Routes To School - Greater Greater Washington

Big verdict for unsafe bus stop

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:34:00 EDT

A jury awards $90 million from Prince George's schools after a driver killed a 13-year-old girl crossing the street to a bus stop. The jury found the schools didn't adequately provide safe transportation. (Post)

Comment

Not a safe route to school

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 08:40:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A driver struck and killed a 10th grader crossing an 8-lane highway on the way to school in Germantown. The road design in the area makes it treacherous to get to the school. (Patch)

Comment

Why biking to school got rare

Sat, 05 May 2012 14:07:00 EDT

by David Edmondson

Far fewer kids bike to school now than they did 30 years ago, thanks to planning that relegates biking to recreation and a legal environment that holds schools accountable if kids get injured traveling to and from school. (NPR)

Comment

Why did the Cairene cross the road? (Apr 11, 2010)

Kids allowed to walk to school

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:27:00 EDT

by Steven Yates

Some Fairfax County schools used to prohibit students from walking or biking to school, but after outcry from parents and advocates, parents can now decide how their children get to school. (Safe Routes Partnership)

Comment

Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion (Oct 3, 2011)
DCPS cancels promised arts magnet middle school (Dec 8, 2011)
Crossing the street often unsafe in Fairfax (Nov 12, 2009)
Could the slowing economy benefit DC schools? (Apr 13, 2009)
Cheh appoints self to school board by giving up on Hardy (Aug 19, 2011)

Walk to School [Every]Day

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:16:00 EDT

by Eric Fidler

Yesterday's Walk to School Day brought the pitter-patter of feet to sidewalks in DC and around the world. (TBD)

Comment

Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion (Oct 3, 2011)
Sidewalk Assurance Act going to markup tomorrow (Apr 13, 2010)

Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:40:00 EDT

by Bruce Wright

Here's a simple suggestion to improve the morning rush hour: Get more kids to walk, bike, and bus to school.

Photo by The Bywaters on Flickr.

It is estimated that 20% of morning traffic congestion in Fairfax County is related to parents driving kids to school, and despite the availability of alternates, drop-off lines are only getting longer.

No one wins under the current system. Taxpayers pay too much for kids to get to school, parents lose valuable time serving as chauffeurs, and kids forfeit an opportunity to learn independence and healthy habits. And, of course, everyone suffers when traffic swells.

For the time being, there are almost no programs or policies in Fairfax that promote an alternative to the curbside drop-off. In fact, at several schools, principals prohibit students from walking or biking to school, even though Fairfax County has endorsed these options.

Within the county, elementary school students living more than a mile from school, and middle and high school students living more than a mile and a half, are entitled to bus service. Those within close proximity of their schools have the option to walk routes deemed safe by the county, with buses provided if the journey is deemed hazardous, no matter the distance.

And yet, despite these accommodations, according to Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), nearly 60% of designated walkers and just over 30% of designated bus riders frequently use the kiss & ride method instead.

As a result, taxpayers pay multiple times for students to get to school. They pay teachers and administrators to staff large-scale kiss & ride operations, while at the same time they pay for the empty bus seats that students and their parents choose to forgo. Meanwhile, they also pick up the indirect costs associated with increased traffic congestion and on-road incidents.

There are many reasons why walking and biking to school benefit children and the community. Children develop independence at an earlier age, they get the health benefits of exercise, they are more alert in school, and they develop a lifelong healthy habit of walking or biking.

While there will always be many parents who need to drive children to school for a wide variety of reasons, FCPS can encourage more students to walk and bike by addressing the safety and logistical concerns of parents that lead so many of them to drive their children to school.

MWCOG is working to address this issue by experimenting with a new system called School Pool that will help parents find other parents to form bike trains, walking school buses, and regular car pools.

Likewise, FABB, Fairfax's bicycle advocacy group, and others are working with FCPS to develop a more streamlined process for applying for Safe Routes to School funds. FABB is also trying to communicate to parents the costs of driving kids to school, as well as the benefits of walking and biking.

If you want to learn more about Safe Routes to School activities in Fairfax visit the Fairfax Safe Routes to School Facebook page.

58 comments

Are DC-area schools winter weather wimps? (Jan 26, 2011)
Do Fairfax's higher fare bus lines make a profit? (Sep 1, 2009)
Cheh appoints self to school board by giving up on Hardy (Aug 19, 2011)
Fairfax Connector cuts may keep a grandma from her family (Mar 1, 2010)
NJ school discourages bicycling (May 6, 2008)

Illegal to let a kid bike to school

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:23:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Police threatened to take away a child because the mother let her bicycle 1 mile to school. The mother thinks the route is safe enough, but the police don't. (Bike Walk Tennessee, Joel Lawson)

Comment

Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion (Oct 3, 2011)
Ped/bike safety enforcement stories, part 1: Alice Swanson (Feb 7, 2011)
Ride the District (and surroundings) (Feb 1, 2010)
Police, prosecutors in Wisconsin town say cyclists have no right to the road (Oct 3, 2008)
The man who would fix 17th (Jun 12, 2008)

Program matches parents for carpools

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 08:48:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A new online service created by MWCOG matches parents who can carpool to area schools. It's starting with 8 schools and hopes to expand to many more. (Examiner)

Comment

Reducing school traffic would help rush hour congestion (Oct 3, 2011)
How do parents pick schools? (Oct 1, 2010)
Could the slowing economy benefit DC schools? (Apr 13, 2009)

Drivers ignore school bus stops

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:50:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

More than 1600 drivers per day pass stopped school buses in Montgomery County, the second highest in Maryland. I wonder how many of those passing drivers are driving their children to school? (Examiner)

Comment

Silver Spring school leaving, could become 75 homes (May 3, 2010)
Transit First recommends Maryland restore Ride-On, speed buses (Apr 2, 2009)
Bethesda garage only needed if you ignore all the other parking lots (May 7, 2008)
Almost nobody stops at stop signs (Jan 21, 2010)
Montgomery considering Bethesda parking rate increase (Apr 20, 2009)

Why Maryland kids don't walk or bike

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:56:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Many Maryland schools are discouraging kids from walking and biking, raising busing costs and hurting health. Some schools are hard to reach by bike, but other principals just worry about liability or the districts hadn't thought about it much at all. (Examiner)

Comment

Are DC-area schools winter weather wimps? (Jan 26, 2011)
NJ school discourages bicycling (May 6, 2008)
Friday meta-discussion: Education? (Aug 14, 2009)
Making Silver Spring safe for kids and adults (May 27, 2009)
On the calendar: Walk, bike, park, and paddle (Sep 11, 2009)

Burke wants calmer parkway

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:56:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Residents of Burke talk about how to improve pedestrian safety along a parkway which runs right past a school, where drivers often speed and don't expect to see children. County officials resisted doing anything at a recent community meeting. (Patch)

Comment

Are DC-area schools winter weather wimps?

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 14:19:00 EDT

by Steven Glazerman

I once asked a retired school superintendent who had worked all over the Northeast what was the hardest part of his job? Knowing all the challenges of running large urban school systems, I was surprised when he said it was the wrenching decision of whether to close schools for weather-related reasons.

Photo by Christina's Play Place on Flickr.

Closing schools means lost critical learning time and parents having to provide impromptu child care, often missing work. Keeping schools open can be dangerous for children and staff trying to get to school or resulting in them getting stuck at school. (The superintendent I spoke with recounted horror stories of a school full of people huddling in a gym with limited food and no electricity).

Suburban school systems are more vulnerable than DC. The city tends to get slightly higher temperatures and less precipitation, but more importantly, a densely settled city should require fewer and shorter motor vehicle trips to transport kids to school.

This is where people in walkable neighborhoods can get their gloat on. (I happily dragged a sled around the corner to pick up fresh groceries during the snowpocalypse of February 2010, while suburbanites survived on canned goods).

But even DC schools have teachers who live in the suburbs and students exercising choice who attend schools outside their neighborhoods.

As a New England native, I would say as long as cars and buses can move (albeit slowly), they can get to school. (The only hazard for kids who walk to school was the strong temptation to stop and play in the snow). That usually meant anything less than one foot of snow was fine. Black ice, the worst non-snow impediment, slows down vehicles but doesn't stop them.

There will be car crashes, but there are crashes every day on the roads. Just drive carefully. Be flexible on arrival times. Fear of power outage or actual power outage or loss of water is reason to close a school. Anything less, however, is just wimping out. If we can't find our way to school during messy but passable winter weather, we should re-evaluate our school density and planning.

What is your cutoff? When is it too cold or too messy on the roads to keep schools open?

50 comments

DC charter schools should centralize admissions (Oct 25, 2010)
Cold weather, lack of plowing affects bike commuting (Jan 21, 2011)
Challenges lie ahead for a strong education team (Dec 23, 2010)
Could the slowing economy benefit DC schools? (Apr 13, 2009)
Bridge sidewalks need to be plowing priority (Jan 28, 2011)

Walking to school at all-time low

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 12:41:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

In 1969 only 15% of school children were driven to school; the vast majority of students walked or took a bus. Today, 75% of households drive their children to school, even though half of all children live within 2 miles of their school. (Dallas Morning News)

Comment

NJ school discourages bicycling (May 6, 2008)
Weekend video: The bike bus (Oct 23, 2010)
Could the slowing economy benefit DC schools? (Apr 13, 2009)
Moving AU law school could revitalize Tenleytown (May 26, 2010)
Proposed AU dorms earn an easy A (Jun 10, 2010)

Safe bike parking at school

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 08:24:00 EDT

by Erik Weber

At least one Fairfax school is supportive of students walking and biking to school. Kilmer Middle School is working to add more bike parking since current racks are constantly full. (FABB)

Comment

Bike parking scarce at DC USA (Mar 10, 2008)
NJ school discourages bicycling (May 6, 2008)
Change car parking to bike parking, suggests Georgetown bike shop (Dec 12, 2008)
New Cooke school bike racks too close together, too close to wall (Aug 28, 2009)
Arbitrary parking ratios at work at UMD (Jul 23, 2008)

Weekend video: The bike bus

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:47:00 EDT

by David Alpert

A group of high school students in Orlando started riding to school in a big caravan, making the ride to school fun, healthy and sustainable.

Tip: Jeff.

6 comments

NJ school discourages bicycling (May 6, 2008)
NH Ave bike sting continues (Aug 21, 2008)
Join GGW, Gabe Klein and others next Tuesday for a holiday bike ride and happy hour (Dec 14, 2010)
Halsey veers from bike tragedy to ethnic generalizations (May 24, 2010)
Photo of the week: Yes, it is (Jul 24, 2010)

Traffic on and around WAMU

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:28:00 EDT

by David Alpert

On Wednesday, Diane Rehm talked traffic with Traffic author Tom Vanderbilt, Deputy US Secretary of Transportation John Porcari, and Brookings fellow Robert Puentes.

WAMU. Photo by Mr. T in DC.

They discussed how much of the increased congestion in recent decades comes from non-work trips, like parents driving kids to work where once they walked, and because land use became more spread out. Porcari touted big stimulus projects like freeways in Southern California, but also talked about how a "transportation system"—not just roads alone—and TOD are key to mobility. Tom Vanderbilt also added that traffic congestion isn't really that bad compared to many other nations and that 90% of roads are not congested 90% of the time.

Vanderbilt brought up the issue of congestion pricing, which Puentes said our international "competitors" are experimenting with (note the phrasing there). Porcari brought up the ICC as an example of congestion pricing, noting it's easier to do it for new facilities than existing areas like New York. The panelists also touched on the decline in carpooling, the pros and cons of roundabouts ("modern roundabouts," not the circles like Dupont), and distracted driving.

As for new infrastructure investment, Puentes noted that a lot of congestion comes from crashes blocking up the road network, and that we have to think bigger than just adding infrastructure. He said, "We have to stop thinking that we're going to be b able to build our way out of congestion." On transit, Porcari said that USDOT is encouraging new transit, streamlining the approval process, and trying to improve the cost effectiveness calculations.

Porcari arrived a few minutes late, saying that while he rode Metro to work, he "made the mistake of driving" to WAMU, two blocks from the Tenleytown Metro. When WAMU invites you to be a guest on a show, they offer a free parking pass. Not a Metro pass, just parking.

Before my last appearance on Kojo, I asked why they can't give out free Metro passes as well; the producer noted that it's easy for them to email out parking passes for their garage, but not to offer free Metro passes. Once Metro upgrades SmarTrip to allow people to check and reload their cards online, perhaps they should consider a program to let organizations email free ride coupons that people can redeem and load onto their SmarTrips via the Web site.

6 comments

Congestion pricing, pro and incoherent (Nov 22, 2005)
Peters: promote local control and eschew silos, except on transit and gas taxes (Apr 28, 2008)
Golden Gate congestion pricing out, performance parking in (Aug 20, 2008)
Field report: San Francisco congestion pricing workshop (Aug 5, 2008)
Conservatives for congestion pricing (Feb 8, 2007)

You can walk to school, even in Fairfax

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:01:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Fairfax is considering having more kids walk to school to save money on buses. The article quotes many leaders including Supervisor (and alternate Metro Board member) Jeff McKay on the health and social benefits of walking. But can the Post please fire their Fairfax headline writer? Despite the article balancing pro and anti walking, the headline, "Students may face an uphill climb," is the most slanted part of the whole piece. (Post, Joshua D)

Comment

Quick links

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:04:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Frederick County is increasing the "walkability shed", requiring students to walk farther to school or to bus stops to save money (WTOP, Stephen Miller) ... Which Dutch-style urban bike is the best? (Slate) ... MPG standards make no sense when applied to electric cars.

Comment

Let 'em walk?

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:04:00 EDT

by David Alpert

Many of today's parents grew up walking to school, but won't let their kids do the same. Is that keeping kids safer, or just keeping them more isolated? A new book says parents "have gone overboard with anxiety." (Philadelphia Inquirer, Stephen Miller)

Comment