QUINCY, IL -- Here's a another followup to a story we brought you about kids walking to and from school in Quincy.....and the safety concerns involved.

Some parents have put some of those worries to rest by starting what's called a "walking school bus."

It's a group of students, led and monitored by parents, who walk to school *together.*

Of course, there wasn't anything like that around when *I* attended elementary school, so I took out my walking shoes to check it out.

Parents Maureen Crickard and Belinda Cullo say this walking school bus's daily route to Madison and Baldwin schools serves several purposes.

Maureen Crickard: "We thought it would be a good idea..... great exercise and a great way to start the day."

Not to mention a way to dodge high gas prices and increase student safety. Some Quincy parents have expressed concern over kids' safety walking to and from school due to lack of sidewalks and traffic congestion in some parts of the city. A walking school bus like this one, addresses some of those concerns.

What's it like to be on a walking school bus?
Lauren McLaughlin & George Crickard (4th Graders): "It's tough 'cause we have to get everyone where they ought to be."

But the reward is that good ol' sendoff from mom to help get the day started off on the right foot.

The City of Quincy hopes to create more of these walking school buses next school year as part of its Safe Routes to School.