Results are in: Surveyed schools show great walking numbers

Data gathered through student travel tallies and parent surveys conducted in February show that six schools in Santa Clara have between 16% to 32% of their students walking or biking to or from school. These are some good numbers, considering the national average is at around 15%. But we’re sure we can do much better. With the almost-perfect California weather and pretty good infrastructure, almost all students should be able to walk or bike to school on a regular basis. Results show that less than 5% of students are biking to school.There are many benefits to walking and biking: for health, the environment, and for fun! Students that bike or walk to school benefit from increased levels of daily physical activity, help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution around schools, and arrive to school more awake and ready to learn.As you may have heard, our efforts to increase walking and bicycling at these schools are already under way.  Over 500 students at Briarwood, Bowers, Haman, Montague, Scott Lane, and Sutter Elementary will receive pedestrian and bicycle education during April and May.If you would like to assist with bicycle and pedestrian skills training, including bike rodeos, please email Anna@bikesicilionvalley.org.Stay tuned for more updates.  In the meantime, we’d like to encourage you to walk and bike to school with your kids whenever possible.