Radio Commentary
Just a few generations ago,
in the 1950s and 60s, half of all children bicycled or walked to school. Today,
only one in 10 does so.
In fact, even
among school-age children who live within two miles of the school they attend,
only about two percent ride bicycles to get there. These figures have
implications for health, fitness, and safety.
The Santa Barbara
Bicycle Coalition cites several major reasons for the decline:
• As we widened
roads for cars, we decreased safety for bikers and walkers, leading to a lack
of area for children to walk and bike safely.
• Excessive media
stories about the dangers of child abductions, gun violence, drugs, and other
real-but-overblown-concerns add to a sense of danger and worry for parents.
The truth is that
automobiles are by far a bigger threat to children than all these other
potential threats combined.
• With both
parents working, for longer hours, many try to compensate through the perceived
gift of driving children around.
These changes have
contributed to increased rates of obesity among young people.
They have also
helped foster a loss of independence that comes from bicycling.
As was the case
with recycling and smoking, it will take shifts of awareness and attitude to
change the current condition. We should all try to help.
