A "Walk the Talk" event brings all the people in your community together, creating a united group committed to traffic safety. By turning traffic safety into an event for kids, the safety practices you promote become more memorable, and they become a springboard for ongoing learning between parents and kids. To make your "Walk the Talk" event successful, keep the following tips in mind. Some of these tips can also be used for planning a bike rodeo or a bus safety day at your school.

Planning a Walk

Step 1

Send a letter to all parents/guardians inviting them to participate with their children. Children should still participate even if their parents/guardians cannot be there.

Send a letter encouraging community members like a local police officer or a public health nurse to participate in the planning and/or lead the walk.

Arrange for refreshments after the walk. This can be done either by contacting local businesses for donations of goodies and drinks, or working with parent/educator groups.

Step 2: Plan your route

Pre-walk the route chosen to make sure it has several crossing elements in it. Try to include the following:

• Cross a road at an intersection at least twice.
• Include potential "danger elements" such as crossing a busy intersection or walking correctly on a road without a sidewalk.
• Use your school safety patrol at one crossing, if applicable.

Step 3: Prior to the Walk

• Set out markers or arrows for the route so that everyone knows where to go.
• Gather the kids, parents and special guests at the beginning of the walk route.
• If you have special guests (i.e. Mayor, Reeve, MLA, health nurse, or police officer), invite them to open the event by making a few welcoming remarks.
• Divide everyone (including parents and special guests) into small groups. These groups will be more manageable and the kids will learn more while having fun. Hand out the stickers to the groups, while they wait for their turn to walk.
• Appoint a leader for each group who will discuss and demonstrate the safety aspects pertinent to your walk with all the participants.
• Gather the groups into position and begin the walk.

Step 4: During the Walk:

• POINT, PAUSE and PROCEED should be demonstrated by the group leader and practiced by each participant, including wheelchair users, at all crosswalks and intersections.
• Please use the checklist as a guideline for discussion during the walk.
• You may also wish to discuss traffic signs, parked cars, crossing driveways and alleys on your walk.

Step 5: After the Walk:

• Congratulate everyone for a job well done.
• Various checklists are included in your package. Please hand them out to each participant, so they can practice at home.

Step 6: How to spread the word about your "Walk the Talk" activities:

Ensuring children travel safely to and from school each day requires cooperation and attention from motorists as well as the children. The media can help to remind motorists that kids are back in school and to watch out for them. Working with your local media can also generate publicity for your "Walk."

• Send invitations to the local media to attend your "Walk."
• The day before the event, call the media to remind them of the time and place and inform them of any special guests attending.
• Ask the media if they want to arrange an interview with a specific person. If they do, let that person know so they can be prepared.

Hosting a Bike Rodeo

A bike rodeo is a one-day event that uses various activities to teach kids about bike safety, promotes good riding skills and instructs kids about the rules of the road. The event incorporates the importance of wearing helmets, and makes learning about bicycle safety a fun, inclusive event. These events can be structured however you like, but they should be interactive and include "hands-on" demonstrations that show proper riding practices. To organize these activities, you can brainstorm with a variety of bike safety experts to help you plan the best way to distribute safety messages.

An event like this works best when it includes a variety of groups - a consistent, strong message is an effective one. By inviting media to attend your rodeo, you also make drivers in your community more aware of cyclists, which is a positive step in making the roadways safer for everyone.

To draw even more attention to the rodeo, you can invite local sports celebrities, police motorcycle officers and firefighters - anyone who wears a helmet and may attract the interest of kids. You can also send messages home to parents providing them with information on what their children need to know to ride safely in their communities.