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Safe Routes to School in Athens
The Clarke County School District and BikeAthens have teamed up to initiate a Safe Routes to School program for our public schools. This initiative, called Safe Routes Athens, started modestly but enthusiastically in 2005 at Barrow Elementary. Our hope is to be able to expand it to all Clarke County public schools over the coming years. An internationally recognized program, Safe Routes to School brings together parents, teachers, children, businesses and other members of the community to encourage kids and their parents to walk, bicycle, or take the bus to school. The primary goal: to promote physical activity among school-age children while making our streets safer for those who cannot or do not drive. Back to basics The alarming rise in childhood obesity over the last two decades has coincided with a marked drop in the number of kids who walk and bike to school: from as high as 87percent twenty years ago to as low as 16 percent today. Many of us can still remember walking or biking to school —the sense of independence, the connections forged with neighbors, the simple joy of being outside. According to a 2003 national poll, 74 percent of Americans want their children to share those experiences by being able to walk to school safely. That’s where Safe Routes Athens steps in. Working alongside the Safe Routes Athens Task Force, parent-led teams at the schools will be arranging special events to promote the return of walking and biking as viable methods to get to and from school. Barrow Elementary participated in the first such event, International Bike and Walk to School Day, on October 5, 2005, when close to one-third of the student population happily arrived at school that day under their own power. Safe Routes Athens will benefit our community by:
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