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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/4292507_web1_260608-Bike-00013.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
A cyclist rides down Wolseley Avenue. Bike Week Winnipeg is piloting a new student-friendly event by also branding bike-to-work day as bike-to-school day.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
St. Boniface\u2019s \u00c9cole Provencher \u2014 where Sartison sends both her pre-schooler and Grade 2 student \u2014 is hosting one of seven bike-to-school stations.<\/p>\n
Rounding out the roster are Stanley Knowles School in Tyndall Park, Wolseley\u2019s Laura Secord School, Gonzaga Middle School in Point Douglas, General Wolfe School in the West End, Earl Grey School in Fort Rouge and the aptly named Sage Creek School.<\/p>\n
Each school was chosen based on its reputation for \u201cbike-friendly programming,\u201d said Sartison, who will be staffing the Provencher pit stop with her seven-year-old from 6:30 to 9 a.m. at 320 De La Cath\u00e9drale Ave.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t SUPPLIED<\/p>\n Bike Week Winnipeg is supporting seven specific bike-to-school stations for the first time on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Several of the participating schools have an active \u201cbike bus,\u201d a commuter club organized by experienced cyclists who wear high-visibility gear to escort students to school safely via parades that often feature music and costumes.<\/p>\n Cyclists who visit bike-to-school sites will be greeted with snacks, handlebar and spoke decorations and other freebies. Organizers are anticipating there will be up to 100 visitors at each stop.<\/p>\n Teacher Doug Hemmerling said he\u2019s taking his tools to a pit stop underneath the Disraeli active transportation bridge in case anyone requires a morning tune-up.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s significant that they\u2019re acknowledging that kids get to school via bike and it\u2019s not just about the workday. That\u2019s an education piece in and (of) itself \u2014 to highlight for kids it\u2019s a viable way of transportation going into their adulthood,\u201d said Hemmerling, student and graduate support director at Gonzaga Middle School.<\/p>\n The bike-to-school day volunteer said he\u2019s seen first-hand how biking infrastructure surrounding a school can promote or discourage ridership.<\/p>\n ParticipACTION\u2019s latest report suggests 43 per cent of students between the ages of five and 17 regularly commute to class using an active mode of transportation.<\/p>\n The national charity polls children and parents on their exercise habits as part of its mandate to promote healthy living.<\/p>\n Canadians earned a C- in active transportation in ParticipACTION\u2019s 2024 \u201creport card.\u201d The same mark was issued in 2022, an improvement from the D- assigned both in 2020 and two years before that.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t A year-round cyclist, Hemmerling said the COVID-19 pandemic and proliferation of e-bikes have both increased ridership across Winnipeg in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we can\u2019t underestimate is the amount of people that are getting on their bikes, generally,\u201d he said, adding that Point Douglas doesn\u2019t get enough credit for being a key connector with cycling routes frequented by commuters, himself included.<\/p>\n Bike Week Winnipeg \u2014 not to be confused with Bike Winnipeg \u2014 does not define itself as a political or advocacy organization.<\/p>\n Sartison said her team is focused on promoting the joy of cycling for participants in bike-to-school day, which is sponsored by Tire Stewardship Manitoba, and related events this week.<\/p>\n maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Maggie Macintosh Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Education reporter
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