Safe Routes to School

 

 

How many kids walk or bike to school?

While we do not know the exact number of kids that walk and bike to school, what we do know is that fewer children walk or bike to school than did so a generation ago.

• In 2001, less than 16% of students between the ages of 5 and 15 walked or biked to or from school.

• In 1969, 42% of students walked or biked to school.

This is an opportunity lost. Walking or biking to school gives children time for physical activity and a sense of responsibility and independence; allows them to enjoy being outside; and provides them with time to socialize with their parents and friends and to get to know their neighborhoods.

Why have we seen a decrease in children walking and bicycling to school?

The circumstances that have led to a decline in walking and bicycling to school did not happen overnight and have created a self-perpetuating cycle. As motor vehicle traffic increases, parents become more convinced that it is unsafe for their children to walk or bicycle to school. They begin driving them to school, thereby adding even more traffic to the road and sustaining the problem. Understanding the many reasons why so many children do not walk or bicycle to school is the first step in interrupting this problematic cycle.

Many factors contribute to the reduction in children walking and bicycling to school. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published the findings from two nationwide surveys of parents which identify barriers that prevent them from allowing their children to walk to school. In the 2004 survey, 1,588 adults answered questions about barriers to walking to school for their youngest child aged 5 to 18 years. Parents cited one or more of the following six reasons.
 

What are the health benefits of kids walking and bicycling to school?

Two recent studies have found that walking to school is associated with higher overall physical activity throughout the day. There are many potential benefits of physical activity for youth including:

• Weight and blood pressure control

• Bone, muscle, and joint health and maintenance

• Reduction in the risk of diabetes

• Improved psychological welfare

• Better academic performance

The walk to school can provide opportunities for physical activity, as well as time outdoors and near nature. Exposure to nature and free outdoor play can have multiple health benefits including stress reduction, relief of ADHD symptoms in children, and increased cognitive and motor functioning.

How can Safe Routes to School affect traffic surrounding the school?

As much as 26% of morning traffic can be school-related. Travel to school accounts for 7 to 11% of non-commuting vehicle traffic. This figure does not include trips during which parents drop their children off on the way to work, so the actual proportion of school-related traffic is likely much higher.

Traffic can lead to even less walking or biking. As more children are driven, more parents become convinced that traffic conditions make it unsafe for walking or bicycling and they join the line of cars at the school.

If more children walked or biked to school, it would reduce the number of cars near the school at pick-up and drop-off times making it safer for walkers and bicyclists and reducing traffic congestion.