It always feels a little odd to promote International Walk to School Day.
I mean, why shouldn’t kids walk to school every day?
Study after study shows that walking provides physical, social and academic benefits. It also reduces neighborhood traffic congestion, household costs and auto emissions. Yet the vast majority of students arrive at school in a vehicle.
In fact, the number of children walking or biking to school is at an all-time low. Only 13 percent of children walk or bike to school compared to 50 percent in 1969. Because of that, we focus on small victories. Try walking. Just once. This year, Walk to School Day is Oct. 7.
In fairness, one of the many reasons kids don’t walk or bike to school as much as they used to is because it’s not as easy.
In the mid-20th century, America began to build its cities around cars, which had become symbols of progress and wealth. Housing subdivisions flourished, and it was no longer necessary to walk places. With that, sidewalks, crosswalks and other infrastructure that makes walking safer vanished. And that left our kids with no option but to ride in vehicles to school.
Fast forward to today, when we’re realizing the many benefits of walking and regretting many of the car-centric choices we made in the past.
The good news is that smart communities are adopting Complete Streets ordinances that help ensure that thoroughfares are designed, built and maintained with all people — not just car drivers — in mind.
Complete Streets can have many design elements, including sidewalks, bike lanes, special bus lanes, safe crossing opportunities, median islands and accessible pedestrian signals. One Complete Street can look quite different from another, but all share the same mission: to simultaneously include the interests of all people, whether they’re traveling by foot, bike, transit or car.
Getting a Complete Street ordinance adopted means more people will be able to walk to the store and bus stops, and ride bikes to work and school safely and easily. It means balancing safety and convenience for everyone who’s likely to use the road, regardless of their age, ability or choice of transportation.
In recent years, Hoosiers have shown increased interest in more holistic ways for people to move around. In fact, the organization I coordinate, Health by Design, is working with a number of cities and towns to get Complete Streets policies in place to help ensure their neighborhoods, public spaces and transportation infrastructure promote physical activity and healthy living.
Meanwhile, as they experience the benefits of physical activity for students, more education leaders, parents and school staff are interested in bringing back the tradition of walking to school. I’m hopeful that means that someday in the near future, we won’t need to focus attention on Walk to School Day. Students will be walking to school every day.
