Cyclists in Brooklyn, NY threatened to ride in the buff to protest bike lanes that some believe were removed to keep scantily clad women out of the neighborhood [I can't believe there aren't a rash of stories about young men everywhere painting bike lanes on their street in an act of cargo cult behavior]. Unfortunately, the protest was scheduled to occur the same time Mother Nature scheduled the Great Blizzard of '09 and so attendance was bare (get it?).
A new report shows that Safe Routes to Schools programs work.
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Santa Rosa, CA--pedestrian safety education increased children's crosswalk use 63% over crossing at unmarked locations.
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Miami-Dade County, FL--WalkSafe™ decreased the number of children ages 0-14 hit by cars 43% .
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State of Maine--bicycle safety education helped drop bicycle crashes 51% for children aged 10-14.
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Springfield, MO--special roadway signage reduced 85% of motorists' speeds by a crucial 3-5 mph.
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Portland, OR--infrastructure improvements like crosswalk refuge islands cut crashes near schools by 25% and pedestrian injuries from those crashes 32%.
The conclusion? Safety improvements at relatively low costs to communities and schools can have profound effects on keeping children safe while also improving physical health and the environment.
The Brooklyn thing bugs me. I understand religious issues, but issues of religion must be treated secondarily compared to secularism when it comes to transportation and other state actions...
Safe Routes to School, even thought about and structured in very systematic ways, can be a very effective way to rebuild walking and bicycling culture. But it's not easy.
Posted by: Richard Layman | December 25, 2009 at 02:37 PM