Oct. 5 is International Walk and Bike to School Day

I am always excited to participate in Bike to Work day.  And was excited when my son was old enough to start biking with me.  Of course, the most dangerous traffic situation probably happens to be within 2 blocks of any school.  During the beginning and end of the school day, parents seem to check common sense under their seats - and illegal traffic maneuvers are astoundingly abundant: illegal u-turns; illegal parking; failing to yield; failing to stop; illegal right turns.  Perhaps as a part of Walk or Bike to School day Arlington will station additional officers near schools in order to promote the safety of the pedestrians.

For Immediate Release:

Thursday, September 29, 2011

For more information, contact the Dept. of School and Community Relations at 703-228-6004 www.apsva.us

  

 APS Encourages Families to Walk and Bike to School

October is “International Walk or Bike to School Month,” and on Wed, Oct. 5 (rain date: Oct. 12), Arlington Public Schools will participate by encouraging parents to walk and bike to school with their children.

“Walk and Bike to School Day” is part of a month-long celebration that encourages students around the world to walk and bike to school, while teaching them about the health and environmental benefits of walking and biking.

Some of the benefits of walking and biking to school include keeping children healthy and strong as well as teaching them how to safely navigate streets in their neighborhood. Walking also helps students stay alert in class and provides quality time with parents and friends.

APS hopes to raise community awareness about the importance of pedestrian safety, safe routes to schools, well-maintained walkways, and traffic calming in our neighborhoods and around schools.

For 13 years, APS and Arlington County have collaborated on this initiative, which includes creating walk-friendly neighborhoods throughout the community.

Most APS elementary and middle school parents received a letter from the Superintendent detailing Walk and Bike to School Month, along with a map that shows includes crosswalks and stop lights near the school their children attend. The map gives parents an opportunity to show their children which routes to take to and from school.

All maps are available on the APS website at www.apsva.us/schoolwalkmaps. Other community resources are available at www.walkarlington.com and www.bikearlington.com.

An excellent opportunity to hear from our political canditates, at Yorktown Oct 11

An excellent opportunity to hear from the political candidates. I read Caren Merrick's literature in the mail today. One of the first items on it was to "increase the capacity of our current transportation infrastructure." Is it just me, or does that sound like a political platform of paving Arlington - widening Rt 66? Maybe one of the young arlington republicans or democrats can ask her that question at the debate.

The Washington-Lee Young Democrats will be assisting the Yorktown Teenage Republicans and the Yorktown Young Democrats in hosting a student-run Candidate's forum on October 11th at 7pm in the Yorktown auditorium.

This event is open to the public; parents and community members are encouraged to attend.  However, the debate will be moderated by students, and the questions asked will all be student questions.  If any student would like to submit a question, please have them e-mail wlyoungdemocrats@gmail.com   Questions will need to be submitted by Friday, 10/7 in order to be eligible to be included in the forum on 10/11.

In addition, there will be a non-partisan voter registration drive for students outside the auditorium.  Students wishing to register to vote must be 18 by November 8, 2011 and must have a current driver's license or photo ID with them.

The candidates attending the forum will be:

Senate of Virginia 31st District
Caren Merrick (R)
Barbara Favola (D)

Senate of Virginia 32nd District
Patrick Forrest (R)
Janet Howell (D)

House of Delegates 48th District
Janet Murphy (IG)
Kathy D. Gillette-Mallard (I)
Bob Brink (D) possibly attending

Please e-mail  wlyoungdemocrats@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or concerns.

a community blog for North Arlington

Donaldson Run is a community blog from North Arlington.

Arlington has an old tradition known as the Arlington Way.  It is the tradition that Arlington is governed with tremendous input from the local communities, the neighborhoods, and the civil associations.  With time, the Arlington Way is evolving.  New media (blogs, twitter, social networks) is permitting the Arlington Way to become more interactive and become available to us all the time, everywhere.

Donalson Run is an experiment, attempting to bring an interactive Arlington Way to North Arlington.
Donaldson Run is your community blog.  My name is Robert Cannon.  I have lived in Arlington for over 20 years and in Washington DC all my life.  I hope to be the mere facilitator of this blog – hoping that it will become participatory with the community contributing and sharing information.