(Washington, DC) Michelle L. Pourciau, Director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), helped celebrate International Walk to School Day 2006 Wednesday with students, parents and staff at Drew Elementary School in Northeast.

Walk to School Day is designed to highlight the need for safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasizes the importance of increasing physical activity among children. It also highlights pedestrian safety, reduction of traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families and schools. 

The event was organized through a partnership between the DC Safe Kids Coalition, the District of Columbia Public Schools, the District Department of Transportation, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) and other community groups.

“Walking and biking to school is great for our environment; great for our kids’ health and fitness and great for relieving our city’s traffic congestion,” said Pourciau. “Washington, DC, has the second highest walk-to-work rate of any city in the country and we’re number 10 and climbing for bike commuting. But we want more kids to walk and bike to school and we are committed to making it safer for them to do so.”

As part of DDOT’s new Safe Routes to School Program, the agency is providing overtime enforcement funds to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to enhance enforcement of laws that protect pedestrians. Furthermore, DDOT has been partnering with MPD to address the traffic safety issues that are part of the School Consolidation plan enacted by the DC Public Schools.

DDOT’s Safe Routes to School program also funds the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, which teaches pedestrian and bike safety classes in elementary schools across the city. WABA has given out over 3,000 bike helmets to kids in the past four years.