Summer Fun 2024 with Safe Routes to School
The Safe Routes team will be teaching bike and scooter safety in summer school, and will also be at community events. Join us this summer at these events:
Movies in the Park
Friday, July 26, 6-8pm
Pat Pfeifer Park
NE 172nd and NE Everett, Gresham
Come early to Movies in the Park! Bring your bike or scooter, or use one of ours. We will activate the Traffic Playground and you can learn some new skills before the movie starts!
Family Fun Night
Friday, August 2, 6-8pm
Donald Robertson Park
24300 NE Halsey, Wood Village
We will have the Bike Blender for fruit smoothies! And surprise activities!
Back to School Health Fair
Thursday, August 8, 10am-2pm
Rockwood Market Hall
458 SE 185th, Gresham
Win prizes as you learn healthy ways to get to school.
Rock the Block
Friday and Saturday, August 23 and 34
Rockwood Market Hall
458 SE 185th, Gresham
Times and activities TBD
Bike Rodeo
We held a bike rodeo on Saturday, March 30, 2024 at Davis Park in Rockwood.
Our bike team helped new riders learn how to ride, and people put their bike skills to the test on our obstacle course.
- Flyer: Bike Rodeo | Rodeo en Bicecleta (434.86 KB)
Fall 2023 Update
Safe Routes to School had a fantastic summer, teaching pedestrian safety lessons for all students in Centennial, Gresham Barlow, and Reynolds school districts. We also tabled at outreach events and held a bike rodeo in partnership with the City of Gresham.
We held an exciting event with Wilkes Elementary SUN program, as we honored Hispanic Heritage in a parade that included Folkloric and Aztec dancers!
For the fall, we are supporting Walk and Roll to School events, as well as ongoing pedestrian safety lessons in PE classes.
We appreciate the Gresham Police, who helped us safely cross Halsey for our Wilkes event, and included their therapy dog for our Davis Elementary Walk to School Event!
With the daylight decreasing each week, we want to remind everyone to drive safely in school zones.
Spring 2023 Update
![Two children's hands, one with red nail polish and the other with a black wrist brace, reach out to pick up pencils with the Walk and Roll logo, from a pile of pencils on a table surrounded by Walk and Roll stickers of different shapes and sizes.](https://multco-web7-psh-files-usw2.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/small/s3/walk%20and%20roll.jpg?itok=pyH2DbHJ)
The Winter and Spring of 2023 was a busy time for the East Multnomah County Safe Routes to School program.
In partnership with bike works by p:ear, the City of Portland and the City of Gresham, we provided pedestrian safety lessons at 11 East County schools to over 2,400 students. We had 9 Walk and Roll to School events with over 500 participants. We also provided bike helmets and other goodies at several community events.
We had fun installing a new Traffic Playground at bike works!
Our RTO grant with Metro was renewed for a part time coordinator through 2026, and we will be teaching pedestrian safety lessons at summer schools for Centennial, Reynolds, and Gresham Barlow School Districts.
Ruby Bridges Walk to School 2022
![A man and a woman with two young children, all wearing orange safety vests, smile while holding up hand-drawn pictures of a woman.](https://multco-web7-psh-files-usw2.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/small/s3/ruby%20bridges%20day.png?itok=ZBeZjrHZ)
This fall the Safe Routes to School team supported fall walk and roll to school events, including three Ruby Bridges walks!
Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960. Her story has inspired schools to honor her bravery with an annual Walk to School Day, supported by Safe Routes to School.
- Learn more from the Ruby Bridges Foundation.
- Learn more from Oregon Safe Routes.
Three East County schools participated in a Ruby Bridges walk event: Butler Creek Elementary, Meadows Elementary, and Wilkes Elementary. The afterschool SUN coordinators championed the walks, and the SRTS program created maps and flyers for school wide distribution.
We look forward to ongoing efforts to encourage walking and rolling to school, promoting health, safety, and equity for our east County families.
![A cartoon-style drawing of a fox in purple rainboots, a raincoat and hat standing next to a robot in a bright pink wheelchair with a scarf and an umbrella.](https://multco-web7-psh-files-usw2.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/small/s3/srts%20mascots%20fall%20200.png?itok=qUeweqrX)
Back to School 2022
We are excited that schools are back in session!
We are looking forward to a busy year of events and lessons, and have started reaching out to schools for fall Walk and Roll events.
And don't forget to share these safety videos with your family - in Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Summer 2022 Update
The Multnomah County SRTS Program is launching into summer and is ready to support your school with SRTS resources and programming. We have educational and encouragement materials to get students excited about walking, biking, and rolling to and from schools!
If you are interested in participating, please connect with MaryJo at maryjo.andersen@multco.us. The East Multnomah County SRTS program is a collaboration between schools, community members, and multiple agencies.
Davis Elementary Walk to School Event - June 7, 2022
In partnership with Safe Routes to School, Davis Elementary (Go Dragons!) held a walk-to-school event on June 7, 2022.
On a beautiful spring day, Davis Elementary School held their first Safe Routes to School walk event since 2019! School staff met families for the walk. About 85 people attended the event. Special guests Reynolds District Superintendent, Dr. Danna Diaz, and Deputy Superintendent, Dr. Christopher Ortiz joined the fun.
Rockwood Bike Ride - May 21, 2022
Gresham celebrated bike month with a community bike ride in the Rockwood area on May 21st. The bike ride started on a beautiful spring day at Kirk Park on NE Multnomah St. The group of 12 riders explored the bicycle-friendly routes on the new Gresham Greenway. Some of the younger and less experienced riders were able to practice “taking the lane” and riding with traffic, a huge milestone for them!
The route included some friendly goats and a visit to the new Rockwood Market Hall. The group explored the new space and delicious food. The ride was a collaboration between bike works by p:ear, the City of Gresham, and Multnomah County Office of Sustainability and Safe Routes to School.
Spring 2022 Updates
The Multnomah County Safe Routes to School program is gearing up for spring and is ready to support your school with SRTS resources. We have plenty of educational and encouragement materials to get kids excited about walking, biking, and rolling to and from schools! Our team can help your school address traffic concerns by creating a site circulation map to show pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers the routes to and from school. By sharing our video about Safe Routes to School you are able to encourage drivers to watch out for kids walking, biking, and rolling. To plan your own April Earth Month event, reach out to MaryJo, who can provide how-tos and tips.
Site Circulation Maps
Our team supported Butler Creek Elementary and Hollydale Elementary by creating easy-to-read site circulation maps to help parents navigate the school arrival and dismissal area. These maps identify walking routes walking and nearby parks that can be distributed to students, parents, and community members. They also help to identify bike parking, crossing guards, and marked crosswalks around the school.
- Butler Creek Walking Map (131.98 KB)
Safe Routes to Schools Multilingual Video Series
![A stylized graphic of two kids crossing the street in front of a school. It says above, "Hey, drivers! School routes are everywhere. Let's keep our kids safe."](https://multco-web7-psh-files-usw2.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/styles/small/s3/unnamed%20%284%29.png?itok=SzAaui0p)
Share the new and improved site circulation safety videos with families and facilities. These videos urge parents to keep an eye out for little ones and stay attentive to the rules of the road. Sending out this video is an outstanding way to get parents to pledge to safe driving around school areas.
April is Earth Month
April is Earth Month, which means it's time to encourage green options and sustainability. Our activities and incentives seek to reduce waste while keeping the encouragement fun. Check our toolkit if you are interested in participating and don’t forget to connect with MaryJo.