There's a ton of information here about Nationa Walk to School Day in Pasadena and Altadena CA. To make it simple, Wednesday morning is National walk to school day where children accompanied by parents, adults and City officials, will walk from their home to their school. write a news story for publication on Tuesdat that will primarily warn drivers to be really careful because this event will put many children on the sidewalks and probably crossing streets. Drivers need to be really careful and follow certain guidelines, based on statement by the police officers. There's even some safety tips here so make sure to organize all of this information into an easy to understand article: National Walk and Roll to School Day Celebrates Benefits of Exercise, Promotes Safe Routes to School

Pasadena, Calif.– The Pasadena Police Department encourages parents and students to join their classmates and walk, bike, or roll to class Oct. 4.

“Walk and Roll to School Day” is celebrated annually to highlight the benefits of exercise and practice pedestrian and road safety with other students, families, and caregivers.

“National Walk and Roll to School Day is a great opportunity for families to get outside and get moving together,” Pasadena Police Department Lieutenant Anthony Russo said. “Walking, biking, skateboarding or scootering to school not only provides exercise, but it also helps promote the importance of safe routes to schools.” 

The Pasadena Police Department offers tips for students who walk, bike, or roll to school:
Plan your route on roads with sidewalks or paths away from traffic. If there are no sidewalks, walk or ride as far from cars as possible, facing traffic.
Use crosswalks, preferably at stop signs or signals. If there are unmarked crosswalks, cross at corners on streets with fewer lanes and lower speed limits.
Always look left-right-left before crossing the street. Continue to scan for traffic as you cross the street. 
Watch for cars entering/leaving driveways or parking spaces.
Always wear a helmet when riding or rolling.
Be aware of your surroundings. Keep earbud or headphone volume low enough so you can still hear around you.

Drivers should be extra careful and anticipate more foot and bike traffic the morning of Oct. 4, as well as be prepared to stop for school buses and children crossing the street. Drivers should always watch their speed and slow down in school zones.

Schools are encouraged to register at walkbiketoschool.org as a way of tracking participation and showing support for active, healthy, and safe transportation. 


Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Statement by LT. RUSSO, Pasadena Police department:


Our PPD Motor section will be providing support for the group during this event. At this time I am only aware that Lt. Monica Cuellar (PIO) will be attendance. I am working on confirming any additional participants and will follow up when I have that information. 


On October 4th and every day drivers can ensure the safety of students and other pedestrians by slowing down, staying off the phone and actively looking for pedestrians and cyclists. We all have somewhere to be, share the road and let’s get there together. 


Pedestrians and cyclists should take extra care when traveling near active roadways and crossing streets. Avoid distractions and pay attention to your surroundings. Never rely solely on a signal device to give you the “Go,” make eye contact with drivers to ensure they see you before proceeding when cars are near. Lastly, wear protective clothing that make you more visible and reflective devices at night will greatly increase visibility. 


PPD motor officers will be on site to distribute some safety material and answer any questions the participants may have. I do not have any information that we will be leading anything specifically, however, we are there to support PUSD and DOT in anyway to keep everyone safe and share information. 


The PD did not organize the event on the 4th. I would reach out to DOT if you have questions about funding resources or event planning. It is my understanding that PUSD selects the school/s to participate and DOT works to identify the best route. DOT representatives then reach out to other departments for assistance (i.e. police). 

Statement from Lt. Cuellar:

National Walk and Roll to School Day, taking place this Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 7 AM. This national event is celebrated by several communities across the U.S.
 
Our Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) and Department of Transportation will be hosting the event, with traffic control provided by the Pasadena Traffic Section to ensure the safety of all participants.
 
The half-mile walk will begin at Eaton Blanche Park and end at Willard School. 

Interview with Sarah Wolf, Volunteer Parent, Oak Knoll Montessori: 


Sarah Wolf (00:00):
I have two kids at Oakville Montessori and I'm also volunteering with the Altadena Town Council Traffic Safety and Mobility Committee on organizing Altadena Wide Walk to school events this year.
Therese (00:15):
Okay. Thank you so much Ms. Wolf. So our first question, how is the Walk to School Day initiative helping to promote the importance of physical activity and environmental consciousness among the students and parents alike?
Sarah Wolf (00:34):
Sure. So the way we've designed the event is because most kids are driven to school these days that we've designed the event where we have three drop and walk hubs so parents can either park and walk with their students to school or drop off their students at a hub and the students will walk with their friends and staff from the school. We've organized the hub to be about 10 to 15 minutes away from each school. So the kids will have a good 10 to 15 minutes of physical activity before the start of school. We're also having the kids make,
Sarah Wolf (01:52):
We are also having the kids make signs to raise awareness for California clean air days. So the idea is to driving to school where parents are waiting in these long car lines to drop off and pick up. And instead of doing that, which where cars are idling and creates pollution around the school,
Sarah Wolf (02:45):
We're trying to reduce the air pollution around schools by having parents drop off at a different location because as we know, air pollution in Altine is mostly caused by cars and trucks and kids are especially vulnerable to air pollution. So we want to have raise awareness at least once a year of different ways to get to school to reduce that, an improve the air quality around schools. Safety is paramount to this event and we want to make sure all the students are able to arrive safely at school. We have involved parents chaperones as well as some of the schools have asked parents to participate regardless of their child's age. So at my school, we ask the parents of the younger students to walk with 'em. The older kids can get dropped off and at some schools participating, all the parents will be participating along with the students. We also have ask that students either wear their school t-shirts or come in their school uniform. There's an easy way to identify them and staff will be on hand to take attendance at the event. And we also have California Highway Patrol who's going to assist at a couple different hubs on some of our busier walking routes where there aren't necessarily sidewalks for the kids to walk on.
Therese (04:57):
Okay. And what methods are being used to encourage the participation of as many students and family as possible in the Walk to School Day event? You mentioned earlier that all the students and their parents will be participating for this year's walk to school day, correct?
Sarah Wolf (05:17):
That's correct. So we have partnered with each school and are working with a school's P T A or P T O, just the Parent Teacher Association or parent teacher organization. We've also contacted each head of school or principal to make sure that the school leadership was supportive and committed to this event. And so mostly working through parent volunteers to get the word out room. Parents are very effective at sending emails to their classrooms and many schools have parent portals, their own private social media sites where they post information. So we're relying on our parent volunteers to get the word out at each school.
Therese (06:05):
And are there any collaborative efforts with local businesses or organizations to enhance the Walk to School Day event in Altadena? And if yes, how are these collaborations contributing to the success of this event?
Sarah Wolf (06:21):
Sure, the event is in partnership with, as I mentioned, the Altadena Town Council and the Altadena Library District. So those are the two main organizers of the event. We're also working with the Clean Air Coalition that organizes California Clean Air Day, so they've been providing information and materials as well as lots of online resources. We are working as well with the LA County, some of the LA County departments, including County Public Works, department of Public Health, LA Parks and Recreation, and the Board of Supervisors. So we don't have any business partners, but we are working directly with government agencies, the representatives from these agencies. We'll be attending the events and walking with the students. And we also have supervisors who will be speaking at Farmsworth Park and Loma Alta Park.
Therese (07:23):
And beyond Walk to School Day, Ms. Wolf, are there any plans or ideas in place for continuing to encourage students and families to choose walking or other sustainable methods of transportation for commuting to and from school? I understand the first time that we spoke you did have that event as well where students can actually bike to school, correct?
Sarah Wolf (07:50):
That's right. We know some schools already have programs like Walking Wednesdays where groups of parents and students walk to school. At my own children's school, Oakville Montessori, following our walk and bike to school. Then last year we now have a few families who do drop their children off a few blocks away from school and have their kids walk to school those last few blocks. So we hope this event will have schools reflect on their drop off and pick up Carline policies and look at ways to maybe improve some of those car idling situations, have more students walk to school on a regular basis. And also we want to bring attention to the LA county because we really in Altadena need better active transportation infrastructure like sidewalks. So when we have safe ways to walk to school, we see that families and are more likely to walk.
Therese (08:57):
Well, Ms. Wolf, those are the only questions that we have for you today, but we would also like to request perhaps photos from the event that will be held on Wednesday. If we can have those as well, we would very much appreciate it so that we can publish a post-event story about Walk to School Day in Altadena.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Yeah, that's fine. I've asked parents at each of our hubs to take photos, so I will put them on a Google Drive and I can send you the link when we have collected all those photos.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Okay, that would be great. Ms. Wolf, again, thank you for taking the time this morning and I hope you do have a great day.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
Thank you so much. You too. Bye-Bye.



Here’s the Altadena angle of the event: 

Altadena Walk to School Day is coming up on Oct 4th organized by the Altadena Town Council and Altadena Library District. Media are welcome to attend one or more of our “walking hubs” at Lower Loma Alta Park-Palm St, Farnsworth Park Parking Lot, and the Altadena Main Library on October 4th and 5th. There will be seven schools participating with events starting between 7:20-8:00am. 


Representatives from the CA State Senate, Town Council, Board of Supervisors, Public Works, Public Health, and Parks and Recreation will be in attendance. U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu will be speaking at the Library provided the government doesn’t shutdown this weekend. CHP will provide traffic safety support at two locations. 


For safety reasons, we don’t want each school’s schedule and walking route made public before the event, but here is the schedule if you plan on attending.


October 4th
Altadena Main Library (lawn and parking lot) - 600 E Mariposa St
7:20 Altadena Arts Magnet
7:40 Waldorf Elementary
Speeches from Rep Judy Chu (scheduled but subject to change); CA State Senate District Rep Dominick Correy; Pat Sutherlen, Town Council
CHP support


Farnsworth Park Parking Lot (Lake Ave and Concha)
8:00 Oak Knoll Montessori and Rosebud Academy Charter School
Speeches by Sussy Nemer, Board of Supervisors; Nic Arnzen, Town Council


Loma Alta Park-Palm St (lawn near driveway)
8:00 Aveson Global Leadership Academy
Speech by Dorothy Wong, Town Council
CHP support


October 5th
Loma Alta Park-Palm St (lawn near driveway)
7:30 Odyssey Charter School North and Odyssey Charter School South
Speeches by Anish Saraiya, Board of Supervisors; Dorothy Wong, Town Council