At what age can children walk to school by themselves?

Walking is a form of transportation used throughout life. Being able to walk safely is an important skill that needs to be developed over time. Children need help learning and practicing where and how to walk safely. To help children become safe walkers, adults must look at the world of traffic from a child’s point of view and have an understanding of how children’s abilities to learn and reason develop over time.

Children age four to six:

• Need supervision.
• Are ready to practice the basics.
• May do the unexpected.
• Need adults to model safe walking behavior.

Children age seven to nine:

• Still need supervision.
• Are ready to learn more complicated skills.
• Benefit from walking with an adult who explains more complex pedestrian safety tasks, such as where and when to cross at a new location.

Children age ten and older:

• Are usually ready for a mix of independence and supervision.
• May need reinforcement and reminders about safe walking behaviors.
• Benefit from practicing a specific route with an adult to talk about where to walk, where to cross and any other safety considerations before walking the route alone.

For additional information about when children are ready to walk alone, see the resource developed by the National Center for Safe Routes to School called Teaching Children to Walk Safely as They Grow and Develop.

Bus stop

If your bus stop has been relocated or you have a concern with your current bus stop location, please contact your Transportation Cluster Manager.

Bus Routes:

Check your bus routes and see updated information regarding bus location through here.

Sidewalk

If you would like to request that sidewalks be installed in your neighborhood, you can submit a request online. This link will take you to the Division of Transportation Engineering. On this page you will be able to see an interactive map of pending sidewalk requests, see completed sidewalk requests, and submit a sidewalk application form.

Crosswalks, Flashers, Signage, Speed Limits

If there is a marked crosswalk that needs to be restriped or if there is no marked crosswalk where you think there should be, please contact Montgomery County Department of Transportation at 311 or via email. You may also use these contacts if you have any questions/requests for school signage, school flashers, or speed limits.