Is it possible for car-less/car-light transport to become normal?

For those who may not know, during the school year I work as a crossing guard. It was something that just kind of fell into my lap after we moved a few years ago and even though I wasn't certain I'd continue on after the first year, the kids that come through are such amazing people that I continue to come back. It doesn't take up much time either, so it's an easy way to have some interaction with other humans since my primary job is pretty solitary.

The year is getting ready to wrap up (it's hard to believe that this week is the end of the school year) and as part of the end-of-year festivities, the school reserves a day during which students are encouraged to walk or bike to school. This day was supposed to take place a week and a half ago, but due to a forecast of severe weather, the date was changed to this past Friday instead (of course, it is spring in the Rockies and it was thundering and hailing that day too).

Normally, this crosswalk is not horribly busy. Although there are many children in the area, most of them are driven to school by a parent, grandparent or another individual. I was amazed to see that for this "event" on Friday there were easily twice, if not three times the number of kids walking or riding bicycles to school -- Which was fantastic!

What was rather disappointing was the high number of parents who parked on the street next to the crosswalk and walked their child across the street to the school so that it appeared that they had walked to school for the event. There were possible prizes for students who walked or biked to school and fresh fruit being given out to parents and students alike, so I suppose a free piece of fruit was motivation to lie about having walked from home to school? I think many of the individuals missed the point.

Although I don't have precise or verified numbers, I would estimate that more than half of the students live within a walkable distance of the school (within a half mile), and about 80% live within an easily bikeable distance, even for those who don't regularly ride (within approximately a mile), and yet, parents continue to drive their children to school.

*Image from Google (w/indicators drawn in by me)

The schools in this neighborhood are set up very close together, with an elementary, middle and high school all within three blocks of each other. Even for families with children attending different schools, it would be reasonable to walk or bike them all together or to have older kids escort the younger ones on foot or bike. The speed limits on all of the adjoining streets are a maximum of 25-30 miles per hour (depending on the street) and at the schools when the children are going to or leaving classes, the speed limit drops to 20 mph. There are abundant sidewalks and bike lanes on all the major thoroughfares.

I suppose I am disappointed in a few things that took place during this walk-or-bike-to-school day.

The first is that it is perplexing that the school waited until the end of the year to encourage students to walk/bike. In my mind, it would make sense to have this day early in the school year (say mid-to-late September) and encourage the children to continue to do this throughout the year. Creating a single day for this activity, at the end of the year no less, makes it seem as though it is out of the ordinary or special, when in reality there are students who do this on a daily basis, throughout the seasons of the year.

As indicated above, it's also disheartening that the biggest pull for parents and students to participate in this day was to receive a piece of fruit or an inexpensive toy, even at the cost of "cheating" and driving to school while pretending to have walked. I have a difficult time understanding the motivation to pretend to have transported oneself under their own power to receive something that is of very minimal value. I also wonder about the lesson this is teaching the kids.

Perhaps the biggest point that sticks in my mind is that it would be great to see more of a push to integrate this behavior into the everyday lives of students, rather than a singled-out day. It is a similar issue that I take in life when others make a fuss about walking or biking to a destination instead of driving. It happens regularly to me when meeting up with friends or colleagues. When I show up on a bicycle they behave as though I am some type of super star because I rode a couple of miles to meet up instead of driving, when in reality I find it's often easier (and certainly more fun) to bike to a destination than to drive (there are exceptions to this - but as a general rule, I've found this to be true).

I have reached a point in life in which I understand that cars are deeply ingrained in U.S. culture/society and the likelihood of this country becoming a car-less one is unlikely. I don't pretend to never drive a car myself - it is a convenience that I am grateful to have at times and in some situations makes for a more efficient mode of transport. Still, I believe it's possible for things to change dramatically if more people can actually experience for themselves what it's like to walk and bike to destinations that are relatively close to home and/or work.

Imagine if every household makes three trips by motorized vehicle a day and just one of those was replaced with a trip by bike or on foot. In reality, it's estimated that each household takes somewhere around 10 trips per day (the data linked is about a decade old, so it may be different today). What if three of those trips were non-motorized transportation trips? Taking out just some of the driving could have such a profound impact on individuals, our communities and the environment (not to mention bank accounts).

Having bike or walk to school (or work) days are a great way of bringing this idea into the consciousness of individuals, but the day itself seems to become more of an event and less of an educational process or a means of illustrating to others how simple, efficient and fun it can be to use alternate methods of getting from one place to another. Since the majority of the educators don't walk or bike to school either (though I admit many of them may be traveling much greater distances), it seems as though it would be more challenging to ask this of the students (and their parents).

I used to believe that modeling the action would be enough to help others see that biking and walking can be very efficient ways of getting around, but I now think there has to be something more. Although seeing others participating in an activity may encourage some to try it out, I don't think it's enough to bring about real and permanent change. It almost seems as though there can be too much extremism on both sides -- both those who believe we should never use individual motorized vehicles and those who will only use individual motorized transportation.

*Image from City of Longmont, see video link below

There was a study done locally in which the researchers found that 55% of respondents (*note this stat can be found at 8:20 in the video) would like to try riding a bike for transportation, but don't due to one or many factors such as not feeling safe or other reasons. So, more than half are interested in riding, but don't for one reason or another. I will also add that 30% of the respondents said there was no way they would ever ride a bike, regardless of infrastructure or comfort on roadways.  Still, that leaves 70% of the local population (which I assume would be similar to statistics in other towns and cities across the US) who are either already riding and at least somewhat comfortable doing so, or who are willing to try it if given the right infrastructure and feeling of security.

So, how does actual implementation and change take place? When I stand at the corner each school day and watch all of the single-occupant vehicles buzzing past, I wonder what has to happen in order for people to begin to make small changes in our lives so that we aren't always traveling in multi-ton, personal cars. I realize this is a complex issue and that there are so many factors at play such as city sprawl, income and disposable income, terrain/geography, weather, physical ailments or challenges, lack of infrastructure, personal history or anxieties, and other aspects, but is it possible to shift the consciousness of most of the population so that more people are willing to give up personal vehicles some of the time?

My Favorite Summer Farmers Market Bicycle Valet Story

Our last local bicycle valet for Longmont's Farmers Market is this coming Saturday. It's amazing how quickly the season has gone. After volunteering last summer to help out on occasion, this year it turned into a small group of four of us who took turns "hosting" the valet so no single person had to be completely responsible or needed to be present every single weekend (of course, some of us took full advantage of having those Saturday's off, while others - who shall remain nameless because she sometimes pops in to read here - spent almost every Saturday there, regardless of whose turn it was to host :O) ).

During my last hosting of the valet, things had definitely quieted down, despite the fact that throughout the summer we've remained fairly steady for the duration of the 5 hour market.  As the afternoon wore on (it's difficult to keep oneself amused when there aren't as many people), a father and son were retrieving their bikes from the valet. We returned their two-wheeled rides and assumed they were on their way out, but as I turned back around, I spotted the small boy attempting to fill up his tires with the floor pumps we keep available for those who need to fix a flat or just need some air. I couldn't help but giggle as he wrestled a bit, but rather than standing around watching him struggle, I went over to ask if he'd like some help.

"I need to put air in my tires!" he proclaimed adamantly. This only made me giggle more. There are few things cuter in this world than a small child who knows what s/he wants and isn't afraid to tell anyone who will listen.  I asked if he would mind if I helped him take the valve cover off, to which he expressed great interest in assistance. Subsequently, he began an attempt to attach the end of the pump to the valve. The problem? It's a two-sided nozzle (one for Presta, and one for Schrader) and he just couldn't seem to get it to cooperate.

I inquired again to see if he would like some help, at which point he handed the end of the pump to me. After attaching the end, I was checking to see what the tire pressure should be, but was interrupted by the young boy who vehemently requested that he be allowed to do the pumping.

"But, of course!" I replied, and let him go to town.

*Image from our buddy, Will - who was busy laughing
(and apparently, taking photos) of this whole fun scene*
"I do all the work!" This little guy has muscle.

He pumped away with his entire body, trying his best to get air in the tube. When he started, the gauge read somewhere around 10psi, and when he stopped briefly, it was about the same. The tires needed to be inflated to approximately 30-35psi, so I took my turn for a moment and then let him try again.  He was extremely pleased that his tires now had proper air pressure, and father and son were ready to roll down the road again.

I'm a bit sad that the end of summer has already come, but this is definitely a story that will stick with me throughout the winter months. I love seeing families starting their young children off on bikes... it just makes me smile.  Have you hosted or volunteered during a bicycle valet in your community? What sorts of stories do you have, or what was your favorite moment?