Temps are rising, days are getting longer, people are getting back out and about – and the spring session of the Ten Toe Express® is officially underway. This award-winning program, hosted by Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) in conjunction with AARP in St. Louis, helps older adults and other interested individuals lead healthier lives by linking activity, sociability and exercise with the use of MetroLink and MetroBus. The spring session runs through the end of June and costs $10 to participate. Registration can be completed online.
The Ten Toe Express® program features weekly guided Ten Toe Express Walking Tours, allowing walkers to be part of a group as they become familiar with the transit system and how to utilize it to get to attractions regionwide. These walks, led by trained, volunteer walk leaders, range in length from 0.3 to 5 miles, depending on the group and destination. Each starts from either the Brentwood I-64, Forest Park-DeBaliviere, Belleville, Rock Road, North Hanley or Shrewsbury-Lansdowne 44 Transit Centers. They then take the MetroLink or MetroBus to Forest Park, downtown St. Louis, the Delmar Loop, downtown Belleville and other areas (depending on the week) where they explore local attractions and stop for lunch or a snack before heading back. Special walks are scheduled periodically throughout the season. Walking maps with instructions on how to utilize transit to get to many of the region’s cultural and entertainment hot spots are available online to assist those who want to explore areas on their own.
First-time registrants receive a walking kit containing a pedometer, maps, transit tickets and a safety tips flyer in a Ten Toe tote bag.
“The Ten Toe Express has been a transformational experience for a majority of the 8,000 older adults who have participated in the program since its inception in 2007,” commented Kimberly Cella, executive director of Citizens for Modern Transit. “It gets people moving, creates friendships and helps them maintain their independence and mobility. While hundreds of new people join every year, there are also hundreds of people who have participated for more than a decade – and that speaks to the impact of this programming.”
Any returning Ten Toe walker who gets a friend, family member or colleague to participate in the upcoming spring session will receive a special gift for themselves and the new registrant.