"Our community is a very walkable and cyclable town." -Grace Fix
StettlerLocal.com on July 20, 2024 at 12:13 pm
Grace Fix is challenging Stettlerites to compete against ourselves.
As Chair of the Heartland Beautification Committee, Fix is a rigorous champion of the annual Walk 'n' Roll Challenge. But this year she's introduced a twist: The target is 500+ participants and 10,000 trips during July and August. At 500 participants, that would be 20 trips per person.
"Our general goal is to raise awareness that walking or biking really are logical alternatives to driving everywhere, particularly in Stettler," says Fix. "Our community is a very walkable and cyclable town. Distances are not great. The terrain is flat. And our trail system is excellent."
The walking/biking challenge began in 2017 with other Central Alberta communities, including Rocky Mountain House, Wainwright, and Ponoka.
"Stettler won the Walk 'n' Roll Challenge every year except 2021, when Wainwright won," says Fix. "This year, the other communities decided to take a break. So we decided to try a two-month challenge, and really focus on our number of participants. This is why the goal is set high at 500."
Although past challenges took place over a four-month period, Stettler did achieve an impressive 23,000 trips in 2019 and 227 participants in 2021.
So, what makes a trip? A trip is not a recreational walk or bike ride for exercise. Rather, it is a decision to not drive somewhere. When you walk or bike to your destination and back, that counts as two trips.
But there's a way to go before Stettler reaches this year's targets.
"We are well below our goals, but people often save up their trips and register them all at once near the end," says Fix. "As of July 19, we have 296 trips registered and 33 participants."
Registering for Walk 'n' Roll is easy. Record your trips at www.stettler.net, by entering your name, town, and the number of trips taken.
Fix says it's preferable to record your trips each week, but any time during the month is fine.
The Walk ‘n’ Roll Challenge is spearheaded by the Heartland Beautification Committee.
For more information, contact stettlerbeautification@gmail.com or phone (403) 742-4411.
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