Transportation For America » schools

Even Newt agrees: Let the kids bike

Stephen Lee Davis — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:12 +0000

Newt Gingrich at Manhattan Tea Party Originally uploaded by ajagendorf25

Raise your hand if you had former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich pegged as a staunch advocate for walking and biking to school?

A few days after schools across the country celebrated Walk to School Day, a middle school in Saratoga Springs, New York is in the news once again for their policy prohibiting students from walking or biking to school. Apparently, Newt Gingrich caught wind of their policy and wrote the school district a letter urging them to drop their policy.

Twelve-year old Adam Marino and his mother were thrust into the spotlight back in May when he chose to bicycle to Maple Avenue Middle School in violation of a current prohibition. Adam told the Albany Times-Union this week that biking has improved his health and his studies. School officials said the prohibition was to keep children safe.

Gingrich, the Georgia Republican who led the GOP takeover of Congress in 1994, heard the story and sympathized with Adam. He penned a letter to school officials, writing: “At a time when nearly one-third of American children and teens are overweight or on the brink of obesity, students like Adam who exhibit healthy behaviors should not be punished but rather rewarded.”

Gingrich’s support for the young bicyclist is welcome, but Maple Avenue Middle School’s concerns about safety shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand either.

County and state officials should be working to ensure that Adam and others like him have a safer ride, rather than just declaring it “unsafe” and giving up. The first story about Adam, back in May, pointed out that the school district hadn’t applied for any state funding from the Safe Routes to School program, which can help communities improve streets and add sidewalks to make walking and biking to school safer for children.

Does this mean we can assume the Speaker’s support for Complete Streets legislation and Safe Routes to School to help making walking and biking safer and easier for people just like Adam?

School Buses: Still Vehicles for Change

Andrew Bielak — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:54:40 +0000

Decades after school buses became a symbol for educational integration, high fuel costs and shrinking budgets are causing school districts to make cutbacks in bus service — and pushing children to attend school closer to home. (Wall Street Journal — Robert Tomsho)

Back-to-school students to feel the pinch of higher gas prices

Andrew Bielak — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:17:09 +0000

The high cost of fuel is rocking school district budgets in Metro Detroit, as many face six-figure increases in energy costs. (Detroit Free Press — Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki)

Many U.S. Public Schools in ‘Air Pollution Danger Zone’

Andrew Bielak — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:34:15 +0000

A new study from the University of Cincinnati says that more than 30 percent of public schools are within a quarter mile of a major highway, placing them in the “air pollution danger zone” that puts students at risk for respiratory diseases.

Fuel costs changing the way school buses run in districts

Andrew Bielak — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:25:57 +0000

With school districts spending as much as $438 every time they fill up a bus with diesel fuel, many are looking to cut costs by consolidating routes, increasing fees, and shrinking their areas of service. (San Jose Mercury News — Dana Hull)

School Children Thrown Under The (Private) Bus

Andrew Bielak — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:07:27 +0000

The federal government’s decision to cut off funding for bus routes intended to serve school kids is going to leave schools and their students out in the cold, according to one commentator. (Campaign for America’s Future — Isaiah J. Poole)