Happy Walk to School Day!

Helena schools are celebrating International Walk to School Day today! Radley, Broadwater and Hawthorn schools all participated with their own walk-to-school events. Keep checking this IR article as they update with more details on this morning's happenings!

http://helenair.com/news/local/helena-students-participate-in-walk-to-school-day/article_cd269471-3533-51f0-84f2-9b050b45ac39.html

National Bike/Walk to School Day October 8th

National Bike/Walk to School Day is coming up this Wednesday, October 8th, and Helena schools are on board! Check out this article in the Independent Record detailing the event and activities happening in Helena: http://helenair.com/news/local/join-the-crowd-bike-or-walk-to-school-on-wednesday/article_8061dad6-7d82-586f-b521-476b9abe0a23.html.

National Bike/Walk to School Day is a great time to see if walking or biking school buses would be a good fit for your child's school all year round. Helena school buses do not pick up kids who live within a 1-mile radius -- Walking/biking school buses can be a healthy, safe alternative that reduces car traffic around schools and have been shown to improve attendance in classrooms.

Resources and more information on walking or biking school buses:

• http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/walking_school_bus/ 
• http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/05/26/school-districts-using-walking-school-buses-to-fight-childhood-obesity-improve-attendance/

Centennial Trail West Tour a Success!

We had a great turn out of almost 20 interested citizens and stakeholders for the walking tour of Centennial Trail West on Wednesday. The group included representatives from FWP and Spring Meadow State Park, City and County staff, area businesses, and the Non-Motorized Travel Advisory Council, as well as neighbors interesting in the expansion of Centennial Trail. The group began the walk at the Joslyn/Country Club intersection and traveled west to Spring Meadow Park, making a couple detours to discuss various routes that could be developed.

The brainstorming session was positive and productive, with Spring Meadow offering to build a number of trails to connect to CT West. Neighbors were able to identify new potential routes from non-motorized travel that they've witnessed living in the area.

The need for a trail in the area is obvious by the worn path in the ditch from folks heading to Spring Meadow on Country Club Ave. A built trail would provide a safe corridor along the busy street that currently has zero non-motorized facilities. Improvements to the Country Club/Joslyn intersection would also go a long way in making the area safer for those on foot or bike, as the current situation is dangerous even for cars.

While the project is still undergoing the federal programming process, construction for this half of the trail could potentially begin next summer. Read more in this article from the IR: http://helenair.com/helena/centennial-trail-project-moving-forward/article_02ca47d4-8cff-5c6c-8b76-ed8dfa087145.html