For immediate release - October 3, 2005

Lake County traffic safety team, Eustis police team up to promote International Walk to School Day

TAVARES — The Lake County Community Traffic Safety Team and the Eustis Police Department is inviting all students, teachers and parents of Eustis Elementary School to celebrate International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 a.m.

The group will meet at Ferran Park, located at 250 Ferran Park Drive, Eustis, and walk along Orange Avenue to the elementary school.

Each October, millions of children, parents, teachers and community leaders across the globe walk to school to celebrate International Walk to School Week, which takes place this year Oct. 3-7. The international event helps promotes safe routes to schools, as daily walking opens the community’s eyes for the need of more sidewalks and trails, safer street crossings, more cautious drivers, safer walkers and bicyclists and even state legislation to fund improvements.

With many families feeling the financial pinch at the gas pumps, this year’s event to promote walking to school is especially important. According to the International Walk to School Steering Committee, driving just 1 mile or so to school and back twice a day every school day mounts up to around 800 miles per year. Starting from a cold engine this could be using anywhere between 30 and 40 gallons of fuel a year depending on the vehicle.

For more information about the Eustis Walk to School Day, call Mike Woods, Alternative Transportation Planner for the Lake County Department of Public Works, at (352) 253-4982 or e-mail mwoods@co.lake.fl.us.

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Contact information:
Christopher Patton
Communications Coordinator
Office: (352) 343-9609; Cell: (352) 455-0445
cpatton@co.lake.fl.us