Kids pedaling their own way

It is hard to describe the sense of freedom I felt as a child when, for the first time, I took my bike out for a ride to the local store. Now, growing up in the suburbs, this wasn't exactly a pleasant ride; but my sister and I ventured out to go to the closest shopping center where there was a newly-opened Old Navy, Original Pancake House, and TCBY. It was thrilling! We were off on our own, paying with our hard-earned baby-sitting money. What's more, we had biked somewhere that felt really far away. In reality, it wasn't that far (l.8 miles), but the fact that we had always driven there formed a small mental block that prevents many people from realizing places are bike-able.You can tell from these images of the major road crossing in our ride that it wasn't the safest of routes either.

This is no surprise because the Walk Score of our home was a whopping 9 out of 100. What does this mean? It means that my house was "Car Dependant" or that "almost all trips require a car." This was certainly true. The neighborhood was surrounded on 2 sides by 4 lane roads where the speed limit was 40 miles per hour but traffic regularly exceeded 50 mph. Even if we did live within walking distance to a grocery store, it most likely would not have been a pleasant walk.

Now our parents weren't completely crazy, although I'll be honest I'm not sure I'd let my own children ride that route today. No, they were confidant in our bike and traffic signal skills.  When we were younger, we had taken a short class in preschool about traffic safety. Perhaps it was included in preschool, I can't recall. I remember small, child-sized stop signs and painted asphalt roadways. It was simple, but we all rode our little bikes and practiced stopping at intersections. I don't remember it being quite as in depth as what they have in the Dutch city of Utrecht, however. Check this out.

It teaches children how to safely be a pedestrian, a bicyclist, and a driver. Most importantly, it encourages them from a young age to be aware of the other modes of transportation. Even if they go on to walk everywhere 95% of the time, they are still aware that bicyclists and motorists are using the right-of-way as well. Or, alternatively, if they grow up to drive to most of their destinations, it teaches them to be aware of pedestrians and cyclists.

What if children in the US had to pass a traffic exam, as they do in Utrecht, in order to pass from elementary/primary school to middle/secondary school? This makes sense assuming most children will travel farther to get to their middle school. There would be necessary policy-level changes of course, as some schools actually don't allow children to bike/walk to school because of the traffic problems (often caused by too many parents driving their kids to school). Oh the irony!

Imagine if children in the United States were encouraged to be resourceful in getting where they need to be (school, soccer practice, a friend's house, their first job, etc) on foot or on a bike. Naturally our cities need safer cycling and walking infrastructure for them to achieve this goal, Seattle included. But Trafficgarden or Traffic School would be a great step in teaching children how to safely use those cycle tracks, bike lanes, and wide sidewalks, as they do in Utrecht.

Aside from the benefits of increased childhood independence and incentive to build more walkable, bike-able neighborhoods for everyone, there is another strong reason to encourage kids to get out and use their own energy to power their way. Perhaps it is the strongest reason. Childhood obesity rates in the US are at unprecedented levels. From the American Heart Association,

"Today, about one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963. With good reason, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking."

So it's time to get out there and walk and pedal around town - for errands, to school, to the playground, to a friend's house. Kids can do it for the health benefits, the community benefits, the environmental benefits, or as a way to relieve their parents of toting them around town to every single destination. In fact, there are businesses that will chauffeur children around the city to their soccer/ballet/tuba/swimming/violin/synchronized hula dancing lessons, like Kidz Chauffeur, because "parents have to re-arrange their work schedules just to meet the transportation needs of their busy children."

Well what if kids could meet their own transportation needs, through a combination of walking, biking, and safe public transit? Think of the possibilities! Think of all the time that parents could save. Think of all the calories those kids would burn. Think of the lessons they would learn as children - that you don't need a car to get everywhere. Certainly, cars are necessary for some trips, but they shouldn't be the go-to. The first choice should be walking, and if that isn't possible, biking, then riding transit, and then driving. Too often kids are taught from a very early age that the way to get somewhere is in a car. Period.  But once that mental block is broken, the world opens up a lot faster when you're pedaling your own way.