Northern Heights Walk Routes

Students living within one road mile from the school are expected to walk or bike to school. A one-mile walking distance should take approximately 20-30 minutes walking one way; this approximates a child’s walking pace of 3 miles per hour (mph). Bellingham Public Schools partners with the City of Bellingham to support families by identifying school walk routes that are within one mile of the school and determining road and crosswalk public works projects based on district recommendations.

Much of the district work around walking (and biking) to school is based on a 2015 guide developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the Washington Traffic Safety Committee, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and the Washington State Department of Health. Click here for more on the walk route boundary process.

To see whether your child is on a walk route, please check Infofinder Bus Route Locator.

Walk route directions for Northern Heights Elementary School

From the playfield back gate, take the trail to Roma Road and travel east to Britton or west to McGrath

• From Roma, Tamakack Road will take you to
  • Marie Ct
  • Olivia Ct

From the main entrance of school, you can access McCleod and the neighborhood of Tree Farm Road.

• McGrath Road will take you to
  • Sara Ct
  • Ethan Ct
  • McCleod Rd

 

Cross Mcleod using designated crosswalks getting to Chandler Parkway and homes south of McLeod.

• • Woodside Way

All walk areas have speed limit of 25 mph and sidewalks

Volume of traffic on these roads are low to medium

 

Map

Click here for Northern Heights Elementary walking route map (PDF)

 

Health and Sustainability

Sixty minutes is the recommended amount of physical activity time for kids and teenagers every day. Increasing physical activity has positive effects on learning, physical and mental health. Walking or biking to and from school is a great way to incorporate more physical activity into the day.

The Bellingham Public Schools commitment to climate action is found in the BPS Climate Action Plan. Encouraging walking and biking to school helps to keep cars off the road, reduces congestion and traffic, and leads to a more resilient and sustainable future for our children.

Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about walk routes or the defining process, please reach out to the transportation director Cindy Dennis at 360-676-6546.

For general safety tips, visit Safety To and From School.