Comments on: Even Newt agrees: Let the kids bike

By: Amy Pemberton

Amy Pemberton — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:09:55 +0000

I am surprised by Bob Boyce’s claim that “riding on the sidewalk is 2-4 times more dangerous than riding on the street.”. While riding on the street is ideal, my own experience is that in heavy traffic the sidewalk is MUCH safer, especially if you are somewhere where there is limited respect for cyclist. It may not be legal, but especially where there are children involved I’d rather risk a ticket than my life.

By: Bob Boyce

Bob Boyce — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:50:21 +0000

The school needs to educate kids AND parents on safe biking! Safe biking means riding on the right side of the street, riding in a straight line, stopping at stop signs and signals, not riding too close to parked cars, signaling your turns, NOT riding on the sidewalk (it’s 2-4 times more dangerous than riding in the street), using a full lane if it’s too narrow to share with a car.
Kids 8 and up can and do learn these practices and bike safely.
Biking fights obesity and heart disease, reduces pollution and congestion, uses no natural resources–abd it’s FUN! Yes, the principal should ban all cars from coming closer than two blocks to the school! Make everyone walk–or ride their bikes!!

By: mcas

mcas — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:20:03 +0000

The only reason Adam’s ride isn’t safe is because more kids aren’t doing it. More than 50% of student deaths near schools are caused by parents of other kids, so it is pretty clear that Adam is only at risk so long as the school encourages driving. Imagine if we could get a principal to ban parents driving their kid to school– since that’s really the danger…

By: Karen S

Karen S — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:36:49 +0000

Thanks, Stephen Lee Davis, for making the point that the school district never applied for state Safe Routes to School funding. These local administrators are stuck in 1950′s mindsets and are inflexible in their approach to problems. Instead of just listening to the traffic engineers, they need to involve the community, parents, health department and all stakeholders in designing green, family-friendly streets and neighborhoods, giving pedestrians greater importance than minivans.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:25:29 +0000

Good for Gingrich, but the open ended question at the end of the article does leave me wondering of the former Speaker’s national policy stand on this issue. I guess it just depends on the politics of the day, and he doesn’t have anything to lose at this point.