Walking to School

I tell our daughter how I walked barefoot in the winter through frost-covered grass to school - a mile-and-a-half away. Truth was that it was only three blocks and Mom bundled us pretty good! The morale of the story is that WE WALKED TO SCHOOL. And and back. Uphill and down hill. Rain, sunshine, cold, and brutal heat. I can count on two hands the amount of times that we were taken to school by car.

Seems like old ideas might become new again. The Washing Post reports that grim budget cuts are rekindling the idea of kids walking to school. In Fairfax County, VA, the Board of Supervisors are entertaining the idea of moving back school bus boundaries for bus-riding eligibility.

A few factors are driving this novel idea:

1. Limited transportation budgets
2. Increasing childhood obesity
3. Potential higher costs of diesel fuel
4. Reduction in air pollution
5. Decrease of traffic congestion

Linda Farbry, director of transportation for Fairfax County reports that the cost of putting one bus on the road is equal to the salary of one teacher on staff. Which expense carries the highest priority?

The Department of Transportation has advocated walking to school for years. So has the CDC and almost every organization fighting diseases of every nature. Yet the campaigns are not very successful because city planning is around cars, not pedestrians. So half-empty school buses continues to cruise around neighborhoods.

Students eligible for busing typically lives 1.5 miles or more from school. Those inside the boundary becomes eligible if they face particular safety hazards, have disabilities, or belong to special programs. Beyond a mile to 1.5 miles busing make sense. Depending on the age of a student and weather conditions, common sense must prevail. But for a large group of students living within those boundaries it comes down to the issue of safety.

A few simple approaches will need parent support or it will not happen:

• Coordinate neighborhood routes to school
• Be visible (www.myfitlight.com)
• Be appropriately dressed
• Reward walkers

Perhaps we can return to the time in 1969 when 41% of students walked or cycled to school. By 2001 it was 13% and a good guess is that it is currently below 10%.

Michael Cordier