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Birchwood Walk Routes

Students living within one road mile from the school are expected to walk or bike to school. A one-mile walking distance should take approximately 20-30 minutes walking one way; this approximates a child’s walking pace of 3 miles per hour (mph). Bellingham Public Schools partners with the City of Bellingham to support families by identifying school walk routes that are within one mile of the school and determining road and crosswalk public works projects based on district recommendations.

Much of the district work around walking (and biking) to school is based on a 2015 guide developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Washington Traffic Safety Committee, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and the Washington State Department of Health. Click here for more on the walk route boundary process.

To see whether your child is on a walk route, please check Infofinder Bus Route Locator.


Walk route directions for Birchwood Elementary School

From front of the school, use Pinewood Avenue to travel south to Birchwood Avenue or north to Cottonwood Avenue.

From Birchwood, access:

  • Cedarwood Ave
  • Patton St

From Cedarwood, access:

  • Maplewood
  • Cottonwood Ave
  • Sidewalks around Shuksan Middle School
  • Cross Maplewood at designated crosswalks.

All walk areas have a speed limit of 25 mph.

 

Map

Click here for Birchwood Elementary School walk route map (PDF)

 

Health and Sustainability

Sixty minutes is the recommended amount of physical activity time for kids and teenagers every day. Increasing physical activity has positive effects on learning, physical and mental health. Walking or biking to and from school is a great way to incorporate more physical activity into the day.

The Bellingham Public Schools commitment to climate action is found in the BPS Climate Action Plan. Encouraging walking and biking to school helps to keep cars off the road, reduces congestion and traffic, and leads to a more resilient and sustainable future for our children.


Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about walk routes or the defining process, please reach out to the transportation director Cindy Dennis at 360-676-6546.

For general safety tips, visit Safety To and From School.