Greenway Bike Bus drives connection to nature, community
This school year, the daily commute for dozens of students at Durham, North Carolina’s Southwest Elementary School transformed from a noisy car ride into an energizing journey through nature thanks to the East Coast Greenway Bike Bus.
With Alliance Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano — the father of a Southwest fifth-grader — leading the charge, the Greenway Bike Bus launched at the start of this school year, creating a safe route to school along the popular American Tobacco Trail segment of the East Coast Greenway. Within the first week, bike commuting doubled, then it doubled again to 45 children and parents enjoying riding to school together at 7 a.m., prompting the principal to add more bike parking capacity in front of the school.
“It’s events and programs like this that really bring the East Coast Greenway to life, so I’m really happy that we’re able to do this and help these kids,” Markatos-Soriano said. “This is a gateway to an active life and a healthy future.”
The result of this effort is a group of students who built a strong sense of community and arrived at school focused and ready to learn after an uplifting morning connection with nature. They also embraced healthy biking and walking habits that can last a lifetime.
“In the mornings it actually starts their day with a clear head,” said Durham Public Schools Board of Education Member Gabby Rivero, the mother of three Southwest Elementary School students. “Once they get out there they’re ready to go and it changes the ways that they engage in school early in the morning. They’re not coming in groggy anymore, they’re coming in ready to learn.”
With Superintendent of Durham Public Schools Dr. Anthony Lewis among the community leaders in attendance, the students’ dedication was celebrated earlier this month on National Bike & Roll to School Day. More than 100 students, parents and safe routes to school supporters joined the Greenway Bike Bus celebration on May 6. Following donuts and a medal ceremony featuring remarks from Principal Nick Rotosky and Markatos-Soriano, the group biked, rolled and walked to school together.
“I was actually walking and bringing up the rear, but it was such a nice way to start the day today,” said Jennifer Delcourt, Statewide Planner & Safe Routes to School Coordinator with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. “Having greenways near the school is a really wonderful way for parents and students to be able to access the school actively on foot or on bike without being anywhere near vehicle traffic.”
Durham City Council Member Matt Kopac agreed. “Trails like this are so critical for access, for safe passage to the places we need to go for health, for our community. Just coming this morning and walking down the trail was the perfect start to my day on a beautiful morning with the community.”
Programs like the Greenway Bike Bus showcase the East Coast Greenway’s role in providing safe, traffic-free routes to school in the Triangle and beyond, promoting student health and reducing congestion.
And the Greenway Bike Bus is part of a growing global effort with roots in Belgium, Colombia and Spain. On Earth Day in 2022, then-elementary school physical education teacher Sam Balto started a bike bus in Portland, Oregon, that sparked a movement in the U.S. After millions of social media views and celebrity appearances, Balto launched the nonprofit Bike Bus World, which recently awarded Markatos-Soriano one of its Pump up the Bike Bus Awards for spring 2026 for his efforts in Durham.
After seeing the first-hand impact of the bike bus on her children, Rivero is “thinking through how we can do this across all Durham public schools, specifically with a district that is constantly in transportation need.”
“One of the great things about this is from day one we’ve had a supportive principal and administration here at Southwest Elementary. We’ve had amazing PTA parents, just an outstanding community. The collaboration that went into every day of enjoying the bike bus was phenomenal,” Markatos-Soriano said.
“It was really nice to see the whole community come out because they appreciate that these kids are biking and walking to school and they wanted to celebrate with us.”
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