The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and its Vision Zero Initiative on Wednesday, Oct. 9, partnered for a celebration of the 28th Annual “Walk and Roll to School Day” with a fun-filled morning event at Fox Chapel Elementary School in Germantown.   

County Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz, Marilyn Balcombe, Will Jawando and Laurie-Anne Sayles joined MCDOT Director Chris Conklin and MCDOT’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) staff. Also participating were County Vision Zero Coordinator Wade Holland, County police officers, firefighters from the County Fire and Rescue Service and MCDOT’s Zeal the Safety Zebra mascot.    

Students kicked off the event with a safety walk led by Zeal the Zebra and Sparky, the Fire and Rescue Dog. The students arrived at school to fanfare that included music, giveaways and firetrucks.   

 The event is designed to inspire more students to choose walking or biking to school, and to draw attention to the need for safe, accessible pedestrian paths to schools.  

“MCDOT is committed to ensuring students who prefer to walk or bike to school are able to do so safely,” said MDOT Director Conklin. “Through our Safe Routes to School program, we have a plan to evaluate the school walk area for every Montgomery County Public School. We evaluate 15 schools per year to ensure schools have adequate sidewalks and bike paths and make recommendations for additional traffic calming measures such as crosswalks or increased signage.”  

Walk and Roll to School Day is a national event that involves thousands of schools and communities celebrating walking and biking to school on the same day. It began in 1997 as a one-day event and has become part of a movement for year-round safe routes to school programs, highlighted by a special event each October.   

Walk and Roll to School Day promotes health and safer routes for students to walk and bike to school. The Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program supports the event as part of the County’s overall commitment to Vision Zero, which seeks to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on its roads.   

“Walking or biking to school has tremendous benefits. It promotes physical fitness, it improves mental health, and it builds stronger, more connected communities,” said Director Conklin. “Our Safe Routes to School team visits a Montgomery County elementary school every Wednesday throughout the school year to promote walking to school and educate students on pedestrian safety. I encourage families to get involved as well by walking to school with your child or getting together with members of your community to organize a walking school bus.”  

Schools are encouraged to participate year-round in free programs and to sign up for resources, which are available through the MCDOT SRTS website.  

Portions of the event were streamed live on the @MCDOTNow X  account.   

Photos and video clips of the 2024 Walk to School Day in Montgomery County are available on MCDOT’s Flickr page.  

For information on MCDOT programs and services visit montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot, follow @MCDOTNow on X, Facebook, and Instagram and subscribe to MCDOT's "Go Montgomery!" newsletter.    

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