SUNDERLAND — New bike racks will arrive at Sunderland Elementary School this spring, furthering an active bike-to-school culture that school leaders say has quickly become a part of the Sunderland identity.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will fund the update at Sunderland Elementary School, one of the six schools that earned the award out of more than 60 applicants, through its Safe Routes to School Program. According to MassDOT, the federally funded program partners with community organizations, local law enforcement, education leaders and public health departments to promote safe routes for students walking or cycling to school.
“The Massachusetts Safe Routes to School Bike Rack Grant Program allows students the opportunity to choose active, healthy and sustainable ways to get to school,” interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng said in the statement. “By investing in safe, secure bike parking, MassDOT is helping schools across the commonwealth support walking, biking and rolling. The Healey-Driscoll administration is committed to investing in transportation that improves safety and accessibility, giving families more transportation options.”
Matt Howell, coordinator for multilingual learners at Sunderland Elementary, led the effort to secure the new bike racks, which he described as “a big upgrade” from the current bike racks that sport about 20 years of wear. Unlike the existing bike racks that stand above the ground, the new racks will consist of three in-ground sky blue and light green hoops with more space in between the rings to accommodate the front wheels of multiple bikes. Howell said it’s a kid-friendly, “much better design.”
The teacher is no stranger to a bike rack. He has cycled for more than 50 years and commuted on his bike for about 30, but he draws the line and drives when temperatures drop below double digits.
But Howell is not the only cyclist in Sunderland.
On a school day with warm weather, 10 to 15 students bike to school. At the school’s biannual Walk and Roll events, between 250 and 300 students, teachers and parents have walked, scootered or cycled to class, leaving the buses nearly empty.
“It’s really great to see the whole school community come together and, literally, join that movement,” Howell said.
According to Frontier Regional School District Superintendent Darius Modestow, even Sunderland Elementary School Principal Benjamin Barshefsky sets off to school on his bike during the Walk and Roll events.
“The bike rack is a small exclamation point to this bike-to-school culture, and we appreciate MassDOT’s support with this gift and their support over the many years we’ve been doing this [Walk and Roll] event,” Modestow said. “Perhaps we need a ‘sled to school’ event next!”
The town tradition even refused to brake for the COVID-19 pandemic, when parents sent the school photos of their kids biking outside.
Although Howell will retire at the end of March, he is optimistic the school will keep the tradition’s wheels rolling. For the longtime cyclist, Walk and Roll and the new bike racks both encourage students to build the “planet-friendly,” healthy habit of biking as a hobby and a mode of transportation.
“The size of the bicycles may be different, but they’re all figuring out how to do it at all those ages, and they’re excited about it,” Howell said. “There’s a Sunderland identity, and the biking at this point is definitely a part of it that keeps going.”
He described the new bike racks as a “recognition” of this identity, like a “usable trophy.”