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Health InformationTop

According to the CDC, nearly half of young people aged 12-21 years in the United States are not vigorously active on a regular basis. Furthermore, about 14% of young people report no recent physical activity. Over the past 30 years the percent of overweight children aged 6 to 11 years has more than doubled. Overweight children are more likely to become obese adults. Overweight and obese adults are at increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and gall bladder disease. Regular physical activity for children helps to build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints; helps control weight, build lean muscle and reduce fat; improves sense of self-image and autonomy; and fosters healthy social and emotional development. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. Many children could achieve or even surpass the recommendation simply by walking, biking or using other active ways to travel to and from school.

The CDC encourages parents to play an important role in shaping their children's physical activity and behaviors. The following is a list of recommendations:

  • Set a positive example by leading an active lifestyle yourself, and make physical activity part of your family's daily routine such as designating time for family walks or playing active games together.
  • Provide opportunities for children to be active by playing with them.
  • Offer positive reinforcement for the physical activities in which your child participates and encourage them as they express interest in new activities.
  • Make physical activity fun. Fun activities can be anything the child enjoys, either structured or non-structured. They may range from team sports, individuals sports, and/or recreational activities such as walking, running, skating, bicycling, swimming, playground activities and free-time play.
  • Ensure that the activity is age appropriate and provide protective equipment such as helmets, wrist pads and kneepads to ensure safety.
  • Limit the time your children watch television or play video games to no more than two hours per day. Instead, encourage your children to find fun activities to do with family members or on their own that simply involve more activity (walking, playing chase, dancing).

 

Visit www.gethealthy.ky.gov to take the Governor's


Safety informationTop

In 2003 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 622 pedalcyclists were killed in traffic crashes and 46,000 were injured. Of those killed, 23% were under the age of 16. Children in this age group may have not developed the skills and experience necessary to navigate traffic safely and judge speed and distance of vehicular traffic. Although these numbers are alarming, promoting bicycling and walking to school provides the opportunity to address student safety concerns. The risk of injury will be reduced through teaching children pedestrian and bicycle skills.

Here are some ways that the SRTS program directly addresses safety concerns related to students who walk or bike to school:
  • Encourages older students to walk or bike to and from school in groups.
  • Organizes responsible adults to accompany younger students as they walk or bike to or from school.
  • Provides the resources for educators to teach safe pedestrian behavior in the classroom.
  • Empower neighborhoods to work together with local agencies to identify and create safe routes to school.
  • Partnering with local police to enforce speeds in and around the neighborhood and school.
  • Provides crossing guards for children on their way to and from school.
  • Affords protection form bullies and strangers loitering in neighborhoods that will affect a parent's willingness to allow their children to walk to and from school.
  • Enforcement and education reminds drivers to watch for students walking or biking.
  • Hazardous conditions along routes to school will be identified and fixed.
  • Some of the best ways to increase the safety of a child's walk or bike to school are to provide safe, well-maintained walkways separate from vehicles; teach children to cross streets at marked crossings, and provide ample, well-designed, accessible crosswalks, and slow traffic in neighborhoods near schools.


Traffic informationTop

Many of the trips that Americans make every day are short enough to be accomplished on a bicycle or by foot. The 1995 National Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) found that approximately 40% of all trips are less than 2 miles in length - which represents a 10-minute bike ride or a 30-minute walk. In fact, a 1995 Rodale Press survey found that Americans want the opportunity to walk or bike instead of drive. In fact, 40% of U.S. adults say they would commute by bike if safe facilities were available.

Bicycling and walking can help to reduce roadway congestion. Many streets and highways carry more traffic than they were designed to handle, resulting in gridlock, wasted time and energy, pollution, and driver frustration. Bicycling and walking require less space per traveler than automobiles. Roadway improvements to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles can also enhance safety for motorists. For example, adding paved shoulders on two-lane roads has been shown to reduce the frequency of run-off-road, head-on, and sideswipe motor vehicle crashes.  

 

Source: www.bicyclinginfo.org

Travel Facts Top
  • There are 9 million bike trips and 56 million walking trips in the U.S. everyday - an amount that exceeds daily transit trips (1995 NPTS).
  • About 40% of all trips are shorter than 2 miles - a 10-minute bike ride or a 30-minute walk (1995 NPTS).
  • 40% of U.S. adults say they would commute by bike if safe facilities were available (1995 Rodale Press Poll).
  • The cost of operating a car for one year is approximately $5,170 (AAA Mid-Atlantic).
  • The cost of operating a bicycle for one year is only $120 (League of American Bicyclists).
  • The average family has to work more than 6 weeks to pay a year's car expenses, compared to less than one day needed to pay for a year's bicycle expenses (based on U.S. Census, 1998 median family income figures).