What do the numbers show about how kids got to school a generation ago compared with today?
If you go back all the way to 1969, nearly half of all children walked or biked to school. Today, less than about 15 percent are doing it. Why the change? I actually think it’s part of a larger shift, that in general, parents seek the automobile as the default to get anywhere, even sometimes if it’s just down the street. But distance is a major factor as well. Children tend to live farther away from school than they did in 1969, in part because of where we are siting schools these days. They tend to be on fringe lands, not in communities. There is also the convenience factor. A lot of parents are trip-chaining and dropping their children off on the way to work. What do the numbers show about why children don’t walk? In a 2004 CDC survey, distance was the No. 1 reason, rounding out to 62 percent; traffic was at 30; weather at 19; and crime at 12. Talk about the crime. Many families worry that their children may be victim of predators. Isn’t an abundance of safety the wise choice? Of cou
