AP Features, October 25th, 2007
A new $612 million (euro427.7 million) effort hopes to increase physical activity among U.S. students by getting them to bike or walk to school.
Today, only about 15 percent of U.S. schoolchildren travel to school under their own power.
The program seeks to change that by offering federal Department of Transportation money to help build sidewalks, post traffic signs and find ways to make biking or walking to school easier, said Robert Ping, who assists states with the Safe Routes program in Oregon.
"Safe Routes is potentially the tipping point to increasing opportunities for kids to be physically active," Ping said. "The trip to school is happening anyway."
But some busy parents say it is easier to make a quick drive to drop off their kids. Or they worry about their child's safety because of traffic or strangers. Also, buses pick up children at street corners, and it is common for students to live miles from school.
The program seeks to overcome those obstacles by getting parents involved. Parents go with students on short walks or bike rides to school and work with police departments and city planners to make the commute easier for kids.
Another problem is the program does not give much money to states, especially smaller states.
About 20 states have Safe Routes programs, and some of the most successful programs are in largely populated areas such as California and Florida. Advocates say the program may be easier to carry out in urban areas with plenty of sidewalks as opposed to rural locations where children live far from school.
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On the Net:
Safe Routes to School: http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/
