Today Nampa Police and Ronald Reagan Elementary joined together to walk to school. Nampa Police Officers walked with the students and helped control traffic as students and staff participated in a nationwide program known as "Safe Routes to School".
Safe Routes to School is a national and international movement to create safe, convenient, and fun opportunities for children to bicycle and walk to and from schools. The program has been designed to reverse the decline in children walking and bicycling to schools. Safe Routes to School can also play a critical role in reversing the alarming nationwide trend toward childhood obesity and inactivity.
In 1969, approximately 50 percent of children in the US walked or bicycled to school, with approximately 87 percent of children living within one mile of school walking or bicycling. Today, fewer than 15 percent of schoolchildren walk or bicycle to school.
As a result, kids today are less active, less independent and less healthy. In 2009, US families drove 30 billion miles to take their children to and from school, at a cost of $5 billion in fuel. During the morning commute, driving to school represents 5-7 percent of miles driven and 10-14 percent of traffic on the road.
Next on the schedule for a Safe Route to School is Birch Elementary on May 16. See you there!