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As a new school year begins, it is a fitting time to reflect on whether we are doing all we can to provide children with safe routes to school, and how we can stem the ongoing epidemic of children injured or killed on city streets.<\/p>\nAs a new school year begins, it is a fitting time to reflect on whether we are doing all we can to provide children with safe routes to school, and how we can stem the ongoing epidemic of children injured or killed on city streets.<\/p>\n
At many NYC schools, arrival and dismissal times seem chaotic during the first couple of weeks of the school year.\u00a0 Sidewalks overflow as parents accompany their children in greater numbers, and stay longer to make sure kids get safely inside.\u00a0 And the streets are busy, too, as the full workforce returns from vacation season back to daily commuting.\u00a0 Even the pedestrians are in a hurry: many families are not yet settled into new morning routines, and are scrambling to be on time for school and work.\u00a0 It’s a crowded mix of stress, excitement, and distraction, producing a very dangerous environment on neighborhood streets. \u00a0We need better\u00a0plans to keep our “kidmuters” safe.<\/p>\n
Everybody has a role to play in making this safer.<\/strong><\/p>\n Parents, regardless of whether you and your children travel to and from school by foot, car, or bike, leaving the house just 10 minutes earlier than deadlines dictate can reduce stress, rushing, multi-tasking, and recklessness, thereby increasing awareness of the environment, good judgment, erring on the side of caution, and relaxed road and street interactions. That in turn can reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities. Additionally, that 10 minute cushion can model for children that, despite appearances to the contrary in our busy culture, one need not rush and be harried. Courtesy and personal responsibility can pave your way to and from school and work. What better over-arching educational message could we transmit to our children as we send them off to their studies each morning and welcome them back each afternoon?<\/p>\n If you’re walking your kids to school, please model safe crossing behavior for them.\u00a0 Kids get their good and bad habits from us.\u00a0 Encourage them to stand on the curb, look in all directions, heed crossing guards, and make eye contact with turning vehicles.\u00a0 Discuss with them the importance of not texting while crossing in traffic.\u00a0\u00a0 And remind them to use the crosswalks where crossing guards are posted if possible.<\/p>\n If you drive your kids to school, consider walking instead, at least for these first couple of weeks.\u00a0 If that\u2019s not feasible, consider parking 2-3 blocks away from the school, and walking from there.\u00a0 At many schools, there simply is not enough room at the curb for every parent who wants to pick up or drop off their child by car, and anything that can be done to reduce traffic immediately outside the school in the first couple of weeks helps create a safer environment for everyone.\u00a0 If your child\u2019s school has issued arrival and dismissal procedures, please follow their guidelines.<\/p>\n All drivers should be mindful that pedestrians, especially children, don’t always move predictably.\u00a0 Please take an extra moment to make eye contact and provide pedestrians and cyclists with an extra margin of space for safety.\u00a0 Whatever you do, don’t pass school buses while their red lights are flashing, honk at other vehicles that are yielding to pedestrians, or make U-turns or double-park in school zones.<\/p>\n Bottom line: Everybody plays a role in creating safer streets.\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re behind the wheel, on a bike, or on foot, showing civility and taking responsibility for safety encourages calmer and more predictable behavior on the part of other street users.\u00a0 Your frustration with other drivers, pedestrians, or cyclists may well be justified, but your angry or disrespectful actions in response only perpetuate the pattern of unsafe behavior.\u00a0 Please step up to promote the culture change we need to make our streets more humane and advance Vision Zero in New York City.<\/p>\n