Can kids just be kids?
In the last 30 years, our children have lost a lot of the freedom and independence they once had to explore our neighborhoods. As we have designed our communities around automobiles, activities like walking or bicycling to school have declined dramatically.In one generation:
• The number of kids walking or bicycling to school has dropped from 71% to 18%.1
• The number of total walking and bicycling trips made by children has fallen by 65%.2,3
Today, more than two-thirds of all trips by 5-15 year olds are made as car passengers.3
Reduced childhood activity has contributed to health and transportation problems:
• There are more than three times as many overweight kids today as there were 25 years ago.4
• More than 1 in 3 young people in grades 9–12 do not regularly engage in vigorous physical activity.4
• As much as 20% of morning rush hour traffic can be parents driving kids to school.5
• School bus transportation is frequently the second largest budget item for school districts after salaries.6
Imagine discovering a way to:
• Reduce traffic accidents involving child pedestrians by 80%.
• Take one out of every five cars off the road during the morning rush hour.
• Reduce school transportation costs.
• Increase childhood physical activity to help reduce incidences of diabetes and obesity.
• Give children the same freedom and independence enjoyed by Baby Boomers when they were kids. <a href="http://www.activelivingresources.org/assets/SRTS_pledge.pdf">http://www.activelivingresources.org/assets/SRTS_pledge.pdf</a>;
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