Green Loyola seeks to make Loyola a more eco-friendly school and improve Loyola students' awareness, appreciation, skills, and commitment to address environmental issues. Green Loyola works closely with Greentown Los Altos which has a mission to educate and inspire the people of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills to take action that will make our communities more environmentally healthy and vibrant today and for future generations.

Our current program centers around encouraging Loyola families to make green trips to school. A green trip is a trip that avoids involving a car: for example, walk, bike, scooter, carpool, or park-n-walk. The program encourages physical activity, provides an opportunity for children to learn safe walking/biking skills, and helps reduce traffic congestion near the school during drop-off and pick-up.

Walk / Wheel to School Day

On Walk / Wheel to School Days, walk, bike, or scooter to school early so you can enjoy breakfast with your friends, and get your raffle ticket in to win a treat. You can also join one of the bike trains or walking buses departing for school from various locations. Keep your eye on the Loyola Weekly Roar newsletter for details...

Bicycle Safety Basics Top 10 Bicycle Safety Rules:
 

1. Always wear a properly fitted bicycle helmet to protect your head—every time you ride.
2. Use a bicycle that is the appropriate size for you, not one that is too big.
3. Before you ride make sure you don’t have any loose clothing, drawstrings, or shoelaces; they can get caught in your chain and make you fall.
4. Check the air in your tires and that your brakes are working before you ride.
5. Wear bright clothes so others can see you at all times of the day.
6. Stay alert at all times; never listen to music when riding.
7. Pay attention and watch for cars, people, and other bicyclists around you.
8. Don’t bicycle at night. If you must ride, make sure your bike has reflectors and lights and wear retro-reflective materials on your ankles, wrists, back and helmet.
9. Before you enter any street or intersection check for traffic by looking left-right-left to make sure no cars or trucks are there.
10. Learn and follow the rules of the road.

Rules of the Road
 

1. When riding in the road, always ride on the right hand side (same direction as traffic).
2. Obey traffic laws, including all the traffic signs and signals.
3. Ride predictably—ride in a straight line, don’t weave in and out of traffic.
4. When riding on a sidewalk -- show respect for the people walking on the sidewalk. Ring your bell to let them know you are coming and always pass them on the left.
5. Look for debris on your route that could cause you to fall off your bicycle, like trash, stones, toys.

Check out this fantastic guide on how to make the roads safer for drivers & pedestrians alike.

For those of you with kids riding to school, please ride with them a few times so you know both the route and the pitfalls of the path they're taking and can remind them to follow the rules.

Also, encourage them to do a weekly (if not daily) ABC Quick Check. Here is one goofy video that shows the ABC Quick Check. Or you can check out the League of American Bicyclists' video.

Advocacy

The city of Los Altos is putting forth to City Council  it's "Suggested (not Safe) Routes to School" (Appendix E in the Pedestrian Master Plan). These include maps that the City developed to identify routes to school.

Road Improvements
 

1. A new red "No Parking" zone in front of the school makes this dangerous area much safer for pedestrian traffic now that there is a clear line of sight.
2. Remind your children to take advantage of the new bike racks that are now on the S. Springer side of school. Thankfully bikes no longer have to make the perilous trip across the busy drop off loops in front of the school.
3. A big thank-you to our Seena Street neighbors for arranging a crossing guard outside the school; we appreciate the extra security of having our kids safely escorted across the road.

Green Loyola is made possible by your generous donations to the Loyola PTA.