By Carol Chmelynski
7/12/05 -- It used to be more common for children to walk or ride bicycles to school, but these days, they are more likely to ride in school buses or parents’ cars, due to heavy traffic, busy schedules, and the fear of danger on the streets.
Public health officials point to physical inactivity and a lack of safe places to walk as a factor in the obesity epidemic among America’s youth.
As a result, many school officials and health organizations are promoting initiatives aimed at making streets safer so more students will walk or bike to school.
The most well-known of these efforts is the annual International Walk to School Week, which grew out of a yearly one-day event created in 1997 by the Partnership for a Walkable America.
Last year, during the highlight of the week’s activities, students, parents, and community leaders from more than 3,000 U.S. schools in all 50 states walked to school on Oct. 6. According to organizers, schools from 36 countries participated in the event.
Even though it rained in Glendale Heights, Ill., about 120 students at Glen Hill Elementary School participated in Walk to School Day last fall. Associate Principal Phyllis Van Allen says growing numbers of students choose to walk every day.
Southwood Elementary School in the Raytown school district in Kansas City., Mo., used the annual event as a launching pad for a broader program aimed at encouraging students to walk and bike to school, says spokesperson Ben Helt.
Walking and biking is great exercise, it creates a sense of community and camaraderie, and it helps decrease traffic congestion, he says.
About 200 of Southwood’s 383 K-5 students participated in Walk to School Day last year. When they got to school -- many of them accompanied by parents -- they were greeted by Raytown’s mayor, police chief, and city planner, as well as Principal Keith Gurley.
“We were a bit overwhelmed by all the enthusiasm that day,” says Helt. But, since then, the number of daily walkers and bike riders has nearly receded to the previous rate of about 30 to 40 students a day.
The city of Raytown and the Mid-America Regional Council is working with Southwood Elementary to encourage more students to walk every day through the Safe Routes to School Program.
That program provides grants to help schools develop walking and biking paths through school neighborhoods, make streets more pedestrian friendly, work with law enforcement to control traffic and crime, and educate students and parents on safety.
Southwood Elementary School is on a four-lane thoroughfare, Helt says. To improve safety for walkers, a turn signal light has been installed, and a crossing guard is on duty mornings and afternoons.
The school also organized a “human walking school bus.” Participating parents have a list of students’ addresses and pick them up house by house as they walk in a group to and from school.
Safety also is a major issue for parent volunteer Maribeth Lavender, who helped organize Walk to School Day at Warder Elementary School in Arvada, Colo. “There are the physical and environmental aspects, but they take a back seat to safety. That’s our number one issue,” she says. “We’re on a hill and some people will go flying 40 or 50 miles per hour when the speed limit is 20.”
According to Nancy Pullen, a program manager for International Walk to School Day, the initiative has generated millions of dollars for sidewalks and street improvements to improve safety around schools.
“The whole idea is to promote health, safety, physical activity, and concern for the environment,” Pullen says.
Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled in the past 30 years, while the number of children walking and biking to school has declined, she says.
School-related traffic makes up as much as 26 percent of the morning traffic, she adds. While air quality has improved over past years, many children still live in counties that exceed health-based air quality standards.
A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study showed that locations with schools surrounded by good streets and sidewalk networks have more students walking and biking to school, as well as better air quality.
To learn more about International Walk to School Day and the Safe Routes to School Program, visit www.walktoschool. org.