NewsroomHow to Make It Safer for Kids to Walk and Bike To School
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According to data from the Federal Highway Administration, only 11% of students walk or bike to their schools on a regular basis. In the 1960s, that number was 42%.
There are a number of reasons why this number has fallen so dramatically.
For example, many students don’t live within reasonable walking or biking distance. There’s not a whole lot that can be done in that instance except to build schools where they’re needed.
That said, there’s another factor at play. According to a report published by the CDC, “infrastructure and policies that address safety support” often motivate students to do more biking and walking to school. As a result, communities lacking this support may be discouraging students and their families from doing so.
It could be hugely beneficial to smaller communities to build out this kind of support system. We’ll explore some of the reasons why walking and biking is so good for students, and some ways to foster a safer environment for them to do so.
The Benefits of Walking or Biking to School
Although this might all seem like a natural change that happens as times change, walking and biking to school continues to be a beneficial activity for students:
- Regular physical activity promotes good health, even if they’re mostly sedentary at school or when home.
- It can teach kids important life skills like time management, mindfulness, independence, safe practices, and responsibility.
- It’s also shown to be habit-forming, with about three-quarters of biking or walking students continuing to do so years later.
- Being outdoors in the fresh air, sunlight, and nature (depending on the ambient environment) can lessen anxiety and stress.
- Some studies show that there’s a direct correlation between walking, in particular, and improved academic performance.
- It encourages children to explore, appreciate, and be part of their surrounding community.
- Walking or biking is an eco-friendly alternative to taking the bus or getting a ride from someone, so it’s good for our community’s and planet’s health, too.
The key to unlocking all these potential benefits is to give students and their families a safe place to do so and with policies to support it.
Tips for Making It Safer for Kids to Walk & Bike to School
If you’re a parent reading this, or a community leader who wants to encourage more students to travel by foot or bike to school, there are a number of things you can do.
For Parents:
Depending on the age of your kids, you may be joining them on these daily walks or bike rides. If your children are older, you may not need to do that, but you should still provide them with guidance on where to go and how to stay safe.
Regardless of your situation, here are some safe walking and biking practices to teach your kids:
- Choose the most straightforward and safest route.
- Obey traffic signals.
- Only cross at intersections and look both ways before proceeding.
- If there’s a crossing guard, wait for their signal.
- When crossing the street, hold the hands of younger children.
- Don’t use your phone and discourage your child from doing the same.
- Wear a bright piece of clothing or add reflective materials to your body or bike.
- Wear a helmet whenever biking.
- Always ride in the direction of traffic and walk against it.
- If walking, stay on sidewalks or trails.
- If biking, make use of designated bike lanes or paths.
It’s also a good idea to find other families or kids who are interested in doing the same. They refer to this as a “walking school bus”. Not every adult needs to walk the kids to and from school each day, which allows parents to take turns. Overall, it’s a great way to turn this into a fun communal activity.
For Community Leaders:
Parents and other caretakers can help encourage their kids to walk and bike to school. However, community leaders and civil engineers also need to work together so that kids can more safely get to school.
Here are some things you can do to help:
- Keep walking and biking routes well-maintained, so that the community as a whole is encouraged to use them.
- Survey your community and see if there are new areas away from traffic that can be developed for this purpose.
- Make timely repairs to roads and walking paths to reduce the likelihood of accidents and injury.
- Add ample lighting to these routes, especially during the fall and winter seasons.
- Add emergency call boxes with clear location markers to commonly used walking paths.
- Implement more signage so that drivers are aware of bicyclists.
- Implement more traffic signals so that drivers are aware of and stop at pedestrian crossings.
- Evaluate the accessibility of these routes and make improvements as needed.
The CDC report mentioned earlier noted that there were other factors that encouraged more students to walk or bike to school. The presence of crossing guards was one. Having ample bicycle racks was another. Communities and schools that provided promotional materials also appeared to be more encouraging.
Encourage More Walking and Biking in Your Town
It’s amazing how beneficial walking and biking to school can be for a child’s body and mind. Yet, things like urban sprawl, technological advancements, and underdeveloped communities have stifled this once-popular habit.
Whether you’re a parent or a community leader, you want to see your children thrive. And there’s a ton of evidence that biking and walking are great ways to promote and encourage growth.
If you’re looking to expand or improve upon the roadways and trails in your community, we would love to help. EBH Engineering has extensive experience in helping municipalities around Kansas plan and assist with grants for land development engineering and transportation engineering projects.