Stony Brook Elementary School launched its Walking School Bus program with two “buses” and more than 50 “riders” in a maiden “run” that organizer Grace Merlino called “very successful.”

Rolling for the first time on National Walk to School Day, October 8, the “buses” started their 15-minute runs in the nearby neighborhoods of Van Brunt and Stanford roads and Grange and Stephenson roads. Both stopped once to pick up more riders, at the corners of Donovan and Fisk and Manley and Fanning Way. They were also joined by several bike riders, Merlino said.

Principal Steve Wilfing, along with school mascot Rocky and counselor Laurie Volpe, “drove” the bus from Grange and Stephenson. Organizer Merlino and campus safety officer Jay Lenarski took the “wheel” at Van Brunt and Stanford.

With the help of celebrity “drivers,” Merlino, a wellness teacher at Stony Brook, hopes to operate the buses every Wednesday throughout the school year, rain or shine, beginning Oct. 29.

To help promote the program, which is being funded through a grant from the New Jersey Safe Routes to Schools Program, Merlino distributed flyers on the walking school bus concept during the buses’ maiden runs. She is also planning a major presentation to the school’s PTO at its Oct. 23 meeting. She will be joined by Cheryl Kastrenakes of the Greater Mercer TMA which is working with Merlino to launch the program, including the design of safe bus routes in the neighborhoods surrounding Stony Brook.
Those routes, as well as a schedule, will be finalized after analysts from the New Jersey Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center at Rutgers University complete their study of a parent survey Merlino conducted earlier this year.

To help stimulate student interest in hopping on the walking bus, Merlino intends to distribute pedometers to regular riders with the promise of prizes for reaching certain milestones. A pre-school treat of breakfast items, such as bagels, is also in the works for those riders who have worked up an appetite.
Merlino also hopes to offer bike safety clinics in the spring.

One of Merlino’s key challenges is to show parents how walking bus programs around the country become successful when the community adopts the program as its own. Her parent survey revealed that some mistakenly believe that participating in the walking bus will take a lot of time.

“It actually frees up time,” Merlino argues, “and it also promotes a social network for their children and starts off their day in a healthy way.” Fewer cars at school also contribute to a safer environment at drop-off and pick-up times, she noted.

Even parents who agree to help “drive” the bus do not have to walk far, Merlino said. Depending on the number who sign up, parents may only have to monitor the walkers for a portion of a block.