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Growing Up Velo: Next Generation Cyclists

by Chris Keam, 01/09/2010, Momentum

 

Photo by David Niddrie - Myles Houtman enjoys the easy access to the seawall in downtown Vancouver.

In 1969, 48 percent of American kids walked or cycled to school. By 2009, that number dropped to 13 percent. Figures since then have remained stable; children are still pedaling down streets and biking  to school. One reason for this may be their parents and teachers, another may be messages spread by the mass media. Hearing eco-friendly exhortations, and eager to do their part, some kids see cycling as a fun way to pitch in. Still, for many parents, letting young people cycle in traffic is a frightening prospect. Too many communities are barely bike-friendly enough for adults, let alone children.

Thankfully, education, cycling clubs and kids are proving to be a powerful combination, removing fears and creating a new generation of pedal pushers. In addition, the specters of gridlocked transportation networks, childhood obesity and climate change are further convincing the public and policy-makers alike that getting kids on bikes is an important, if not urgent, step towards creating sustainable and healthy communities.

“One of the things we’re finding is we need to teach kids and parents together,” said Wendy Kallins, program director for the Marin County-based Safe Routes to Schools. Formed six years ago, the group works to create kid-friendly infrastructure along the many road systems that border American schools. “One of the biggest impediments to getting kids on bikes is getting parents on bikes,” added Kallins. “For parents who are not cyclists, everything seems dangerous.”

Danger is often a deterrent for worried parents. Riders under the age of 16 accounted for 13 percent of all fatalities in 2008, according to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report, with kids between the ages of 13 and 15 cited as being particularly at risk. However, one mother thinks we need to give kids more freedom and trust their ability to make sensible choices.

“What I always wonder,” said Lenore Skenazy, author of Free Range Children, “is do parents think their kids are so much less competent than they were?”

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