Hi Eric and all ...

I am delighted to see this focus ... however I too am concerned that, while
strategies like the walking school bus are valuable to beginning to change
behaviour, or perhaps even only to alert people to how behaviour has BEEN
changed, the important issue is to remove/reduce the road danger at cause.

Too often, road safety education is road UNsafety education.

From this, we can learn from the "Road Danger Reduction" emphasis (worth
exploring on the web).

I am also concerned that too often walking and cycling are separated eg I
have seen no mention of cycling in the discussion I have seen to date
although hopefully it is there.

In my view, "a road that is safe enough for people of all ages and
abilities to cross is safe (enough) for cyclists to use".

So picking up on the "Sustainable Safety" and "Vision Zero" concepts, one
can question the need for the walking school bus ie WSB.

That is not to say that it should not be encouraged, but it is to say that
its formation and organisation should be from the bottom up albeit perhaps
assisted initially from the top down.

Local examples of the WSB here in Brisbane (Australia) have local authority
staff, yellow safety vests, flags, and a fixed route and timetable, once a
week. But it looks more like a military drill and procession and yes, when
it gets to a road crossing, it has to break up into bits and each bit has
to be escorted across the road because the central refuge is far too small,
and the traffic speed limit is 60km/h.

In other words, will the barriers be removed or is the WSB just another
strategy to avoid addressing the barriers?

Two publications I find very useful and very persuasive are "Kids on the
move" and "cycling: the way ahead for towns and cities" ... both I assume
(and hope) still on the web from the EC. Perhaps hard copies are somewhere
to be found too?

But there is more serious question. We don't really know when the desire to
value cars begins or is learned or acquired. We don't really know which
values are beneficial and which are problematic.

Teaching children that motor vehicles have priority and implicitly through
advertising etc, that they are safe is one thing eg through ":One false
move" and teaching children that people are potentially dangerous eg
"Stranger Danger" is hardly the way to then expect driver behaviour that
respects the vulnerability of the non-motorised road users "of all ages and
abilities". It is said children learn from experience and from watching
others, eg their parents, and from a very young age.

Early school may be too late.

Some evidence for this view (with important references) is cited in
http://www.yeatesit.biz/transfiles/EmpoweringEducatorsV2006.pdf

Quite a bit of my work has sought to position "independent mobility" as a
counter to "car dependence" such that I suggest we need to not only focus
on children, but on "people of all ages and abilities" walking, cycling or
using mobility aides, however powered.

It does not take much to understand that the vulnerability of a say 10 year
old child trying to cross a suburban road or street is not a lot different
to that of a person who is totally vision impaired or suffers a mobility
disability. Sure, the specifics are different, but the vulnerability is not.

The focus on younger children is (only) a useful step towards an urban
environment that is "safe+convenient for all".

It follows then that "if the road is safe enough for children to cycle on
or across, it is probably safe enough for people of all ages and abilities
to cross".

A number of other papers at http://www.yeatesit.biz/transresource.htm
attempt to explore and promote these views.

Michael Yeates
Brisbane
Australia .......................

At 06:09 PM 12/11/2006, On@...,
Behalf@..., wrote:

>On Behalf Of Roland Sapsford
>
>Hi Eric and others
>
>You may be aware that Daniel Appleyard (of famed mapping of the impact
>of traffic volume on home space in the early 80s) has recently turned
>his hand to having children do the very thing you suggest at the end -
>child centred mapping around journeys - especially to and from school. I
>am very sorry that when I upgraded my computer I lost the link to this
>work. If anyone else can point this again I'd be very grateful!
>
>In New Zealand at least, the whole area of children's independent
>mobility is only now getting a sliver of recognition as a positive
>reason for promoting 'active modes' as they are known here. However the
>main focus remains on more direct health issues. Road safety education
>still works largely on children rather than through traffic calming etc
>and this is a barrier to more independent mobility.
>
>Best wishes
>Roland Sapsford
>Wellington, New Zealand
>
>Eric Britton wrote:
> > Dave, Roland, Anzir, Simon, Martin:
> >
> > I am absolutely delighted to have these different vies and wise
> > expressions of support for the 'walk to school' (might also be cycle
> > or skating but what is important is that the kids get there under
> > their own steam and safely). In fact, the concept of this walk is one
> > of the central pillars of the New Mobility Agenda -- to the extent
> > that it is almost impossible to consider that the Agenda is in place
> > unless this is the main means of getting to school each day. It is so
> > very important for reasons of health and the child's social and
> > psychological development, that its role in the community must be seen
>
> > as a fundamental underlying target of transport and school policy.
> >
> > A decade ago we opened up a parallel focus program under the Agenda
> > somewhat awkwardly entitled "_Children on the Move! _Small Steps to
> > Sustainable Lives" -- our intention being to develop a lively forum
> > and group project to zero in on these are related child/transport
> > issues, a very rich and important sub-set of our overall mandate here.
>
> > Unfortunately I never found the key to make it work, more than
> > anything else a matter of limited time and resources here in this all
> > too finite world. If you go to
> >
>
<http://ecoplan.org/children/ch_index.htm>http://ecoplan.org/children/ch_index.h\
tm
> you can see the shards of
> > that earlier attempt, which we could still do some interesting and
> > useful things with if anyone wished to get in and give it a go.
> >
> > To give you a feel for the extent to which this is far from a moribund
>
> > subject, I can suggest that you click the "Small steps news" on the
> > top[ menu. It's a bit of a jungle but nonetheless offers ample food
> > for thought.
> >
> > A great place to sharpen your tools on this is the **International
> > Walk to School website ****at**
> <http://www.iwalktoschool.org/,>http://www.iwalktoschool.org/, and the
>
> > UK site at
> <http://www.walktoschool.org.uk/>http://www.walktoschool.org.uk/ are
> golden resources for
>this.
> >
> > One aspect possibly worth mentioning is our belief that children can
> > and should themselves get directly, actively involved in the process
> > of mapping and understanding the transport dimensions of their lives.
> > And in the process take their first steps toward becoming better
> > informed and more responsible as active citizens. It is never too
> > early to start.
> >
> > It would be great if we could find out how to be useful, helpful in
> > all this. Your good letters underline the importance of all this.
> >
> > Eric Britton
> >
>
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