Press Releases - Department of Transportation

For Immediate Release: Friday, October 6, 2023

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and Vision Zero Initiative partnered for a celebration of the 26th Annual “Walk and Roll to School Day” with a fun-filled morning event at Brooke Grove Elementary School in Olney.

Elected officials including State Senator Craig Zucker, State Delegate Bernice Mireku-North and County Councilmembers Andrew Friedson and Dawn Luedtke joined the County’s Department of Transportation’s Acting Deputy Director of Policy Maricela Cordova and MCDOT’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) staff. Also participating were County Vision Zero Coordinator Wade Holland, Assistant Police Chief Marc Yamada, County police officers, Maryland-National Capital Park Police officers, firefighters from the County Fire and Rescue Service and MCDOT’s Zeal the Safety Zebra mascot.

Before the event at Brooke Grove Elementary, which is located at 2700 Spartan Road in Olney, students were organized into two seperate walks to the front of the school where they were greeted upon arrival. Safety materials were distributed as the event took place in front of the school with fanfare including balloons, music, games, giveaways, firetrucks and special guest Zeal the Safety Zebra.   

“The Montgomery County Department of Transportation recognizes the importance of having safe walking paths for students and will continue to build sidewalks, bicycle paths and safe street crossings around our schools,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “Many of our roads were designed to prioritize vehicle movement over pedestrian safety. Through initiatives such as Vision Zero, we are working to reverse that. This past year, we built about seven miles of County sidewalks, including half a mile of sidewalk under the Safe Routes to School program.”

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 County 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 is good for a student’s health, can help build community and reduces carbon emissions,” said Cordova. “The MCDOT Safe Routes to School program provides pedestrian and bicycle safety training and resources to 38 schools, reaching nearly 20,000 students across the County each year to promote safety skills. We hope walking and bicycling will become a lifelong habit for students. This annual event is a good time to give walking a try.”

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 and Facebook accounts.

Video clips of 2023 Walk to School Day in Montgomery County:

Additional video clips are available on MCDOT’s YouTube Channel.

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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Release ID: 23-110
Media Contact: Emily DeTitta, 240-372-2282