In 1969, 48 percent of American kids walked or cycled to school. By 2009, that number dropped to 13 percent. Figures since then have remained stable; children are still pedaling down streets and biking to school. One reason for this may be their parents and teachers, another may be messages spread by the mass media. Hearing eco-friendly exhortations, and eager to do their part, some kids see cycling as a fun way to pitch in. Still, for many parents, letting young people cycle in traffic is a frightening prospect. Too many communities are barely bike-friendly enough for adults, let alone children.
Thankfully, education, cycling clubs and kids are proving to be a powerful combination, removing fears and creating a new generation of pedal pushers. In addition, the specters of gridlocked transportation networks, childhood obesity and climate change are further convincing the public and policy-makers alike that getting kids on bikes is an important, if not urgent, step towards creating sustainable and healthy communities.
“One of the things we’re finding is we need to teach kids and parents together,” said Wendy Kallins, program director for the Marin County-based Safe Routes to Schools. Formed six years ago, the group works to create kid-friendly infrastructure along the many road systems that border American schools. “One of the biggest impediments to getting kids on bikes is getting parents on bikes,” added Kallins. “For parents who are not cyclists, everything seems dangerous.”
Danger is often a deterrent for worried parents. Riders under the age of 16 accounted for 13 percent of all fatalities in 2008, according to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report, with kids between the ages of 13 and 15 cited as being particularly at risk. However, one mother thinks we need to give kids more freedom and trust their ability to make sensible choices.
“What I always wonder,” said Lenore Skenazy, author of Free Range Children, “is do parents think their kids are so much less competent than they were?”
There are obvious situations where cycling for transportation can be unsafe for kids, particularly in exurbs where freeways and major roads are the only links between isolated homes and community amenities, such as schools and parks. When it means children can’t use bikes for getting around, however, Skenazy believes kids and parents both lose.
“Why wouldn’t you want your kid to gain some independence, have some fun, get some exercise and get themselves to school?” Skenazy asked. “As someone once wrote to me, there’s not a prize for the most exhausted parent!”
Many groups recognize the need to accommodate and encourage young transportation cyclists. Kidical Mass, described as a legal, safe and fun ride for kids, is presently bringing young families together for group cycling adventures in 12 cities in the US and Canada – Pecs, Hungary, launched the first Euro-version in 2009. Trips for Kids began in Marin County, CA, in the late 1980s. The non-profit organization takes at-risk kids out of the city for mountain biking trips. More than 60,000 kids have participated and the organization now has over 60 chapters in the US and Canada, plus an overseas chapter in Israel.
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