Active Transportation: The Walking School Bus Need help getting the kids to and from school?
How about setting up a Walking School Bus?
Like a carpool, without the car!Do you wish your children could walk to school but don’t have time to walk with them? Are you nervous about them walking alone? Do you dread the traffic chaos around the school in the morning? Then a Walking School Bus (WSB) is the way to go!A walking school bus is a group of children who walk to school together with one or more supervising adults. The beauty of the WSB is its flexibility: It can be a basic arrangement between neighbours to take turns walking children to school or a WSB can be built up to involve multiple families, a specific route, and include a period of child care before or after the walk. Families can strt with just one day a week or set up a schedule for the entire week.A WSB offers benefits for everyone:
- Children get exercise, fresh air, and the chance to spend extra time with their friends
- Parents may be able to work earlier or later without having to pay for day care; and on walk days, parents get to spend time with their children and their children’s friends
- Neighbourhoods benefit from less car use and stronger connections between community membersStarting a WSB, families get together to make a commitment to participate in the WSB for all or part of the school year, agree on drop off or meeting time, and make a schedule of who is walking with the children each day.To learn more about how to start a WSB, the benefits of participating, and kids’ perspectives:
http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/walking-school-bus
http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/index.htmlFor more information, call Ottawa Public Health Information Line at 613-580-6744 or e-mail healthsante@ottawa.ca. Blog written by Karen Mason, Lead School Travel Planning parent at Broadview Public School. read more..
