Sometimes it's good news when you hear that things haven't changed - like when your doctor reports during your physical that your weight is exactly the same as last year. Whew!
A release I read last week from the National Center for Safe Routes to School reported the same type of no-news-is-good-news: The percentage of children walking to school in 2009 - around 15 percent - has not changed in 15 years. But the bad news is the overall decline. Children still overwhelmingly arrive at school in their parents' cars, a significant reversal from four decades ago when 48 percent of children walked to school.
Who cares - don't we have more important things to worry about? By not walking to school, children miss out on a lot, and the safety of the kids who do walk is endangered by the traffic and air pollution around schools caused by those who are driving.
National recommendations are that kids get at least an hour of exercise a day. With schools cutting back on physical education (In Carson City kids get 45 minutes a week) most kids get far less than that. American children are at an all-time-high risk of obesity; those few minutes a day walking to school can have lifelong health benefits.
There's the increased independence and awareness that getting somewhere on their own gives to children. When my daughter was in middle school I suggested she ride her bike to the Brewery Arts Center - only a mile and a half from our house. She said she didn't know how to get there so I had to ride with her to show her the way.
The school district and the city have been improving conditions for walking and biking to school, using funding through the Safe Routes to School program. District officials say travel statistics are still too sparse to show any change in travel behavior but they tell of a change in attitude.
Steve Pradere, the district's special projects coordinator, says he notices more cars stopping to let kids cross the street.
Dan Allison, the district's Safe Routes coordinator, notices a change in awareness on the part of adults responsible for children's safety. There is more discussion at schools about traffic and driver behavior. School principals report that speed display signs installed near schools are noticeably slowing traffic in school zones.
On April 28 kids at all six public elementary schools and two middle schools in Carson City are taking part in Walk to School Days, part of a statewide Nevada Moves day. Dan Allison says we can expect to see about 25 percent of kids in those schools walking/biking/scooting/skating on that day. So watch out for kids - and maybe take a walk yourself!
• Anne Macquarie, a private sector urban planner, is a long time resident of Carson City.
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