Letter from Scott Bricker
The Power of the Safe Routes to School Movement
They say the bicycling can save the world, and I too believe this to be true. Last week 550 leaders from across North America converged in Portland and demonstrated that they also hold this vision.
The 2nd Safe Routes to School National Conference was a humbling experience and vibrated with the diversity of people and organizations pushing bicycling and walking to cure societal ills. We know the benefits to health, climate, air quality, economy, affordability, land development patterns, improved learning and work ethic but this conference demonstrated that active transportation is now viewed as a real solution by a myriad of organizations and powerful institutions.
And we can all tie this wonder drug back to a shared history and childhood experiences. We reminisce on our childhood of freedom and activity, nature and bicycling. Or our parents share their stories of walking school, uphill both ways in the snow for seven miles. Personally, when I think back, I vividly recall walking the dirt path to my friend Rurik's house. With dad, this trip was a five-mile drive, but alone I walked an exciting one-mile and was rewarded with joy, freedom, and independence along the way.
Yet this childhood experience is slipping away in our society. Instead of parents sending their children out of the house to play, and in my case, not returning until dinnertime, they are being forced to stay inside. Unexplainable fears are stealing away a child's rite of passage of exploring their neighborhoods, building forts, and climbing trees. Television and backseat views are stealing a child's sense-of-place.
The Safe Routes to School movement provides one venue for reversing this trend. Perhaps more importantly, Safe Routes is a banner program to introduce the importance of bicycling and walking to a community, schools, families, and will ultimately change the habits of an entire generation.
The newest and most exciting partnership to break this trend is the health community. The conference lead donor, Kaiser Permanente, ran a pre-conference practitioner workshop focused on the importance of bicycling and walking in America. Attendance by officers of the National Centers for Disease Control and health partners from across the country made a strong impression on all full-conference attendees, and put the stamp of the "white coat" on the movement.
Safe Routes to School programs will teach children and families the benefits of and skills to safely navigate their community once again. It will promote healthy and active living, and push for the prioritization of our resources to build bicycle and pedestrian routes that are safe and enjoyable for the whole family.
The BTA was honored to host this most important national event and is proud to be a leader in pushing this movement forward. We thank sponsors, participants, and volunteers that made this event possible. Furthermore, Portland itself deserves a huge round of applause. Our walkable, bikable city made a huge impression on conference goers simply by doing what it does everyday. I look forward to the day that pages and pages of cities are honored for their friendliness toward bicyclists and pedestrians.
Thank you,
Scott Bricker, BTA
Executive Director
Lead Donor:
