01025610

Component

Walk to school programs are carried out under many different names, formats and also created for various reasons and to meet specific needs. The authors of this paper worked with a group of volunteers from a suburban elementary school to implement a successful Walking School Bus program where children walk to school under adult supervision. Learning from other walk to school programs that may have faltered due to changes in key volunteers; emphasis was placed on building a solid infrastructure in order to withstand transitions among volunteers and school administrators. Understanding that the safety and security concerns have discouraged many parents from allowing their children to walk to school in spite of the presence of sidewalks, we enforced background checks among "route captains," provided pedestrian safety training, safety vests and whistles for the volunteers. We made T-shirts, gave out bottled water, and trinkets to reward students who participated in the walk. The purpose of this paper is to document the experiences after two years operating a Walking School Bus program at Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex, North Carolina. The paper presents what worked, what did not work, and what were the challenges.

01020180

06-0721

English

13p

2006

Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting

CD-ROM

Figures (2) ; References (4) ; Tables (1)

Adults; Children; Elementary school students; Pedestrian areas; Pedestrian safety; Program management; School safety; School trips

Walking buses

Administration and Management; Education and Training; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Society; I10: Economics and Administration; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2006 Paper #06-0721

BTRIS, TRIS, TRB

Mar 3 2006 10:27AM