Story updated below original story.

This event is hosted by the Spanaway Middle School.

The purpose of this event is to unite our community in raising awareness about the current lack of safe infrastructure for walking and biking routes for students in our area. We believe this is a matter of great importance and are delighted to share that our event will have the support of our Superintendent, Pierce County elected officials and various community members who share our concern.

We kindly request your assistance in reaching out to your fellow families and students to encourage their participation in the “Walking School Bus.” Our aim is to have a large and engaged turnout to emphasize the urgent need for investments in our area that will lead to safe sidewalks and streets for our students.

We will begin our November 1st walk at 5:45 AM, beginning at our [District Office] Educational Service Center (ESC), located at 516 176th St E, Spanaway. We ask families to join us along the way as we walk down B Street to SMS. At approximately 6:00 AM, we will start our walk down B Street and 176th, a route frequently used by many of our students.

Our journey will end at Spanaway Middle School. Our doors open at 6:45 AM for students, and our aim will be to complete this route in the 45 minutes allotted. Regardless of the weather conditions, we will walk, just as our students do each day.

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to the well-being of our students and our community.

[Editor note: please feel free to add experiences from this walk in the comments of this article!]

Editor UPDATE: The group gathered at the District Office starting around 5 a.m. The news media was chatting with the Superintendent when I arrived. The photo was so blurry because it was dark that I did not include it.
There were three School Board members present, John Manning, Marcus Young and Terrance Mayers Sr. There were three County Council Members Ryan Mello, Jani Hitchen and Amy Cruver. There was also Rep. Mari Levitt from the 28th legislative district with her dog on leash. Editor provided her tissues as the canine proceeded to gift the sidewalk for the occasion.

There were school administrators and the Principal of Spanaway Middle School, Shannon Leatherwood, who was the inspiration for the event. Before leaving the district office, the four TV crews were interviewing many people about the situation with lighting, sidewalks and child safety. Stories later showed up on channels 4, 5, 7, and 13.

The group head for the sidewalk on 176th about 6 p.m. They crossed B Street at the crossing signal and then crossed 176th Street at the next signal, walking on the proper, west side of the street. The group was stopped again at 168th Street and 159th Street to wait for the crossing signals. At 159th, the crossed back to the east side of B Street because it has sidewalks and the crossing is difficult right in front of the middle school.

As the group arrived at the school, a long line of traffic began to stream into the parking lot, out the entrance and down B Street beyond the signal at 159th. That line of traffic continued to drop off children for the 40 minutes I was at the school. They just kept coming in a steady stream.

The principal pointed out the worst intersection as 152nd (Military) and B Street, because it only has a stop sign on B Street and no control to stop the traffic on 152nd Street.

Overall, with the publicity, reporting, and attendance of administrators and public officials, it was a very successful protest of the lack of infrastructure in the community. Now, if change comes to the roadways because of it, that would be the most appreciated outcome.