Making it Safer to Walk and Bicycle to School

Over the past generation, student travel to school by walking and bicycling has changed dramatically. Approximately 13 percent of students ages 5 to 14 walk or bicycle to school regularly, compared to 48 percent in 1969. Simultaneously, childhood obesity has more than tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and recently only one-quarter of US youth met the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity.

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a nationwide initiative dedicated to reversing these trends and encouraging more children to walk and bicycle to school. For more information, read Mobility Matters at www.nctcog.org/mobilitymatters.