I've referred to Safe Routes to School programs a few times in previous blog posts. A successful program that encourages more families to let their kids walk or bike to school means less traffic, less stress for kids and school neighbors, healthy transportation and exercise for kids.
I have friends who have been involved in organizing these programs at schools in various neighborhoods over the years. Talking with them about their efforts made me think of my own experiences walking to school as a kid.
Compared to riding in a car, it increased my awareness of surroundings, helped me learn street smarts and navigation, and develop decision making skills. Walking or biking or using public transit is about much more than transportation. These are building blocks for many important life skills.
If kids are driven everywhere in the name of "safety" and they never have this kind of learning opportunity, are they as well prepared as they could be for high school, college and life after school? How safe are they later on when they are trying to function independently, beyond the cocoon their parents have created for them?
Several years ago, I met students who were juniors and seniors in high school who were attempting for the first time to navigate independently outside their neighborhoods and figure out how to get where they were going on public transit. They got lost and were an hour late for the workshop they were attending. Examples like this are all too common now.
Investing in ways to make our streets safer for pedestrians and bikes is an investment in quality of life in our community - for the present and the future.
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