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VN Engineers is currently working with the Connecticut Department of Transportation on a program that will encourage children in grades K-8 to walk and bike to school in a safe and fun manner. This program, Safe Routes to School (SRTS), is very beneficial for every stakeholder. It promotes healthy lifestyles and helps to increase children’s interest to learn in school. It also helps to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion and helps to increase neighborhood safety. VN Engineers, Inc. will be reaching out to all of Connecticut’s elementary and middle Schools to inform them about the program and to help them get their SRTS Program started.   VN Engineers is reaching out to the schools and parents in various ways including phone calls, newsletters, SRTS website, public events, press releases, you tube videos, surveys and working with educational organizations such as the Parent Teacher Organization. Once a school expresses interest in starting a SRTS Program, VN assists with their planning workshops, provides them with guidance on how to receive grants from different funding sources, conducts site assessments, conducts bicycle and pedestrian safety classes and helps with the promotion and operation of their first walk to school day event.

"The experience with the Safe Routes to School Program here at Orchard Hill has been wonderful. It is a community-building event, which we have, a monthly walk to schools.

It really brings out so many students, parents as well as staff who walk with us to school. Also the safe Routes program has made some great safety improvements   that really get our kids walking and biking to school so much so that last year our PTO purchased another bike rack that is used continuously because we’ve had so many kids walk and bike or scooters to school and again the safety improvements that have come about through the Safe Routes Program have really helped with that. So since my time here I’ve seen so many more students walk and bike to school.

We always tell them it is good to be active before school. It helps with getting them ready, and getting their brain ready for learning.

My favorite part of the Safe Routs to School Program is definitely our monthly walk to schools, as I said before it is such a community building event in which we have so many members of our school community come and walk with us."

Mike Tortora/Principal
Orchard Hill Elementary School / South Windsor