Interview with Deb Hubsmith
Executive Director, Marin County Bicycle Coalition (http://www.saferoutestoschools.org)
1) Why are 'Safe Routes' programs so important today?
Thirty years ago, about two-thirds of all kids in America walked or biked to school. Today, less than 11 percent walk and only about 2 percent bike. Safe Routes to School is so important because the program provides a way to integrate physical activity into daily lifestyles. In the United States, childhood levels of obesity have tripled in the past 20 years, leading to many health problems. This is related to the fact that children are not getting enough exercise and are being chauffeured everywhere in their parents’ cars. Safe Routes to Schools reverses this trend by integrating health, fitness, traffic relief, environmental awareness and safety under one program. It is helping to change the habits of an entire generation of schoolchildren, while making the streets safer for everyone and increasing the quality of life and health of local communities.
2) Since the implementation of your program, what are the numbers like now – as far as children riding/biking vs. carpooling/busing?
In Marin County the program has been very successful in increasing the number of children who walk, bike, carpool and take the bus (at schools where a bus is available). From the fall 2000 to spring 2002, at participating public schools, we measured a 64 percent increase in walking, a 114 percent increase in cycling, a 91 percent increase in carpooling, and a 39 percent decrease in the number of children arriving by private car carrying only one student.
3) What was the biggest hurdle you faced in getting the program running?
Besides getting funding to run the program, the biggest hurdle has been finding parents with enough time to volunteer as "Team Leaders" for Safe Routes to School. The program works because of local grassroots support from parents and buy-in from the schools and the local city. These parents run the program by organizing the special events, acting as a liaison to the principal and the PTA, recruiting other parents to help, leading walking school buses and bicycle trains, and walking the routes to school to identify engineering problem areas for the city to fix through crosswalks, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and pathways. Our program is currently in 26 schools in Marin County. Before we go into a school, we ensure that we have a parent leader.
4) Were there any unexpected benefits/payoffs?
We have been very excited to see the positive response to the Safe Routes to School by cities, parents and children. One unexpected benefit is that the program is really helping to increase a sense of community in Marin County. Strangers are becoming neighbors and neighbors are becoming friends.
5) Why did you get involved?
I used to ride my bicycle to school as a child, and I considered my bicycle as my ticket to freedom, as well as an incredible joy in my life. I got to know the neighborhood, and learned how to be safe while riding. This helped me grow throughout my adolescence in terms of being responsible for traffic safety and my health. I worked with Wendi Kallins to launch Safe Routes to Schools in Marin County because we wanted to reverse the decline of non-motorized transportation to schools and bring walking and bicycling back into the forefront of American culture.
6) Why is the PACE bill necessary?
The Pedestrian and Cycling Equity Act for 2003 is necessary because it will provide a funding mechanism to bring Safe Routes to School programs to communities all across America. Safe Routes to School will improve health and public safety in a tangible way that is cost-effective and proven to work. It's critical to introduce a national Safe Routes to School program at this time because soon there will be a new generation of parents who never walked or biked as children. We need to intervene now before it is too late.
PACE also provides for an Active Living by Design program that will help to further demonstrate the links between personal health and non-motorized transportation. With over 62% of Americans being overweight or obese, the Active Living program will provide important mechanisms to increase physical activity, and to institutionalize it, through community partnerships.
Another important component of PACE is the pilot non-motorized community program, modeled after successful pilot programs in The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany and Japan. The plan would provide for three communities in the United States to implement a complete pedestrian and bicycle network, which the federal government could then track to measure health improvements and transportation mode shifts in an environment that has been made safe for walking and bicycling.
If the results are anything like those from other countries, there will be an incredible boost in walking and bicycling, showing that non-motorized transportation investments are cost-effective and successful for improving transportation and public health.
