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Getting the kids to school: Step away from the car, mom
In a city where boxbikes and xtracycles (photo, right) are becoming the norm, it's hard to admit that we drive our kids to and from school every day - alone. Especially when there are so many dedicated parents going car-free.. in the rain! For a great look at what it's really like in bike land, check out this recent article in the local paper on commuting with kids. Whoa.
So after doing this solo driving thing again yesterday, on International Walk & Bike to School Day no less, I've been thinking. Thinking how we could do a little better without totally throwing a wrench in our tightly wound family schedule. And while we concluded that walking the whole way is out of the question (2+ miles), and that biking could work but with expensive equipment and a traffic-scared mom at the handlebars, we did find one (measly) alternative: carpool with classmates. Rocket science this is not; challenging it is.
Why bother? My husband and I delved into the reasons for it all (there are, of course, many), our feelings about them (how much should we do here?), and crafted a bit of a long-range plan. And as someone with a long bus, train, and community carpooling history (that abruptly stopped with this nutty 2-kid, 2-school, 2-working parents thing), I can legitimately toss those options into the mix, even though they're technically not as 'pure' as walking and biking. Though we may just try that, say, once a month, both to do the right thing (at least once in a while) and see how it feels. Sometimes etching new patterns in our lives is all it takes.
Plus, there are all sorts of community and cultural benefits associated with getting out from behind the wheel, right? New people, new places, new smells, even (that big bakery near our school). And one hope I have for this family thought process is to selectively choose our commitments within our walk + bike zone. Why pick the music class across town when we could do the one, uh, within biking distance? Why swim across the river when there's one - literally - in our school basement? These changes may take time, but it's just such short-commute induced thinking that'll ultimately make it happen.
Identifying barriers. With changes like this I try to identify what (I think) is standing between me and change. My barrier. With bike commuting there's safety, time and distance. For me, feeling pressed for time is the most challenging. For many, it is community support in the form of connected sidewalks, bike lanes, and safe crosswalks. Check out these handy walkability and bikability community checklists.. With good reason, they focus on the world we walk and bike in, and how conducive it is to, well, walking and biking. And of course there's a blog (or 2 or 100) for all this, but this one is devoted to bike commuting in all its forms. Its tag line is: tips, news, reviews and safety for bike commuters.
Here in Portland, it's pretty darn bike-friendly, so my challenge is more personal. But in many parts of the U.S., these tools are important building blocks to (un)pave the way for families who want to make the necessary personal changes - so that every day can be walk and bike to school day, not just October 8th.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Gilbert, Portland mom who lives car-free with 3 kids. Count 'em 3.
I'm in Tacoma, WA and cycle 1.5 miles each way with my 3 year old on a front seat while my 6 year old cycles beside me (last year he still rode on the back of my bike). We see the same people on the street and in the park each morning, people who we would have never noticed if we had traveled by car. These people now recognize us and are always happy to greet us with a good morning. There is a sense of community that I feel as we journey together in the fresh air. We found a good route to school, where we ride on quiet side streets and through a park. We must cross two busy streets, but then we are back on quiet side roads. I lived abroad for 3.5 years with two children and no car and it was truly liberating to not need a car to get around. We are waiting for the day when it is safer and easier in the US for families to use the bicycle as a main form of transport. Right now we are the only family who cycles to my 6 year old's school. At my son's school abroad, every single child (and parent) walked or cycled to school.