Posts Tagged ‘safe routes to school’

Cascade Bicycle Club and Feet First call for Safe Routes to School in response to Gregoire’s proposals for hundreds of millions of dollars for school busing

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 by

Today, in order to find more funds for education, Governor Christine Gregoire proposed raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes to cover the costs of busing students to school.

Yet she failed to ask the key question: why do so many students ride the bus to school instead of walking or biking?

One big reason: often, it’s just not safe to walk or bike to school.

“Many parents want their children to walk or bike to school, and kids themselves want to. But traffic is going too fast or there are no sidewalks or bike lanes or safe crossings,” said Chuck Ayers, Executive Director of Cascade Bicycle Club. “When we build roads wider to move cars faster, and we neglect to provide for safe walking and biking, students must be driven everywhere.”

Through the Safe Routes to School program, the Washington State Department of Transportation provides grants to local cities and school districts for engineering such as sidewalks, bike lanes, crossing signals, educational materials, speed enforcement, education and encouragement. And these improvements work: according to WSDOT’s statistics, drivers drive more slowly and receive fewer traffic citations in school zones, students behave more safely when crossing streets, and the number of children who walk or bike to each school goes up an average of 20 percent.

But only about one-quarter of requests from local communities get funded.

“We recognize schools need more funds for education,” said Lisa Quinn, Executive Director of Feet First. “Student transportation is more than just the yellow bus. We should ask why are we taxing ourselves instead of making is safer and easier for children to walk and bike to school, which would have other positive benefits.  Additionally, without a simultaneous effort to educate and encourage families to walk and bike, it is equally likely that parents will replace their bus ride with a drive instead.”

Cascade Bicycle Club and Feet First are calling on Governor-elect Jay Inslee and the state legislature to make our children safer and healthier, and save millions in school bus costs, by investing more in safe routes to school.

“Don’t let our children get driven into a ditch,” said Ayers. “We can support their health and well-being, improve their readiness for learning, and save money for school districts by making it safe for students to walk or bike to school.”

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Posted in Media alerts, Olympia | 6 Comments »

West Woodland rodeo rides again

Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 by

West Woodland Elementary sure knows how to put on a bike rodeo — a ton of fun was had by all! In preparation for Bike Month and Bike to School Day, these parents and teachers have added a guided ride component to their rodeo. Students take to the neighborhood streets to with Cascade instructors to learn first-hand the essential skills they will be using as they become more independent riders. Way to go and happy biking!

Here is what parent, Polly Freeman had to say about the event:

Fabulous weather and lots of enthusiasm from biking kids, parents, volunteers and sponsors made the 6th annual West Woodland Bike Rodeo one of the best ever on Sunday, May 6.

A total of 56 cyclists and their families enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon at the rodeo. Each participant got a helmet fit check before testing their skills at six stations, snacking on fruit and breadsticks, and enjoying a great day of riding. Many riders took advantage of the bike safety check area to get tires inflated, brakes checked and more. Twelve cyclists also took home new, low-cost helmets courtesy of Cascade and custom-fitted by our volunteers. A dozen riders also ventured out on two “urban” rides supported by Cascade Bike Club staff and West Woodland parents (Cascade staff time was funded by a Safe Routes to Schools grant).

All the kids who completed the stations earned their choice of a variety of cool stickers, water bottles and patch kits courtesy of Gregg’s Cycles. They were also entered in a drawing for flashy NiteIze spoke lights. Bolstering the ranks of our usual bike rodeo volunteers, we were happy to see a few new West Woodland parents volunteering and a HUGE (14) contingent of helpers from Ballard High School, who were spurred on in part by community service hours requirements but nonetheless helpful and welcome.

As Bike to School month continues, we will also have special stickers for kids riding to school on May 18, Bike to Work & School Day, and will award prizes to various categories of Bike to School riders at the end of the month. We’re energized by the good turnout at the rodeo and already planning to meet to talk about next year’s walking and wheeling plans.

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Posted in Bike Month, Education, Kids on bikes | 1 Comment »