Salem's 'Walking School Bus' Program Begins Thursday

In an effort to help reduce traffic congestion during rush hours along Lafayette Street, Canal Street, and Loring Avenue, the city of Salem and Salem Public Schools, in partnership with Salem Mass in Motion, will be initiating a two-month “Walking School Bus” program for the Saltonstall School and the Horace Mann School.

Starting Thursday, Sept. 12, and lasting until Friday, Nov. 1, for the Horace Mann School and Friday, Oct. 25 for the Saltonstall School, parents who normally drive their children to either school can instead drop them off at any of the assigned meeting points starting at 7:25 a.m. 

The walking school bus will step off from each meeting point promptly at 7:35 a.m., rain or shine. There will be signage at the meeting points.

At the end of each school day – 3 p.m. at the Saltonstall School and 1:55 p.m. at the Horace Mann – students will depart their school to walk back to the meeting point, arriving approximately 15 to 20 minutes after dismissal, by which point parents should plan on being present at the meeting point to pick their child up.

All walking school buses will be accompanied by a qualified staff person from the Salem Public Schools and certain intersections or parts of each route will have additional Salem Police Department personnel on hand.

Horace Mann – Fall 2013 Walking School Bus

            Meeting Point #1: Forest River Park

            Meeting Point #2: Pickman Park 

Saltonstall School – Fall 2013 Walking School Bus

            Meeting Point #1: Forest River Park

            Meeting Point #2: Salem Central Fire Station 

A map of the four routes is available online here.

The walking school buses will function similar to May’s one-day “Walk to School” Day

“This initiative will hopefully accomplish several goals simultaneously,” Mayor Kimberley Driscoll said in a release. “In addition to reducing traffic congestion in a part of our city that is experiencing a large volume of disruption from important roadway and other projects, it will hopefully have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the students who participate."