People of a certain age never seem to be shy to remind their youngers that, when they were in school, they walked. Up hill. Both ways. Nowadays, it is the norm for kids to get a drive to school, courtesy of mom or dad.
So much so, the District of North Vancouver is looking to spend upwards of $500,000 a year to hire paid crossing guards at schools because things have gotten so out of hand with illegal driving and parking, near misses with kids and abusive comments from parents. It's so bad that volunteer crossing guards can no longer be asked to do the task.
When it comes to keeping children safe on their way to and from school, no amount of money is too much. But this is a sign that it’s time for a look in the mirror, and not the rear-view one. This a cultural problem. Where cars are involved, we’ve begun to conflate convenience with necessity.
North Vancouver is about as safe as a community can get. Our kids are not in typically threatened by criminal gangs or strangers. Ironically, it is parents in their vehicles that pose one of the greatest risks.
The cheapest thing we could do to protect our children is to not flood school zones with unnecessary traffic twice a day. The money would probably pay better dividends on infrastructure that makes walking or biking to school fun and safe, as it should be.
Kids who walk or bike to class learn better after a little exercise, studies show. This week, do your kids and your entire community a favour and leave the SUV at home. It might be the start of the cultural shift we need.
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