October 6, 2003                                                                                     

                                                                                    CONTACT: Jesse Day, Executive Director, 518-436-0889             

NYBC Supports Walk to School Day All Across NY State

Action marks Walk to School Day

As students, parents, and community leaders mark Walk to School Day on October 8th, the New York Bicycling Coalition called on New York State’s members of Congress to support the national Safe Routes to School bill.   The bill, introduced in the House of Representatives as the Pedestrian and Cyclist Equity Act of 2003 (PACE), will provide $250 million each year in federal funding to help communities make it safe, convenient and fun for children to walk or bicycle to school. 

“A National Safe Routes to School program will give children in our community safer streets and a fun way to get to school every day, by bike or on foot,” said Jesse Day, Executive Director of NYBC.  “It will make their routes safer, put parents more at ease, and make children healthier by engaging them in daily exercise.” 

The New York Bicycling Coalition has asked Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and the other NY members of Congress to sign on as a co-sponsors of the PACE bill.   Under the bill, communities would be able to get funding through the State Department of Transportation to fix hazards and slow traffic near schools while increasing safety through focused enforcement and education programs. 

Walking or bicycling to school helps children get healthy, physical activity while it reduces traffic around schools.  Public health officials have pointed to physical inactivity and a lack of safe places to walk and bicycle as a factor in the obesity epidemic among America’s youth: Obesity rates among children and teenagers have reached 15 percent.

NYBC notes that in no other time in history has it been more important to decrease our dependence on motorized transportation. A recent study by shows that while 70 percent of parents today used to walk or bicycle to school when they were young, now only 18 percent of their children do!  By reducing pollution and its harmful effects, we can greatly prolong the lives and health of our children. And with traffic at an all time high, New Yorkers now spend an average of one hour or more per day stuck in a traffic jam, which is a drain on our economy and our productive hours, a number which could be greatly reduced by switching our use of transport methods.

A recent study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project, http://www.STTP.org found that 74 percent of Americans favor using state transportation money to create safe routes for children to walk and bike to school.

NYBC takes an active interest year-round in promoting bike safety, both by teaching bike handling skills to children and adults, and by working with communities to make their roads, paths, and bikeways safer and more accessible for cycling and walking.

For more information on Walk to School events in New York State visit the Walk to School Day website, www.walktoschool.org and the New York State Center for Healthy Schools www.nyshealthyschools.org.  For more information on the Safe Routes to School bill, contact America Bikes at www.americabikes.org or (202) 833-8080.

The New York Bicycling Coalition is the only statewide organization that works towards increasing bicycling safety through improved infrastructure, access and safety education. For more information call Jesse Day at 518-436-0889 or email  bikewalk@nybc.net, or by mail to PO Box 8868, Albany, NY 12208, or visit our website at http://www.nybc.net.

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