‘Walk to School' day focuses on sidewalks, safety

Around 100 elementary and middle schools in North Texas will participate in National Walk to School Day on Wednesday.

The effort is mean to increase focus on fitness and safety for the thousands of students who walk to school every day in our area.

Statistics show that schools that participate in the program see direct benefits – 6 in 10 of the schools that took part in Walk to School Day in 2021 have already seen projects completed or, at least, identified and funded that address safety in the area around the campus, like sidewalk and crosswalk improvements.

The focus on safety could not be more relevant – Medstar Mobile Healthcare, the ambulance service for Fort Worth and its surrounding cities, responded to 8 auto-pedestrian accidents involving patients younger than 18 in August and September.

“We are having a lot of fatalities and near-miss incidents, so we want to make sure that we do our part in mitigating these incidents to make sure they are as close to zero [as possible] and they are not happening in our city,” said Rashad Jackson, the manager of the crossing guard program for the City of Fort Worth.

Jackson indicated that the city’s Crosswalk Champions program has partnered with several schools from the 14 different school districts that operate within the Fort Worth city limits. Crosswalk Champions helps to provide crossing guards and educational materials for participating schools.