Victoria Doll-Polanco works at Buena Vista Elementary School where she is also helping organize Walking School Buses and Bike Trains.

How long have you been walking/biking to school?
I have been walking to school consistently since the beginning of the year, because now all my kids walk to their middle school and I don’t have to drive them to after-programs.

Why did you start?
I would rather walk places because it’s great exercise and good for the environment.

What’s are some things you like about walking/biking to school?
I love running into parents and students when I walk to school.  Walking to school with my kids helps us decompress from the day and we’ve had some nice conversations on the way home from school.

What advice would you give to others interested in walking/biking to school?
Even though we only lived one mile from the school, when my 3 kids and I first started riding to school, it took longer than I expected. While the kids were excited to ride their bikes, they were also a little stressed out (as was I since I was the only adult) and that made it harder. I wish we could have organized a bike train with other parents and students because I think that would have lowered the stress levels of everyone.

How are you promoting walking and biking at your school?
We are looking for parents to help lead walking school buses and bike trains. We also need parents to help run a biking, walking and rolling raffle to help motivate more kids to ride or walk to school.