Today is the first day of school for Portland Public Schools so you may have seen more activity on the streets this morning. Wouldn’t it be great if the higher traffic levels were only on bottlenecked sidewalks or in stop and go bike lanes filled with entire families? Imagine, if you will, rows of bikes, trail-a-bikes and trailers lining up in front of schools to drop children off. How cool it would be to see mobs of kids all over sidewalks cheerfully strolling from home to school every morning!
Unfortunately, likely this morning you just witnessed more car traffic. The fact is that even in Portland back-to-school still brings higher traffic levels around neighborhood schools and a slower commute in the drop-off and pick-up hours of the school day. But we’re working our little Safe Routes fannies off to change that! This year Portland Safer Routes to School is in twenty-five schools and the BTA Safer Routes staff is well-underway managing a year filled with bike safety education, encouragement programs that range from Walk and Bike to School Day to neighborhood walking school buses, and plenty of active grassroots involvement at the community level to build the program and gain support.
We’re already hearing reports of exciting changes. Last night on OPB radio I heard a report on ODOT’s encouragement to be more safe in your travels and more aware of the growing number of children who walk and bike to school. My daughter’s best friend is inaugurating her third grade year with a year-long plan to walk home every day with a group of friends. And this year you’ll see the entire Safer Routes team bedecked in new Castelli vests covered in cool logos and oozing with bright red style!
So here’s the deal: I want anyone reading this who either has schoolchildren, knows children or sees a kid at least once a day to say to yourselves, “On my honor I will do my best to encourage children to walk or bike to school.” Repeat that every day, on your way to school, work or wherever you may go, and then live by it. Tell a kid how cool you think he is if you see him biking to school. Walk with your own child once a week and sneak into work late if you have to. Volunteer at a community ride (contact us for details) at the end of a bike safety or pedal power class. The key is that we’re all involved – whether or not you have kids – and it’s a benefit we all can enjoy!
My partner and I walked our two children to school today and I walked them home. Of course, we have the resources to buy a house near our school. Thanks for helping everyone get their kids to school safely.
Do you have any resources for Walk and Bike to School Day, Wednesday, October 3rd?
Thanks!
We’ll be sending out a coordinator’s packet on 9/11 and all the incentives on 9/14 to all registered schools. You can register at http://www.walktoschool.org if your school hasn’t done so, and you can visit the Oregon Walk + Bike website at http://www.walknbike.org. If you don’t find what you need there, feel free to contact me again with some specifics!
Last year my daughter (then kindergarten now first grade) and I set a goal of making 50% of our trips to and from school on bike. We came pretty close. My daughter wants to ride exclusivly this year but being four miles from school (and carrying little brother) I doubt we will do that. I guess we already have one week down.
Another family is riding with us when they can and we are hoping more will join in. We ride from the NE teens over to SES at 34th and Salmon.
My son and I have been riding our bike (my bike with a trail-a-bike) to his school for the last 3+ weeks. It figures that today is Bike to School Day and this was the day I had to drive because I brought snack. I wasn’t able to carry four dozen bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, cantaloupe and oranges – darn it.
Any how, we have loved biking to school even though we have to cross TV Highway out here in Hillsboro – a dangerous venture and we have no bike lanes. Other than those two obstacles, we have a pretty short trip. My son has been pretty proud of riding to school and I would ride to pick him up too, but I have to pick up two other children.
I saw a car with the bumper sticker “Start Seeing Bicycles” and I love it. I’m going to order some for our cars and friends as well because frankly some people need the reminder.
here’s the link for the bumper stickers: http://www.cafepress.com/buy/bicycle/-/pv_design_prod/p_storeid.15067295/pNo_15067295/id_5903413/opt_/pg_/c_/fpt_
Tammy