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CCTA/511 Contra Costa's Walk and Roll program expands into Walnut Creek schools
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Summary
511 Contra Costapresenters told the Transportation Commission the Walk and Roll program, piloted in 2024-25, reached more than 1,200 weekly participants at peak and is expanding to 11 schools this year including two in Walnut Creek; the program is funded by a TFCA grant and provides app-based trip tracking, charms, training and materials to participating schools.
The Walnut Creek Transportation Commission received an update on the CCTA/511 Contra Costa "Walk and Roll" school encouragement program and learned the program is expanding into Walnut Creek.
Cara DeYoung, project lead with Advanced Mobility Group working on the 511 Contra Costa team, said the program began as a pilot in the 2024-25 school year with seven schools and has grown to 11 schools this year, with two Walnut Creek schools joining in the coming weeks. Participating students receive barcode scanning tags that volunteers scan on a weekly Walk and Roll day; every fourth trip earns a charm and the program supplies schools with an app subscription (Active4Me), tags, charms, graphics and training to make the program turnkey.
"Walk and roll is a customized encouragement program that motivates the entire niche community to use active transportation or carpool," DeYoung said.
DeYoung presented pilot-year metrics showing weekly participation that peaked above 1,200 students, roughly 2,800 people participating across events, an estimated savings of about 1,500 gallons of gas, a reduction of roughly 417 tons of CO2 over the year, and 1.2 million vehicle miles reduced. She said current-year participation already exceeds 2,000 students with additional schools joining soon.
Commissioners asked whether active transportation includes scooters and e-bikes; DeYoung said the program promotes human-powered modes and also integrates scooters and skateboards in promotional materials, and she noted class 1 e-bikes have been permitted at elementary-level programs when they occur. Commissioners also asked about program scope; DeYoung said Walk and Roll is designed as an elementary school program funded by TFCA (Transportation Fund for Clean Air) and that staff hope to develop related programs for middle and high school in the future.
Commissioners praised the program's effects on attendance and punctuality and urged stronger public-facing branding so residents understand how transportation funding is being invested. DeYoung said banners, tags and other materials already carry program and funder branding and that staff routinely explain the program and funders during school presentations.
DeYoung told the commission the TFCA grant is awarded on a one-year basis and the program team plans to reapply annually for continued funding; she offered to provide commissioners with additional year-on-year charts and bike-count baseline data on request.
The commission received the presentation; no formal action was required.
