RELEASE DATE:               Friday, April 1, 2022

MONTEREY COUNTY – The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC), in partnership with the Monterey County Health Department, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD), the Monterey County Office of Education (MCOE), Blue Zones of Monterey County and Ecology Action will kick-off walking school buses next week in the cities of Marina, Seaside and Monterey, April 5 – April 12, at 7:20 a.m. for their Safe Routes to School program. 

A walking school bus is an adult supervised walking group which provides a safe and healthy way for children to get to school. Led by the Health Department and a rotating cast of popular costumed characters including “Skye” & “Chase” from Paw Patrol, students, guardians, and other participants, including elected officials, police officers and staff members from each of the agencies will meet before school at designated starting points and parade along safe routes to school on the following days:

• April 5th (and every Tuesday in April)–Bay View Academy, Monterey
• April 6th (and every Wednesday in April) - Ord Terrace Elementary, Seaside
• April 7th (and every Thursday in April) – Del Rey Woods Elementary, Seaside
• April 8th (and every Tuesday through May)– Marina Vista Elementary School, Marina
• April 12 (and every Tuesday through May) - J.C. Crumpton Elementary, Marina

 Maps of the walking routes are available in English and Spanish on the Safe Routes to School Website at: https://saferoutesmonterey.org

Upon arriving at school with their adult supervisors and their costumed escorts, students will receive a healthy & delicious snack and safety prizes.  Ecology Action and the Health Department will host Walking School Bus workshops with each school community to teach others how to continue the walking school bus programming.

 For more information about the Walking School Bus program or to sign-up for the Walking School Bus workshop, contact Jessica Perez at perezJ7@co.Monterye.ca.us  or 831-775-8975.

The Walking School Bus project is funded by the “Every Child “Active Transportation Program grant from SB-1 monies. It is designed to create a safe, healthy, and fun experience for young children and reduce traffic around the school. The project is part of the Transportation Agency’s “Safe Routes to School” program which offers tools, programming, and resources to schools, guardians, and communities who want to improve safety and traffic around schools across Monterey County.

To learn more about the Safe Routes to School Program, contact Ariana Green, Principal Transportation Planner, TAMC at ariana@tamcmonterey.org or 831-775-4403 or visit the Safe Routes to School website at https://saferoutesmonterey.org/; Like us on Facebook and/or Follow us on Instagram.

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 “The Transportation Agency for Monterey County (TAMC) is responsible for investing in regional transportation projects for Monterey County residents, businesses, and visitors.  The mission of TAMC is to develop and maintain a multimodal transportation system that enhances mobility, safety, access, environment quality and economic activities in Monterey County. For more information visit www.tamcmonterey.org or call 831.775.0903.”

The” Safe Route to School” is a TAMC program which offers tools, programming, and resources to schools, guardians, and communities aimed at improving safety and traffic around schools. The program’s goal is to keep every child safe and healthy by reducing the number of students involved in collisions to zero. For more information visit https://saferoutesmonterey.org