Safe Routes at Larkspur School District and Paradise Drive

Photo by Tasmin Pesso

Bike to School Day in Corte Madera and Larkspur

133 Riders participated in Bike to School Day from East Corte Mader alone including Neil Cummins, Hall, Marin Country Day, and Redwood students going both east and west. A total of 178 student rode to school at Hall middle School. There were 100 bikes in the bike racks at Neil Cummins and 69 at Redwood high school. Thanks to the Twin Cities Police who constantly patrolled the route.

Missions: Sustainable Science Project

"Hall's carbon footprint is larger than can be sustained without a significant negative impact on the environment over time," says Ms. Rebecca Newborn, a science teacher at Hall Middle School. Ms Newborn is committed to living sustainably. Her commute from the East Bay includes a carpool over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to San Quentin and then a bike ride to her school in Larkspur. She says it is easier than she thought it would be because she has a colleague who commutes with her.

Ms. Newborn is teaching the idea of civic action in her 6th grade classes. She created a project that has her students research a selected issue (lunch waste, water, energy, paper recycling, transportation, starting a seed library). The students then create a plan of action, a set of goals, the outline for a campaign, and a PowerPoint presentation that they will give to Mr. Daniel Norbutas, the principal at Hall. Mr. Norbutus will hear the presentations and decide which plan(s) might be adopted by the school.

Teens Go Green has worked closely with the students who chose the transportation group. According to one of the students, Kyra, "We found interesting information that we didn't know before. For example that green transportation can be healthy and it can also really impact the environment if people bike and walk to school." The goal of the group is to decrease the number of people who drive in private cars to and from school by 15% by the end of the school year. "We are planning to do it by educating people about how bad the situation is and letting them know what they can do to help it," says Charlotte, another student in the group.

International Walk to School Day at Marin Primary and Middle School

Paradise Drive Bike Path Gets Funding

Students at Marin Country Day and Marin Montessori Schools will have an easier time walking and biking to school when the pathway along Paradise Drive is finally completed. Safe Pathways funding through the Transportation Authority of Marin has funded the last leg of an important connector between Westward Drive and Upland Circle. Currently, the pathways falls just short of the schools. The grants wee awarded as part of the a $2.3 million in funding from the transportation sales tax fund established by the voters in 2004.

Lycee Français Encourages Walk and Roll

Lycee Français holds a monthly (2nd Friday of each month) informal Walk and Roll to School Day. Families are encouraged to find alternative ways to travel to and from school and they meet and greet at school. They also hold a formal Walk and Roll to School Day in October and May. The May event concludes their Green Ways to School program. These events involve nearly all students and families as they walk, bike, scooter, skate and carpool to school as a group from the Village Mall to the campus. The Twin Cities Police escort them on the path and sidewalk and Public Works has done a fantastic job closing one west bound lane to traffic during the event to ensure the safety of the students. They end the trek to school with a festive party including music, refreshments and a raffle. This has been a very successful event withtoddlers through 5th graders participating.

LAST TASK FORCE MEETING
Larkspur Working Group
Wednesday, October 5th 3:30 pm.
Larkspur City Hall