Children walking and bicycling to school represent 11 percent of injuries and fatalities during the school commute but fewer than two percent of miles traveled. So it’s no wonder that parents are reluctant to let their kids walk or bike to school.

But a new report just issued by the Safe Routes to Schools Partnership, a coalition of organizations, government agencies, and professional groups working to implement effective Safe Routes to School programs, finds that Safe Routes to School initiatives are succeeding, without breaking the bank.

The goal of Safe Routes to School is to get more children walking and biking to schools. In 1969, approximately 50% of all children walked or bicycled to school, and 87% of children living within one mile of school did. Today, fewer than 15% of schoolchildren walk or bike to school. Today’s kids are less active, less independent, and less healthy.

Plus, as much as 20 to 30% of morning traffic is generated just by parents driving their children to schools, and traffic-related crashes are the top cause of death and major injury for children in the U.S. ages 1-17.

The new report, Safe Routes to School: Putting Traffic Safety First – How Safe Routes to School Initiatives Protect Children Walking and Bicycling, shows how Safe Routes to School programs can help keep children safe from traffic dangers while walking and bicycling to school.
The five communities in the report demonstrate that the Safe Routes to School “5 E’s“–evaluation, education, encouragement, enforcement, and engineering–can improve safety:

1. Santa Rosa, CA–pedestrian safety education increased children’s crosswalk use 63% over crossing at unmarked locations.
2. Miami-Dade County, FL–WalkSafe™ decreased the number of children ages 0-14 hit by cars 43% .
3. State of Maine–bicycle safety education helped drop bicycle crashes 51% for children aged 10-14.
4. Springfield, MO–special roadway signage reduced 85% of motorists’ speeds by a crucial 3-5 mph.
5. Portland, OR–infrastructure improvements like crosswalk refuge islands cut crashes near schools by 25% and pedestrian injuries from those crashes 32%.

The conclusion? Safety improvements at relatively low costs to communities and schools can have profound effects on keeping children safe while also improving physical health and the environment.  We are running out of excuses. It is time to spread the word throughout Anchorage that we can safely protect even more kids, while throwing in some daily activity and making children healthier and happier.