The Decline of Wa lki ng a nd Bi cycling

and ideas for developing a national program. Momentum for a national SRTS program in the United States continued to build as several states developed their own programs.

Congress created the Federal-Aid Safe Routes to School Program in 2005 through comprehensive transportation legislation, ultimately resulting in nearly $1 billion in funding. Subsequent transportation legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) passed in 2012 making Safe Routes to School (SRTS) activities eligible to compete for funding alongside other programs, including the Transportation Enhancements program and Recreational Trails program, as part of a new program called Transportation Alternatives.

- National Center for Safe Routes to School. (2015) SRTS Guide - History2

T H E D E C L I N E O F W A L K I N G A N D B I C Y C L I N G

Not long ago, children routinely moved around their neighborhoods by foot or by bicycle, and that was often how they traveled to and from school. That is no longer the case. Whether looking at the total proportion of children walking and bicycling to school, the proportion of children who live within a mile of school or the proportion of children living within one mile of school who walk or bike, the decline is apparent.

 In 1969, 48 percent of children 5 to 14 years of age usually walked or bicycled to school.  In 2009, 13 percent of children 5 to 14 years of age usually walked or bicycled to school.  In 1969, 41 percent of children in grades K–8 lived within one mile of school. o 89 percent of these children usually walked or bicycled to school.  In 2009, 31 percent of children in grades K–8 lived within one mile of school; o 35 percent of these children usually walked or bicycled to school.

The circumstances that have led to a decline in walking and bicycling to school did not happen overnight and have created a self-perpetuating cycle. As motor vehicle traffic increases, parents become more convinced that it is unsafe for their children to walk or bicycle to school. They begin driving them to school, thereby adding even more traffic to the road and sustaining the cycle. Understanding the many reasons why so many children do not walk or bicycle to school is the first step in interrupting the cycle. Many factors contribute to the reduction in children walking and bicycling to school. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a nationwide survey of parents to find out the most

2 National Center for Safe Routes to School. SRTS Guide – History. 2015 Available at http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/introduction/history_of_srts.cfm. Accessed on December 22, 2015.

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