CLINTON - Clinton kids, don't believe your grandparents' stories about the walk to school being uphill both ways. International Walk to School Day is just around the corner on Wednesday, Oct. 3, and a local group is paving the way for a painless-and possibly even fun-trek to class.

Organized and supported by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance of Clinton (BPAC), the event will get students from Abraham Pierson School and Jared Eliot Middle School to participate alongside other schools across the country. For the last two years, Clinton students have taken part in this national day.

"We started in 2010 and we did it again in 2011 with Pierson School. This year we decided to try to expand it to the Eliot School and hopefully one day we'll have it at the Joel School as well," BPAC President Deborah Lundgren said.

Students who choose to participate from Abraham Pierson School will meet at 7:15 a.m. in the parking lot of St. Mary's Church on Grove Street. The walk will leave promptly at 7:30 a.m. Those participating from Jared Eliot Middle School will meet at 7 a.m. at the Ethel Peter's Recreational Complex entrance, where they'll be directed to the drop off area. The walk will leave promptly at 7:15 a.m.

International Walk to School Day involves communities in more than 40 countries across the world, with participants either walking or biking to school every year in October, according to the group's website, www.walkbiketoschool.com. Thousands of schools from all over the United States participate, as well as students from the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The first walk to school event took place in 1997 and since then has been incorporated into making sure there are safe routes for children to travel to school.

According to surveys taken by Walk to School Day coordinators throughout the United States, this one day has been proven to create walking and bicycling programs, new sidewalks and pathways, enforcement of unsafe driving, and policy changes throughout communities and schools all over the country.

"Communities and schools are using Walk to School Day as the first step to change community culture and to create options for getting around that are more inviting for everyone, both young and old," said Alan Felgate, a BPAC member who is organizing this year's walk. "International Walk to School Day is a great way to encourage healthy, active lifestyles in our community."

"The main purpose for right now for this symbolic event is to raise awareness about the need for safe routes to school and just to get people thinking about how nice it would be if there were safe routes and kids can walk to school, reduce congestions, get more exercise, and have more fun going to school in the morning," Lundgren said

This event is not mandatory for students. The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and Clinton Police Department are also contributing to the event by making donations for reflective vests for the chaperones who volunteer that morning. Donations from residents are also encouraged.

PTA President Andrea Reu said there are many benefits for Clinton children who participate in this annual event.

"This effort promotes the awareness and need for safe routes to school and the funding thereof, which the Clinton PTA strongly supports," Reu said.

The walk is only a part of BPAC's larger mission. BPAC has completed a Safe Routes to School Master Plan for Clinton that integrates infrastructure improvements, started a bike safety education program, held activities to encourage participation in bicycling and walking to school, and lobbied for strict enforcement of traffic regulations, according to Lundgren.

"It's really a symbolic effort so far. We hope and even the school administration hopes that eventually we can get more students to walk or ride their bikes to school on regular basis. Some children don't and that's kind of because of the parent's fears about child safety and traffic congestion and all that stuff so right now that's not really feasible," she explained.

To learn more about International Walk to School Day, visit lundgren10@comcast.net.

www.walkbiketoschool.com. To learn more about Clinton students participating on Wednesday, Oct. 3, email Deborah Lundgren at