Friday, May 10, 2013
In fifth year of the Vienna competition, students take more than 5,500 trips to school by foot or bike.
For the second consecutive year, Vienna Elementary School won the Biking Cup in the Fifth Annual Bike/Walk Challenge — but Wolftrap Elementary came from behind to claim the Challenge Cup. Read: Vienna Bike/Walk Challenge: Day 5 Results The Biking Cup is given to the school with the highest percentage of bike riders relative to the total number of participants. Of the 805 total participants Vienna Elementary had this week, 258 — 32.04 percent — came in on bikes. At Wolftrap and Westbriar Elementary schools, 28.91 and 23.68 percent of all participants, respectively, used bikes to get to school. The Challenge Cup is awarded to the school with the largest percentage increase in participants over last year's challenge. Wolftrap Elementary …
More than 1,320 students in Vienna walked or biked to class on the last day of the week-long competition.
On the final day of Vienna's Fifth Annual Bike/Walk Challenge,1,324 students across six elementary schools walked or biked to class — the second highest turnout in the challenge's history. The competition, which encourages students to make the activity part of their school routine,drew a record number of bikers on its final day: 301 kids used two wheels to commute to school Friday. Wolftrap Elementary School and Vienna Elementary School both had more than 100 kids take bikes to class, with 106 and 113 bikes, respectively. Friday is the last day of the challenge. Patch will post the winners of the competition later today. Patch will update this article later today. Friday Counts: Overall Walkers/Bikers: Percentage of School Population …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Hundreds of students prepare to wrap up the competition on Friday — a look at what schools are in the lead.
Vienna's Fifth Annual Bike/Walk Challenge once again brought out more than 1,000 kids on Thursday as students used their own two feet or wheels instead of cars or buses to get to school. On the second to last day of the competition, which encourages students to make the activity part of their school routine, 1,115 students across the challenge's six elementary schools used other means of transportation to get to class. Louise Archer Elementary had the most participants Thursday, with 259 kids walking or biking to school. Wolftrap Elementary School has held on to the lead for the Challenge Cup, awarded to the school with the largest percentage increase in participants over last year's challenge, and the Biking Cup, for the school that has …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
On National Bike to School Day on Wednesday, more than 1,300 kids hit the sidewalks in Vienna.
Bikes seemed to outnumber cars along some Vienna roads on Wednesday morning, as more than 1,300 kids biked or walked to class for National Bike to School Day. The day comes in the middle of Vienna's Fifth Annual Bike/Walk Challenge, which encourages students to walk or bike to class for a week to get kids and parents out of buses and cars and create excitement around other means of transportation. Nearly 250 of the kids counted by the six challenge Vienna elementary schools were on two wheels Wednesday morning. At Wolftrap Elementary School, 102 bikes of all sizes rode over rolling hills to the school on Beulah Road, many of them joining Wolfie's Bike Train, a "bike carpool" created by parent Jeff Anderson five years ago as a way to …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
More than 940 kids biked or walked to class Tuesday in Vienna despite the rain.
Updated 3:41 p.m. Tuesday Despite rain throughout Tuesday morning, 945 kids biked or walked to school in Vienna as part of the Bike/Walk Challenge – exceeding Monday's total by more than 70 students. While the number of bikers dwindled from Monday at some schools, in others they flourished: Wolftrap saw more bikers Tuesday than in the first day of the challenge. Most schools didn't see a significant drop because of the weather, and overall, most posted higher numbers than the day before. Wolftrap Elementary has taken the lead in the Challenge Cup, awarded to the school with the largest percentage increase in participants over last year's challenge. Adam Mohning, one of the school's physical education teachers, and Principal Teresa Khuluki …
Monday, May 6, 2013
As of press time, more than 860 students walked or biked to class in transportation initiative.
Hundreds of kids from Vienna kicked off the fifth annual Vienna Bike/Walk Challenge on Monday morning, gearing up for a week-long competition in which schools try to encourage as many students to walk or bike to class as possible. As of 1 p.m. Monday, 866 students were tallied walking or biking to school that morning, excluding those from Flint Hill Elementary School, which had not yet reported its totals. Wolftrap Elementary had the highest number of participants, with 170, but Vienna Elementary had the highest rate of participation, with 34.87 percent of its student body walking or biking to class. Louise Archer had more than double the number of designated walkers participate in Monday's challenge. Seventy students are identified by the…
Thursday, May 2, 2013
In fifth year, week-long pledge between seven of Vienna's elementary schools prepares for biggest turnout yet.
Karen Marlo has always had an interest in keeping kids active. But the odds seemed stacked against making fitness a part of her children's most fundamental routine: going to and from school. Marlo, a working mom, has two kids in two different schools. Her son takes the bus to Westbriar Elementary in part because it's the safest route: There aren't sidewalks between the family's home in Northeast Vienna and the school just off of Old Courthouse Road, a busy commuter cut-through. But last year, Marlo recommitted to the effort, finding a safe route to bike to school with her son and scheduling the trip with enough time to return home and head to work. Soon, it was their new routine. "Having to find the time isn't easy," she said. "It's part …
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The 12th annual event will have thousands of schools participate worldwide
Elementary and middle schools around Vienna took part in International Walk to School Day, during which thousands of local schoolchildren opted out of their daily school bus ride to hit the sidewalk in the fog. "Despite the damp conditions, the students arrived at school with smiles in their faces, ready to start the day," said Beth Eachus, PTA president for Marshall Road Elementary. Ten schools in Vienna participated this morning: Cunningham Park, Flint Hill, Louise Archer, Marshall Road, Vienna, Westbriar and Wolftrap elementary schools, Kilmer and Thoreau middle schools and Our Lady of Good Counsel School. The goal of the 12th annual event is to raise awareness about safer routes for walking and bicycling to school, traffic congestion…
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
On international event Oct. 3, Vienna likely to have among highest participation in state.
Thousands of students will hit the sidewalk instead of the school bus Wednesday as Vienna-area elementary schools celebrate International Walk to School Day. The event, sponsored by the Partnership for a Walkable America, started in Chicago in 1997. What began as a one-time event to promote walkable communities became international in 2000, when the partnership in the U.S. teamed up with schools in Canada and the U.K. Now in its 12th year, the event is expected to draw celebrations at 3,626 schools across the country Oct. 3; even more are expected in 40 other countries worldwide. The goal: raising awareness about safer routes for walking and bicycling to school, traffic congestion, pedestrian safety and increased activity for kids, the …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Grant to aid Vienna in its Walk to Downtown sidewalks initiative
The Town of Vienna is another step closer to fulfilling its Walk to Downtown initiative with a federal grant to fund the construction of sidewalks leading to its main commercial corridor. The Federal Highway Administration has awarded $800,000 to the Town of Vienna to build sidewalks in the first blocks of side streets off Maple Avenue. Though the town's Department of Public Works does not expect the money to stretch to every side street, it does see it making it a significant dent in the priority list of streets involved in the Walk to Downtown initiative, DPW Director Dennis Johnson said. The latest federal grant joins the $235,000 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation earmarked for…
Susan Stillman
7:24 am on Thursday, May 9, 2013
This is wonderful! Just imagine how much more freedom these children have and will have as they grow older. They will be able to walk or bike or drive a car to get to where they want to go. They won't be locked into cars which are expensive and run on a limited resource. Just imagine how many more people of all ages will be able to bike as the Town of Vienna puts up more bike route signs and … more ›