For previous generations of Americans, walking to school was a very common experience. Many adults have pleasant memories of their walk from home, through their neighborhood to their grade or high school. It was a time to really get to know your nearby environment as well as an opportunity to socialize with other school bound children.
In today's generation of children, it is estimated that nationally only about 10 per cent walk to school while the majority are either driven by parents or bussed. Sadly, this majority will not have the experience of their parents and grand-parents who benefited from walking to school. Worse, as indicated in our section on walking and health, the amount of physical inactivity seen in children today and their state of health is a serious concern. For example, there has been a significant increase in childhood obesity.
There has been a recent movement nationwide to increase the number of children walking to school. The National Safety Council together with the Partnership for a Walkable America have been sponsoring a national Walk a Child to School Day in the fall of each year. Many schools and thousands of students throughout the country have participated in this event. WalkSacramento supports this event and hopes that more schools in our region participate in the future and help reverse the trend so that more children walk to school on a regular basis. Below are resources for schools, parents and students.
Walk to School Day in Sacramento 2006
Walk A Child to School Day- Resources and information on this national event, plus Walk our Children to School Week, from the National Safety Council.
Official National Walk Our Children to School Day Site- Many excellent resources for schools, teachers, PTAs and other interested parties on how to do this event and how how schools have done it in the past.
iWalk- Look at The Official International Walk Our Children to School Day Site to find more resources and find out what schools in other countries are doing for this event.
California Dept. of Health Services- Tells how to order a Walk a Child to School Day kit for local coordinators and information on the Safe Routes to School Program.
Kidswalk-To-School- A guide for community action to promote children walking to school from the Center for Disease Control. The guide can be downloaded in PDF format.
Safe Routes to School- Information on the California bill signed into law in 1999 to make walking to school safer for children.
Safe Routes to School Sacramento- An extensive Safe Routes to School program centered in the Natomas area of Sacramento
NEW- Neighborhood Planning for Safe Routes to School in Natomas: A Report on Recommendations from Community Design Workshops in North and South Natomas. See the draft pdf report dtd. December 2005 by clicking here.
Safe Routes to School Resource List- An extensive resource list compiled for the California's Walk A Child to School Day
Walking School Bus- The concept, which can be done in any community, of having one or more adults accompany a small group of children to and from school. Learn more by reading about the program in Chicago.
Go to Greenest City, a Toronto based grassroots organization, to download their Walking School Bus Guide.
School Walk Route Deficiencies and Solutions- A list of typical deficiencies in school walk routes and solutions.
Gridlock at the Schools- A 1999 article from the WSJ about gridlock at schools created by parents dropping off their children. Does this sound like your school?