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Walk-On-Wednesday in Croydon

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Walk-On-Wednesday in Croydon Walk-on-Wednesday in Croydon Interactive Qualifying Project Report completed in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Science degree at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA Submitted to: Professor Stephen J. Weininger (advisor) Professor Ruth L. Smith (co-advisor) In Cooperation With Peter McDonald, Travel and Transport Planning Officer London Borough of Croydon Elizabeth Fortner _______________________________ Isabel Pagliaccio _______________________________ James Worcester _______________________________ Eileen Wrabel _______________________________ April 25, 2013 _____________________________________ Advisor Signature _____________________________________ Co-advisor Signature Abstract This project, sponsored by the London Borough of Croydon, evaluated the Walk on Wednesday program, which encourages primary school students to walk to school at least once a week. It was assessed from the perspectives of school and Council staff, parents, and students using interviews, surveys, workshops, and observations. We found that Walk on Wednesday would be beneficial to Croydon, provided the Council refocuses the implementation process, increases parental involvement, and focuses primarily on schools with a strong staff advocate. i Acknowledgments Our team would like to thank our sponsor, Croydon Council, for giving us the opportunity to work on this project. We would especially like to thank our liaison, Peter McDonald, for providing us the guidance, advice, and resources necessary for the success of this project. We would also like to thank Hulya Ataoglu for sharing her expertise in working with Croydon schools and for her help in contacting them. We would also like to thank Anna Portch, Daniel Davis, and Robert Brown for taking time from their busy schedules to speak with us about their work for Croydon Council. Their knowledge and advice was invaluable in understanding how walking to school programs fit with other Council initiatives and how they can be improved in the future. We would like to thank Grace Ardley, Pamela Jacques, Fiona Tinwell, Jennifer Sinclair, and Cherry Bartholomew for working with us to arrange for our research to be conducted at their schools. We would also like to thank the parents, students, and teachers of Broadmead Primary, Atwood Primary, Parish Church: C of E Junior, Courtwood Primary, Tunstall Nursery, and Keston Primary Schools for their participation in our project. Finally, we would like to thank Dominic Golding for guidance as we developed our project proposal, as well as our advisors, Ruth Smith and Stephen Weininger, for their advice and feedback throughout this project. Without the support and assistance of all of these people, this project would not have been possible. Thank you again. Elizabeth Fortner Isabel Pagliaccio James Worcester Eileen Wrabel ii Authorship This report was developed through a collaborative effort of all members of the Croydon Walk on Wednesday 2013 IQP team: Elizabeth Fortner, Isabel Pagliaccio, James Worcester, and Eileen Wrabel. All sections were developed and edited as a team, with each team member making equal contributions. iii Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................................... ii Authorship ................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... vii Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. ix Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... x 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Literature Review ...................................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Nature of the Problem ........................................................................................................................ 3 2.1.1 Traffic ........................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.2 Air Pollution ................................................................................................................................. 5 2.1.3 Health Concerns ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Factors that Influence Walking ......................................................................................................... 10 2.3 Benefits of Walking ........................................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Policies and Programs ....................................................................................................................... 14 2.5 Living Streets Organization ............................................................................................................... 18 2.5.1 Walk on Wednesday .................................................................................................................. 19 2.6 Safety Concerns ................................................................................................................................. 21 2.7 Problems with the Implementation of WoW .................................................................................... 23 3. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Objective 1: Development of WoW .................................................................................................. 26 3.2 Objective 2: Perspectives of Program Implementers ....................................................................... 27 3.3 Objective 3: Perspectives of Participants and Potential Participants ............................................... 28 3.3.1 Students ..................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.2 Parents ....................................................................................................................................... 29 3.3.3 Impacts on the Local Urban Environment ................................................................................. 30 3.4 Objective 4: Recommendations for Croydon Council ........................................................................ 31 4. Results and Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 32 4.1 Effect of Location on Walking ........................................................................................................... 32 iv 4.1.1 Distance from School ................................................................................................................. 32 4.1.2 Effect of Location on Public Transport Use ................................................................................ 36 4.2 Effect of Traffic on Walking ............................................................................................................... 37 4.3 Effect of Parents involvement on Walking ........................................................................................ 40 4.4 Effect of Student Involvement on Walking ........................................................................................ 43 4.5 Effect of Teacher Involvement on Walking ....................................................................................... 44 4.6 Impact of the Walk on Wednesday Program .................................................................................... 45 4.7 Problems with WoW ......................................................................................................................... 48 4.7.1 Badges as Incentives .................................................................................................................. 49 4.7.2 Walking Ceilings ......................................................................................................................... 50 4.7.3 Rewarding Students That Already Walk .................................................................................... 51 5. Recommendations .................................................................................................................................. 53 5.1 The Ideal School for WoW ................................................................................................................. 53 5.2 Different Programs for Different Age Groups ..................................................................................
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