Editorials for the week ending March 19, 1999 The opinions expressed in guest editorials are not necessarily those of the Ojai Valley News Walking is cool; walk kids to school Guest editorial by Mayor Suza Francina Last summer, Prevention Magazine asked me to teach yoga at its 10th Annual All-American Walker's Rally, a five-day vacation consisting of guided walks and hikes through the wooded trails of Hot Springs, Va. These types of "walking vacations" are growing in popularity because people of all ages and physical conditions long to experience the joy and health benefits of walking. Thankfully, those of us living in the Ojai Valley do not have to leave town to find a safe, beautiful place to walk. We can step right out our front door and take a refreshing, rejuvenating walk right here in our own Shangri-la. Many fine analysts of the American city are calling for planners to treat walking as the primary means of transportation. After decades of making the automobile king of the road, there is now a movement across America to put the pedestrian at the center of all land use and transportation planning proposals. For social, health and ecological reasons, walking must once again be recognized as an important means of transportation. For children in particular, walking is still the most important means of moving around. Children have an innate need to explore the world on foot, to learn about their neighborhood, their city and about people and, thereby, to become independent and autonomous. For this, they need a safe city that they can negotiate on their own or with peers. Last month, I attended a workshop in Santa Barbara entitled, "Walk Our Children to School: From Grass Roots to Government." It was taught by Mark Fenton, the inspiring editor of Walking Magazine. This workshop again brought home how fortunate we are to live in a small town where our children can still walk to school safely. Fenton opened the workshop with a pep talk on how the Center for Disease Control now considers lack of daily exercise at the top of the list of health hazards for adults and children. The human body is meant to walk and move. Our bodies are indeed the vehicle of choice! In spite of all the fitness clubs, as few as 20 percent of adults get the Surgeon General-recommended 30 minutes per day of moderate exercise, due, many experts feel, to the fact that we no longer walk as a part of our normal daily life activity. Even worse, many adults actually discourage their children from unsupervised outdoor activity - thus limiting their children's opportunity for natural exercise. Many parents have told me that one of the reasons they drive their children even short distances is concern for their safety. As the parent of two children, aunt of seven nieces and nephews and former preschool teacher, I understand their concerns. At the Walk Our Children to School Workshop, I learned about two national organizations dedicated to promoting healthy, safe accessible walking for Americans of all ages: The Pedestrian Federation of America and The Partnership for a Walkable America. These organizations recognize that children are at greatest risk as pedestrians. Communities throughout America are recognizing that ferrying children to and from school, soccer practice, music lessons and friends generates a lot of traffic. Our children have less independence, less opportunity to exercise and are often told it is just too dangerous for them to move from place to place on their own. One of the components of Ojai's recently adopted Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan are projects that will make it easier for children to walk to school. One the programs suggested by the Partnership for a Walkable America (PWA) is to designate official Walk Our Children to School Days to help get them back in the habit of walking to school. This simple volunteer program has three stated goals: 1) Demonstrate to adults and children how easy and enjoyable it is to meet the Surgeon General's exercise recommendation through walking. 2) Increase awareness of problems children may encounter while walking and encourage parents to seek change, such as more sidewalks, paths, crosswalks, benches to rest on, etc., or there may be a problem with morning commuters speeding down the same streets that are routes to school. Parents can then consider if traffic calming might be an appropriate option to help ensure their child's safety when walking to school. 3) Create formal opportunities for caregivers and schools to teach children safe pedestrian behavior and to help children select the safest routes to school. The simple goal is for as many caregivers, parents, children, faculty and staff to walk all or some of their trips to school on as many days of the week as possible. Elected government, educational and public health officials are urged to recognize Walk Our Children to School Days and to take part by walking with other adults and children on certain days. This is an entirely voluntary activity - there is no suspending of bus service or restricting parents from dropping children off as they normally would. In a future editorial, I will tell you more about various Walk Our Children to School Programs, including the concept of The Walking School Bus, a wonderful tool for community building around reclaiming neighborhood streets as safe places for children to walk and play. Ojai Mayor Suza Francina is a writer and national spokesperson on health and environmental issues.