Walk to School Program Gets Kids Out of Cars and On Foot or Bike By NICOLE BLOUIN In 1969, almost half of all students walk or biked to school; today it’s about 16 percent. Jessica Frost was a part of that declining statistic. As a youngster she attended small community schools but lived too far away to bike or walk. Today, many of our small community schools have been replaced by mega-schools built on the fringes of communities. This is one of many reasons you don’t see more children walking or riding their bikes to school.

Luckily, in 2005, federal legislation recognized the value of children walking and bicycling to school by establishing a national Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. That means $612 million towards SRTS programs in all 50 states. The overarching goal: Where it’s safe, get children walking and biking to school, and where it’s not safe, make it safe!

Frost is New Mexico’s SRTS Coordinator at the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) and oversees the state’s Walk to School Day on Oct. 3. She is calling this year’s event Walk & Roll to School Day to emphasize the inclusion of bikes, scooters, skateboards, wheelchairs, and more. “It promotes the benefits of kids safely walking and biking to school and raises awareness of SRTS, which needs to be a daily message,” she says.

Frost explains that Walk to School Day is an international event that is one component of SRTS. “A lot of communities and schools use Walk to School Day to kick off a SRTS program or as an impetus to get something going,” says Frost. “But some schools just choose to participate for one day, which at least raises awareness and promotes walking and biking and the benefits to our communities, the environment, and our kids’ health.”

Last year, more than 2,200 New Mexico students from about 20 schools participated in Walk to School Day — walking and bicycling, even horseback riding, to school accompanied by parents, teachers, principals, elected officials, community leaders and friends. “We had a great turnout around the state, with most schools reporting that the number of students walking and biking far exceeded the anticipated amount,” she says.

Events around the state last year included bike rodeos, parades, conferences and assemblies. When I caught up with Frost, she had just finished announcing the first recipients of the state’s SRTS program funds. The communities selected were Bayard, Corrales, Dexter, Gallup, and Wagon Mound. Each community receives $15,000 to develop a SRTS Action Plan.

“In developing the Plan, the school and community work together to identify barriers to walking and bicycling to school and then prioritize solutions for addressing these barriers,” says Frost. “Solutions may include educational and encouragement activities, such as bicycle safety classes and walking contests. Engineering needs are also identified, such as repairing sidewalks or installing signs for crossings. Local safety officers can help with enforcement activities, such as educating drivers about slowing down in school zones and teaching kids personal safety.”

Once the Plan is in place, the community can apply for Phase 2 funds, which provide up to $250,000 for infrastructure projects and up to $25,000 for non-infrastructure activities. The goal is to make walking and bicycling to school a safer and more appealing transportation choice in New Mexico, thus encouraging regular routine physical activity for our kids at an early age. In addition, the community as a whole benefits from reduced traffic, better air quality, and safer and more pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods.

Frost said there are several reasons kids no longer walk or bike to school, such as distance and traffic dangers. “Parents feel it’s unsafe for kids to walk, so they drive them to school, adding to the congestion, which in some communities is as much as 25 percent of morning rush hour traffic,” she said.

And then there’s crime danger. Frost says parents often cite this as the reason they won’t let their kids walk. “Elementary school kids should walk and bike with an adult, and older kids should be encouraged to walk together in pairs or groups,” says Frost, adding that a Walking School Bus, or Bike Train, is a great way to address safety concerns.

It works like this. Children walk to school in a group with one or more adult “drivers” who walk with them. Sounds simple…and that’s the beauty of it. The group picks up other students along the route — having fun, being active, hanging out with their peers, and learning about traffic safety.

Frost believes the negatives must be balanced against the health risks to our children — both now and when they are adults. “The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity for kids on most, preferably all, days of the week, which most of our kids aren’t getting,” says Frost. “The percentage of kids considered severely overweight has tripled in the last 30 years, and the negative health consequences of overweight and obesity include premature death and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and asthma.

This subject touches close to home for Frost. She is struggling with these issues as a parent. “We live within walking distance of my daughter’s school, but the route is not very friendly to pedestrians or bicyclists,” she says. “What’s really frustrating is that the city recently reconstructed the sidewalks and installed ramps at one of the intersections, but there were other engineering improvements that could’ve really increased the safety of crossing pedestrians, such as extending the medians to provide a pedestrian refuge and increasing the timing of the lights so anyone, including the elderly and kids, could safely cross all 5 lanes of traffic.

“We design and build for cars — rather than people — and our roads and intersections reflect this, Frost says. One way you and your child can begin to look at the issues is to use the Walkability or Bikeability Checklist on New Mexico’s SRTS Web site (www.nmsaferoutes.com). Decide if your neighborhood is a friendly place for a child on foot or on a bike by answering some simple questions that help you record problems and find solutions for your area. You can take it a step further and share the information you gather with your school and community leaders.

And don’t forget to join kids and families around the state and walk or roll to school on Oct. 3. If nothing else, you might be reminded of the simple joy of walking and biking to school. For more information, contact Jessica Frost at 476-2155 or Jessica.Frost@state.nm.us. You can also visit the following Web sites for more information and resources: National Center for SRTS — www.saferoutesinfo.org and Walk to School Day — www.walktoschool.org.