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From the Desk of Mayor Barry Groveman
September 2005
July/August 2005
June 2005 |
Two Compelling Reasons
to
Take the Bus or Walk to School
Other
than the standard common sense reasons to bus or walk to school, this
month’s column identifies two compelling reasons: children’s health, and
overall quality of life.
It is no
surprise that the greatest impact of pollution will occur in developing
lungs, which are for more susceptible to the adverse health effects of
pollution and auto emissions, than healthy adults. Lung cancer and other
respiratory ailments in non-smokers are on the rise. A recent, long-term
Children’s Health Study conducted by the California Environmental Protection
Agency found that children living in communities with higher levels of air
pollutants developed and grew more slowly than those living in communities
with less pollution. That kids breathing traffic fumes while in cars, in
waiting line or play areas at schools surrounded by idling SUV’s is bad for
them, is beyond debate. Yet for some reason, solving it seems to be beyond
reach. That’s why I am calling for a dramatic increase in public awareness
and disciplined and renewed efforts to make sure that our sons and daughters
get to and from school safely each day.
In my
last column, I wrote about incentives the City has begun using at Calabasas
High School and Lupin Hill Elementary School to increase school bus
ridership. I am a big proponent of school bus ridership due to stellar
safety records, significantly reduced “direct” air pollutants and the
tremendous traffic benefits for the City. It is also an enormous
convenience to parents now that Calabasas has subsidized costs, assured good
rider conduct on the buses and developed convenient and more frequent
routes. The goal now is to dramatically increase the already increasing
trend to use the buses. This month, in honor of “Walk to School Week,” I’d
like to discuss another alternative - walking and biking to school.
According to a National Transportation Study released in 1972, 42% of
children either walked or biked to school in the late 1960s. Another 38%
rode a school bus each day. Only 2% of children drove to school. Today,
only 15 percent of kids nationwide walk or bike to school and just 17% of
California students ride a bus to school.
October 3
through October 7, 2005 is International Walk to School Week and I hope that
parents and children in Calabasas take advantage of the cooler weather by
walking to and from school during daylight hours. Besides the obvious
benefit of additional exercise, walking to and from school provides a
wonderful social outlet for parents and children alike. Parents can form
“Walk pools” by taking turns walking a group of neighborhood children to
school each day. Additional information about Walk to School Day will be
posted on the City website later this month. Please consider making it a
daily routine to not only improve our traffic and environmental situation
but as a healthy choice for you and your children. But most important,
please take a stand and make a difference by ending the phenomenon of “one
car on the road for every student.”
Let’s
begin in this region to reverse an increasingly common statewide practice
resulting from cutbacks in funding and a lack of political vision. In
Calabasas, the leadership is in place, the results are tangible--we just
need community will and discipline. |
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