Walk To School? Bike? Not 87% of American Kids
Great new short film from Clarence Erickson and crew at Streetfilms. I love their stuff!
What kind of world have we made when our families won’t let our kids walk or bike to school? Danger, fear, obesity, dependency.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Portland has made great strides with a “build it and they will come” approach to bicycle facilities, with advocates from the community led by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance insisting the many people wouldn’t ride until there were bike lanes and bike parking in place. Since 2000, bike use has skyrocketed past bike lane installation rates. But how about the kids?
Kids don’t need to be convinced that cycling is fun. And being free of the hovering parent unit is even more fun. But parents are the ones needing convincing. This is where the Safe Routes to School program comes in. It is provides comfort to concerned parents as well as making cycling and walking a community-approved activity. Not dangerous. Not weird. And the kids love it!
And it works as seen in the drop of chaffeuring by parents and rise in walking and cycling numbers. Of course, this requires cities that have sidewalks, safe crossings and bike lanes.