dubuque website.