There and Back Again: Safety and Health on the Journey to School

Abstract

* Abbreviations: AST — : active school transportation SRTS — : Safe Routes to School Active school transportation (AST) has been associated with children attaining more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and a healthier BMI.1–3 Similar to Canadian children, US rates of AST declined from 48% in 1969 to 13% in 2009.4 There are many reasons for this decline, but parents report distance (62% of respondents), traffic-related injury (30%), and weather (19%) as the top 3 barriers.5 There are many benefits to AST. Children in developed countries are not sufficiently active and obesity remains a global threat.6 Families driving students to school represent 10% to 14% of US traffic during the morning commute,4 and often such trips are less than a half mile. Communities that have invested in infrastructure to promote walking or biking have shown increased property values, improved air quality, reduced urban heat injury, and greater social cohesion.7–9 In 2005, the US Congress established a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to improve safety on walking and bicycling routes to elementary and middle schools and to encourage travel between home and school using these modes.10 SRTS was … Address correspondence to Gilbert Chien Liu, MD, MS, Department of Pediatrics, University of Louisville, 571 S Floyd St, Suite 424, Louisville, KY 40202. E-mail: gcliu001{at}louisville.edu