Does this look dangerous to you?

Today, October 6, 2010, is International Walk to School Day.

In 1997, the Partnership for a Walkable America sponsored the very first National Walk Our Children to School Day.  This was in Chicago and the event was modeled after a similar one in the United Kingdom.  The point was to bring awareness of the need for walkable communities.

Today, the idea that walking to school is good for kids and communities has spread across the country with millions of students in all 50 states participating in International Walk to School Day.  So, did your kid walk to school today? Continue reading »

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From the time I was in kindergarten until my older brother got his driver’s license, I walked to and from school.  My school was a good ten blocks from my house, but it was residential all the way with wide sidewalks and friendly neighbors looking out for me.  But this was the 1970′s and I had lots of company on my journey as every other kid in the neighborhood was also walking to and from school.

These days, it’s rare to see a kid walking to school.  My own child rides the bus because her school is about three miles away and the majority of the route involves busy roads with no sidewalks.  But if she could safely walk to school, experts say she might actually reduce her risk of heart disease later in life.

Continue reading »

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D. Sharon Pruitt via flickr

In an aggressive effort to get students to walk to school, a community elementary school in Toronto actually banned parents from dropping off their children in cars. Since the ban was put into place earlier this year, there is now 100 percent compliance. Even those kids who live far enough away to get bus services are joining with their friends and hoofing it to school.

This is a real contrast to other schools, namely this one on upstate New York that, until bad publicity changed things, actually banned walking and riding bikes to school. Safety and all that being the trigger for the restrictions.

I can’t help but condemn the latter and cheer on the former — it’s surprising how few kids actually walk to school anymore, even those who live in notoriously walkable neighborhoods (hey, this resident’s calling out her Brooklyn neighborhood). Continue reading »

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We’re a nation of terrified parents. Scared of the Philip Garridos of the world, the faceless man who will come to steal our children right out from under our noses. That’s why the New York Times says we don’t let our kids walk to school anymore.

True enough, but there’s another story out here in the wilderness. Parents aren’t afraid their child is going to be touched by a stranger. They’re afraid he’s going to run them over. Continue reading »

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