Study Reveals More Children Are Walking to School

article image
Photo by International Walk to School
A group of students makes its way to Eisenhower Elementary in Camp Hill, Penn., on National Walk to School Day, 2012.

New research from the National Center for Safe Routes to School shows that increasing numbers of K-8 students are walking to school.

According to parent survey data collected from 2007 to 2012, the percentage of K-8 children walking to school in the morning increased from 12.4 percent to 15.7 percent (representing a 27 percent increase). Similarly, the percentage of K-8 children who walked home from school in the afternoon increased from 15.8 percent to 19.7 percent (representing a 24 percent increase).

“We have heard anecdotally that more families are choosing active transportation for everyday trips, and this first-ever large dataset provides evidence that this is indeed the case for walking to school,” said Lauren Marchetti, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School. “This encouraging news illustrates the importance of continuing to invest in building safer infrastructure, promoting safety awareness and continuing programs like Safe Routes to School.”

Another significant finding of this research was that the percentage of parents who reported that their child’s school supporting walking and biking to school rose from 24.9 percent to 33 percent.

“School support for walking and biking is an important element in parents’ decisions to allow or to encourage their children to make this transportation choice,” Marchetti continued. “And, as nearly 15,000 schools have benefited from Safe Routes to School funding across the country, this is an exciting finding.”

  • Published on Dec 5, 2013
Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368