2003 Walk to School Day Report
HIGHLIGHTS • Four governors and dozens of mayors participate.
• EPA releases study show- ing that school siting can affect traffic congestion, air pollution, and children’s health and obesity.
• An estimated 3,000 schools participate in Walk to School Day in the U.S. Palm Bay, Florida • At least 167 newspapers, Baltimore, Maryland with a combined circulation of 16 million people publish articles and/or photos On many fronts, 2003 Walk to School Day was about Walk to School Day.
a great success. Thousands of schools from all 50 states • 42 percent of news articles and photos appear on Section Front pages. participated. Four governors and dozens of mayors took ‘I kept waiting for • The first International Walk part. Ribbons were cut for new sidewalks. Police officers to School Award is created the normal rush of to recognize outstanding cars in front of the taught about pedestrian safety and ticketed speeders near programs across the globe. school and they • Partnership for a Walkable never came!’ schools. Traffic was reduced for the day. Sixteen million America works with Franklin Elementary Parent President’s Task Force on Alameda, California people were exposed to the event in newspapers, plus Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to countless more through local television coverage. And, most importantly, Children to move the program forward.
hundreds of thousands of children walked to school safely. • Top officials from the U.S. EPA and the Federal Highway Administration take part in Walk to President Bush Sends Letter of Support School Day. • Walk to School Day is “I commend the Partnership for a Walkable America signature event for and all organizations involved in today’s events Child Health Month. for your dedication to helping improve • Several states initiated the health and safety of our Nation’s young people. state-level coordination of Your efforts contribute to a stronger America.” Walk to School programs.
—GEORGE W. BUSH, • Safe Routes to School PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Programs continue to grow. LASTING IMPROVEMENTS
Walk to School Day brings together critical Why do Schools Participate? community coalitions that work toward 58% safety improvements for pedestrians and 51% increased physical activity. Here are some First Year Schools highlights of good things that are happening All Schools across the country. 33% 29% Physical Activity Developed an “Outdoor Walk and Learn Trail.” & Nutrition North Iowa Schools Thompson, Iowa Organizers use Walk-to-School Day as 9% Started a Walk Around the World 6% 7% 6% kick-off event of a school program Club for students during recess and “committed to developing habits in the morning. that promote optimal health, better Lone Oak Elementary Pedestrian Physical Activity Air Quality Other food and lifestyle choices for children Spartanburg, S.C. Safety & Obesity Prev. and preventing obesity.” Marston School Encourage at least 30 minutes of Hampton, NH physical activity each day, with the City held ribbon-cutting on Walk to Sixth graders made recommenda- ultimate goal for the school being to School Day to celebrate the comple- tions to the City Council which Walk to School Day is part of a year- accumulate “One Million Minutes of tion of a new sidewalk connecting have since resulted in pedestrian round program to improve fitness and Motion.” the elementary school with adjacent improvements near the school. nutrition. Others components include a AC Moore Elementary neighborhoods, part of the city’s These recommendations resulted from health fair, after-school healthy- Columbia, S.C. new sidewalk program to provide a service project that turned Walk to snack cooking class, and on-going connectivity and safe walking School Day into a weekly event using walking fitness activities. Since the majority of students cannot routes to schools. the Walkability Checklist. Towanda School District Towanda, walk to school, we use Walk to School Root Elementary Topa Topa Elementary Pennsylvania Day to kick-off a year-round walking- Fayetteville, Arkansas Ojai, California at-recess program. Developed a walking school bus for Orchard Hollow Elementary Parents’ walkability checklist to be Policy Changes students, linking younger children with Mentor, Ohio used to advocate for traffic signal Colorado health department older students and adults. improvements, including a photo- announced several new initiatives O’Neill Elementary Safer sidewalks enforced light in front of school. to increase physical activity in O’Neill, Nebraska La Colima Elementary schools, of which Walk to School & roadways Whittier, California Walk to School Day was the kick-off Colorado is a cornerstone. Crosswalks and appropriately timed for a fit-for-life program that pur- City has asked state to reduce speed State of Colorado traffic lights have been installed. City chased pedometers for students. limit in front of school as a result of budget has tripled budget for side- Schools participating in Alabama West View Elementary parents bringing issue to attention. walk improvements, with the priori- School Walk have received $8 million Spartanburg, S.C. Markham Elementary ty being school walking routes. in school zone safety funds since Portland, Oregon Garfield Elementary 1999. Expenditures are based, in part, Olympia, Washington Because of participation in Walk to on parents walkability checklists that School Day in 2002, the school are forwarded to local traffic engineers Modernized crosswalk received a Safe Communities grant, and law enforcement. signals and repainted which was used for pedestrian State of Alabama crosswalk. traffic signals. Rozelle Elementary On Walk to School day, the New Tice Elementary Cleveland, Ohio Jersey governor announced Lee County, Florida $13 million in grants to improve New student drop off area County Recreation and Parks street safety around schools and marked with a white curb department resurfaced and widened to build bike paths. Of this, $6 million and orange cones, and a one of the walking paths used by is designated to protect children on repainted crosswalk at one children walking to the school. their way to and from school. intersection. Centennial Lane Elementary State of New Jersey Washington Elementary Ellicott City, Maryland Santa Ana, California City requires new neighborhoods to School administration and parent be designed for pedestrians and is Parents successfully lobbied group is working with civil engineering retrofitting old streets and sidewalks. for a sidewalk to school. firm to make the parking lot safer. Garfield Elementary Clemson Elementary Sherman Oaks Charter School Olympia, Washington Clemson, S.C. San Jose, California Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Newspapers with 100,000+ circulation that carried items
Los Angeles Times The Boston Globe Rocky Mountain News Chicago Tribune The Houston Chronicle Detroit Free Press The Dallas Morning News The Atlanta Journal and Constitution The Arizona Republic Charlottesville, Virginia The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) The San Diego Union-Tribune Plain Dealer (Cleveland) St. Petersburg Times The Oregonian The Miami Herald Orange County Register St. Louis Post-Dispatch Sacramento Bee San Jose Mercury News Orlando Sentinel Indianapolis Star Petaluma, California Fort Worth Star Telegram Media Summary Columbus Dispatch Media coverage of Walk to School Day was outstanding, with newspapers Charlotte Observer and local television stations demonstrating a willingness to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel commit staff and news space/time to Walk to School Day, The Seattle Times both in promoting the event before it happens and cover- The Tennessean (Nashville) ing the events of the day. Media coverage of events is 30% The Cincinnati Enquirer After Event 56% important because it brings pedestrian safety and Before Event Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) access issues to the attention of a broader community, Hartford Courant which can create broader support for pedestrian-friend- Las Vegas Review-Journal ly planning policies and sidewalk and roadway 14% Richmond Times Dispatch improvements. Day of Event Omaha World Herald Total: 167 Items Austin American-Statesman 3% Newspapers alone reached a total circu- 2% The News & Observer (Raleigh) Opinion Other lation of at least 16 million, according to a 10% review of newspapers in Lexis-Nexis Database. A Press Enterprise (Riverside) Photo search of all the general interest daily newspa- The Record (Bergen County, N.J.) pers in the database showed 167 articles in 80 Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) newspapers. Of those items, 31 percent were Palm Beach Post 52% placed on newspaper section front pages, and Providence Journal-Bulletin 33% News Briefs after eliminating briefs and opinion pieces, Fresno Bee which rarely are placed on section fronts, the Des Moines Register percentage of front-page articles (including Chicago Daily Herald stand-alone photos) increases to an amazing 47 Seattle Post-Intelligencier percent. It is worth noting that only one of the section The News Tribune (Tacoma) front stories did not include a photo. The Post-Standard (Syracuse) Morning Call (Allentown) Television coverage of the event is much more difficult to determine with Albuquerque Journal accuracy. National networks tracked through Lexis Nexis did not reveal any articles in their transcripts, but a Google internet search of news sources Ventura County Star shows that dozens of local television stations did report on the event. Contra Costa Times South America Argentina Brazil Chile Southend, England
North Madinat, Pakistan America Canada Mexico United States
Australasia Australia Taipei, Taiwan New Zealand
Europe Belgium Int’l Award to recognize innovative programs Croatia Cyprus The International Walk to School Committee has established an Denmark International Walk to School Award to recognize outstanding Walk to Prime Minister Pledges France School programs around the globe. The purpose of the award is to recog- Support for UK Walkers Germany nize innovative and successful programs that have the potential to be Greece replicated in other places “The UK Government is Ireland committed to making the Italy More information about the award and the application process can be journey to and from Spain found at: www.iwalktoschool.org/award/ award_intro.htm This award is Switzerland school safer open to individuals, schools, local and national United and healthi- Kingdom groups and agencies. It is not limited to participants in International Walk to School Week, so anyone er for all Asia involved in encouraging children to walk to school and create healthier, children. India more sustainable communities is encouraged to apply. We welcome Pakistan initiatives Saudi Arabia Applications are due no later than January 31, 2004 and the finalists will such as the South Korea be announced on World Health Day, April 7, 2004. The winner will receive the award at the WALK 21 Conference in Copenhagen, National & Africa Internatonal Walk To Namibia Denmark, June 9-11, 2004. Nigeria School Weeks. Mr. Blair South Africa International Walk to School Day gives children, parents, school teachers sends all involved his very Zambia and community leaders an opportunity to be part of a global event as best wishes.” they celebrate the many benefits of walking. In 2003, more than — TONY BLAIR, 3 million walkers from 29 countries walked to school together for UNITED KINGDOM PRIME various reasons – all hoping to create communities that are safe places to MINISTER walk.
Prepared by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center for the Partnership for a Walkable America. Funding provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
www.walkableamerica.org