Safety and Sustainability at Elliott Elementary Bike to School Day
Keeping students on the right path was a key goal of Elliott Elementary School’s Bike to School Day event on May 16th. The event, coordinated by Safe Kids Lincoln-Lancaster County (SKLLC), focused on encouraging students in grades K-5 to practice safer, healthier, and more environmentally friendly transportation on their paths to and from school.
SKLLC, as part of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, has coordinated Bike to School events almost every year for the last 20 years, including an event at Clinton Elementary School last year. These local celebrations also align with national events led by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.
Supported by Lincoln Transportation and Utilities (LTU) and Black Hills Energy, Elliott Elementary staff and volunteers set up activity stations around the school encouraging students to practice safety in four key areas while walking and biking:
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Trail Etiquette & Physical Activity
Billy Wolff Trail crosses right by Elliott Elementary, meaning many of the students use and cross the trail. This station encouraged students to be physically active and use the trail, but to do so safely. Students learned the importance of staying on the right side of the trail, communicating, and watching for passing cyclists. Bike traffic on the trail during the activity provided real-world experience with proper trail crossing, helping the students and even some of the teachers!
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Large Profile Vehicle Safety
Black Hills Energy brought a large truck to demonstrate the importance of safe behavior around large vehicles with limited visibility. Each student sat inside the truck to experience how difficult it can be to see around the outside of the vehicle. Putting students in the driver’s seat, even for a moment, helped them understand the need for caution around vehicles of this size.
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Brain Injury Prevention
This station focused on bike safety and the importance of wearing a helmet. Volunteer and Public Health Educator Brian Baker demonstrated each step to make sure a helmet is fitted and placed properly for protection. Baker also showed the students a brain model to demonstrate the need for protective headwear.
“It's important for students to be able to safely navigate around the neighborhood, to and from school, to and from the park.”
Rachel Redepenning, the Active Living and Nutrition Program Coordinator for the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, shared how the trail etiquette and physical activity will help students stay safe on trails in the future.
“This is a great opportunity for us to be able to give the kids some hands-on experience,” Redepenning said. “[Things like] staying on the right hand side of the path and learning those safety messages and rules of the road for when they are out and about on their bikes, on their scooters or skateboards, or just walking and biking around the neighborhood.”
Guiding students through crosswalk safety, Melissa Ramos-Lammli, an LTU Senior Traffic Technician, taught students the importance of being safe while crossing the street, a habit she said she hopes will stick with them.
“This is something that they’re going to take with them for the rest of their lives, and even as they grow up and become drivers themselves,” Ramos-Lammli said. “I’m hoping, even by bringing this education and reminders to the students that they’ll take it home and share it with their families, so that everybody’s a little more safe.”
Elliott Elementary School and LPS are so excited about the opportunity to continue the tradition of Bike to School Day in Lincoln and hope to continue it for many years to come, and are thankful for the support of Safe Kids Lincoln-Lancaster County (SKLLC) at the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, Lincoln Transportation and Utilities (LTU) and Black Hills Energy.
Updated May 21, 2025
