One of six "walking school buses" during Walk to School Day on Oct. 5th (image: Towson Patch)
Rodgers Forge Elementary Celebrates Walk to School Day! Thanks to everyone who participated in Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 5th. The event was widely seen as a great success and we have received a lot of positive feedback. Over 40 schools in the Baltimore region participated, but most media attention, including coverage in the Towson Patch,WBAL-TV, and the Towson Times,was focused on Rodgers Forge because of the high level of organization and participation.
The event was a collaborative partnership between the Rodgers Forge Community Association SRTS Committee, RFES staff, parent volunteers, the PTA, Baltimore County Police, and AAA. After the walk to school, the school day began with all students attending a fun and informative walking safety assembly in the school cafetorium which was led by a AAA representative and BCPD officer.
There is significant interest in formalizing the "walking school buses" on a regular basis. The committee will be reaching out to volunteers and parents in December who have expressed interest to determine how to best move forward. Rodgers Forge Wins SRTS Grant The RFCA SRTS committee recently applied for and just learned that it won a $1,000 "mini-grant" from the National Center for Safe Routes To School. The grant will be used to buy a new bike rack for RFES as well as educational materials. Our grant application was one of only 26 out of over 250 applications to be selected nationwide. We hope this will be the first of several grants we will win which will go toward other SRTS improvements.
Baltimore County Police Expanding Support of Rodgers Forge SRTS
Parked vehicles blocking a crosswalk endangers
the safety of children and other pedestrians.
Baltimore County Police will soon expand their support of our SRTS efforts in the important areas of "Enforcement" and "Education". Enforcement efforts will start immediately, and will focus on improving pedestrian safety by ticketing drivers who create unsafe conditions for children walking to and from school. Special attention will be paid to the following:
The persistent problem of drivers illegally blocking crosswalks by parking on the corner of Dumbarton Road at Glen Argyle Road and Regester Avenue in front of the school, particularly during afternoon pick-up
General speeding through the neighborhood
Failure to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks
Failure to obey stop signs
Enforcement will happen on a regular basis throughout the school year and may occur anywhere in Rodgers Forge along routes where children walk to school. The Education component will include a pedestrian and bicycle safety course for RFES students, tentatively slated for April. This will include a school-wide assembly followed by a weekend "bike rodeo." More details to follow as they become known early in the new year.
SRTS Survey Results Tallied The committee has completed data entry of the SRTS survey, which was sent home to all RFES households shortly after the beginning of the school year. We received responses back from over 90% of households, which is a phenomenal response rate. A big "Thank You" to all who took the time to fill out the survey and return it! We are currently summarizing the data which will be shared in January via the SRTS blog. The results will help the committee better understand issues and identify opportunities and challenges as it continues its work.
Developing a Complete SRTS Plan for Rodgers Forge Using the results of the survey and other observations, the committee is developing a list of prioritized recommendations about SRTS improvements which could improve safety and encourage more walking and biking to/from school. We will be sharing this as a draft with the community sometime after the new year via the blog with the purpose of soliciting feedback before finalizing our recommendations.
Wednesday, October 5th is International Walk to School Day, an annual event that seeks to encourage more walking to school. The Rodgers Forge Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Committee and the PTA are organizing a RFES Walk to School Day on the morning of October 5th to encourage this fun, healthy activity for RFES kids and families. Rodgers Forge is a ready-made community for walking and virtually all Rodgers Forge households are within a short, pleasant walk of our neighborhood school.
Now, lots of kids already walk to RFES, but many don't. We know that parents' work schedules are often an obstacle to walking their kids to school, or that many parents are uncomfortable with letting their children walk to school without adult supervision. These are common issues and completely understandable, yet there are many important benefits to our children and to our community in having kids walk to school (learn more about the benefits of walking to school at the bottom of this article). Helping to overcome these obstacles is what this community-led initiative is all about.
Enter The Walking School Bus
In order to provide the opportunity for kids who are typically driven to school to experience the benefits and joys of walking , we're organizing "walking school buses" for Walk To School Day on the morning of Wednesday, October 5th. Walking school buses are groups of school children walking together along designated routes, accompanied by parents who volunteer as chaperons - in essence, the walking school bus "drivers." Even kids and parents who already walk, but who want to join in the fun are welcome to walk with the groups! Here's a 3-minute video about walking school buses:
So, how does it work?
The concept is actually pretty straightforward. Walking school buses are enabled by parent volunteers to act as chaperons and "drive" each of the walking school buses. There are typically 2 or 3 parents - one at the front, one at the back, and one on the side if needed - for each walking school bus to accompany their respective group. The group walks along a designated route through the neighborhood to school, picking up kids along the way, just like a real school bus.
A walking school bus
We have created six walking school bus routes throughout Rodgers Forge as shown on the map below. We need your help in making it happen, so please consider volunteering!
Each of the colored lines represents a different walking school bus route, and the yellow dots represent the location of a "corner captain." Corner captains are additional volunteers who help increase the visibility of pedestrian activity in the neighborhood and help with crossings.
How can I volunteer as a Walking School Bus chaperon or corner captain?
If you would like to volunteer as a walking school bus chaperon or a corner captain, you can do so in one of the following ways:
1.Send an e-mail ASAP with your name, address, and phone number to SRTS committee chair Stu Sirota at stusirota@verizon.net.
2. Fill out and return the paper slip provided in your child's red folder on Monday, September 26th.
If you send an e-mail, please indicate which color route you would like to chaperon or at what corner you would like to stand. Volunteers will be contacted prior to October 5th to receive or confirm assignments.
Walking school buses will start from their point of origins at 8:30 AM and proceed to RFES along their designated routes and arrive at the school by 8:45.
How can my child participate?
If you would like for your child or children to participate in the walking school bus, please wait with them at a point along the route - either at the sidewalk in front of your house or the nearest street corner - for the walking school bus group to arrive before leaving your child. Groups will start out at 8:30 AM so please be outside early enough so that your child doesn't "miss the bus!" Remember, the walking school buses are only happening on the morning of Walk to School Day, and NOT in the afternoon.
Participation is, of course, purely voluntary and no registration is required, however if you would like your child to participate, we would appreciate it if you would send us an email to the aforementioned e-mail address with the number and age of children who will be walking, your address, and the COLOR route of the walking school bus your child will walk with,for our planning purposes.
What else is going on during the event?
In addition to the walking school buses, the Baltimore County Police Department will have uniformed officers and squad cars in the vicinity of RFES on Walk to School Day and will be talking to students about walk safety as they arrive at the school. The police may even give out some fun safety materials to the kids.
We hope to organize regular walking school buses throughout the school year if there is interest, and perhaps even "Bicycle Trains" next spring! Even if that means your child gets to walk to school once a week or a few times a month, the benefits of doing so can be immense.
So just what are the benefits of walking to school, anyway?
Consider the following:
Walking is great exercisefor you and your child. If done regularly, even for 10 to 15 minutes, it can improve your health, your circulation and your mental concentration. And it can help you and your kid stay in shape and keep extra pounds off.Increased levels of daily physical activity for children:
Builds and maintains healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
Helps control weight, build lean muscle and reduce fat.
Improves sense of self-image and autonomy.
Fosters healthy social and emotional development.
Improves academic performance and alertness.
Walking improves personal safety and community cohesion.By walking, your child will learn about safety in the street and how to navigate traffic. Your child will also get to know the surroundings and the neighborhood better. By having more kids walking, drivers become more accustomed to pedestrian activity and tend to drive more cautiously. Also, having more pedestrian activity in the neighborhood increases “eyes on the street” and reduces the likelihood of crime.Walking kids to school also fosters friendlier neighborhoods as kids and parents interact with one another and socialize on a daily basis.
Walking children to school helps families spend more quality time together. Our lives are so hectic, and many of us wish we could just "stop and smell the roses," especially with our kids. Your daily walk to and from school can be a good time to talk with your child and share experiences about their day and the world around them.
Walking helps reduce traffic congestion.More walkers means fewer cars traveling through the neighborhood. Fewer cars means less congestion in the pick-up and drop-off points at the school and further improves safety for pedestrians and drivers. Walking to school also increases the likelihood that children and adults will choose to walk and bike for other short distance trips.
Walking is better for the environment and the air our children breathe. Reducing the number of vehicular pick-up and drop-offs each day can have a dramatic impact on improving the quality of air around the school.Vehicle emissions are the leading cause of childhood asthma. Also, if a family chooses to walk to school (rather than drive a personal vehicle) they can reduce their carbon footprint by .164 metric tons annually. If half of the students at an average size elementary school choose to walk to school their impact could be a savings of over 39 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year. This is the equivalent of the carbon-removing abilities of 1000 trees. Leaving the car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year.
Your ideas and comments are welcome. We hope to see you walking on October 5th!
Welcome to the place for up to date information on the Rodgers Forge Elementary School (RFES) Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Initiative. This first post provides introductory background information on SRTS at RFES. It also provides an opportunity for community input and feedback about SRTS ideas and activities. We want to hear from you!
What is Safe Routes to School (SRTS)?
Safe Routes to School (SRTS) is a concept that began in the late 1990's and has grown into a national movement. SRTS has one overarching goal: To get more school children walking and biking to school wherever feasible. Today there are more than 10,000 SRTS programs nationwide, and there are federal and state SRTS grants available for communities to support their SRTS activities. SRTS activities help increase the number of kids walking and biking in two ways:
By making the walking and biking environment safer and more attractive through physical enhancements such as improved crosswalks and signage, by conducting pedestrian and bicycle safety courses, and better enforcement of traffic laws; and
By encouraging more walking and biking through community organized walk-to-school events, contests, and educational events that highlight the health, social, and environmental benefits of walking.
Why SRTS?
Historically, the vast majority of children in the U.S. walked and biked to school. However, there has been a sharp decline in the percentage of children walking or biking to school from over 70% in the 1960's to just 12% today. This trend has had a major impact on the amount of exercise and physical activity our kids get each day. SRTS seeks to reverse the trend and encourage more kids to walk and bike in order to improve physical health, as well as a host of other associated benefits. Recent studies have shown that children that walk to school arrive more alert and better prepared to learn. There are also social benefits for communities from increased walking as children and parents encounter classmates and neighbors on the way to and from school. This increases neighborhood activity, community cohesiveness, and increases safety and security by putting more "eyes and ears on the street." In addition, having fewer kids being driven to school means less traffic congestion and improved air quality around schools.
Rodgers Forge is inherently an ideal community for walking, and many RFES children do indeed walk. However, through observation and discussion among many community members, there are clear opportunities to improve the walking environment, and ways to encourage a greater percentage of families to walk and bike in Rodgers Forge through voluntary, fun events.
How did SRTS get started in Rodgers Forge?
In early 2011, the Rodgers Forge Community Association (RFCA) Board of Governors voted to support the idea of starting a SRTS program for RFES. Soon after that, the Board formed a SRTS Committee, chaired by RFCA Board member Stu Sirota, who had spearheaded the idea of starting a SRTS effort in Rodgers Forge. Stu is a community planning consultant who specializes in the design of "walkable communities" and is also experienced in managing SRTS programs. Stu and his wife Lisa, also a professional planner, currently have two children attending RFES, and felt that a community-led SRTS program could make their great walkable community of Rodgers Forge even greater. The SRTS Committee is comprised of community members who are interested in helping advance SRTS efforts and membership on the committee is not limited to RFCA Board members. In fact, only two of the current 8 members of the committee are members of the RFCA Board.
How does SRTS work and what can we expect in the coming months?
As mentioned, SRTS is a grassroots, community led initiative. For SRTS to be most effective, we are developing a partnership with the school and the PTA, and anticipate doing the same with local agencies including the police department and public works department. The SRTS committee started meeting this summer to formulate ideas for enhancing the walking/biking environment to/from RFES and ways to encourage more walking and biking. This fall, the committee will be evaluating ideas and seeking additional input and feedback from the community.
We have also developed a take home survey for RFES parents to fill out and return. This survey is being administered through the Rodgers Forge PTA and will be included in the back to school packet with each student during the first week of school. The survey will be vital to informing our work and identifying opportunities for moving SRTS efforts forward. The SRTS Committee plans to use this blog and other web-based media to share and present ideas on specific SRTS elements and expects to have an initial set of draft recommendations by the end of the calendar year. There may also be an opportunity to begin implementing "low hanging fruit" as soon as the fall.
SRTS will be an ongoing effort, and the committee plans to track progress of SRTS efforts along the way. If there are recommended physical improvements that will require funding, Rodgers Forge should be in a very good position to compete for it because we will have a strong SRTS plan in place.
How can I learn more about SRTS?
The following websites provide a wealth of information about SRTS, and the following videos provide an excellent overview of SRTS:
