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Students Want to Walk to School, But is it
Safe?
Big Ridge Elementary School
Big Ridge Elementary School has plenty of
students and parents that desire to walk to school, but the only
students that currently can are a few students from the neighboring
Bethel Bible Village. Big Ridge is working with the
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Safe Routes to School program in hopes
of acquiring grants funds to construct sidewalks and bicycle
facilities from nearby residences and greenway to the
school.
Principal:
Susan Hixson
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Creating operational and physical improvements
to the infrastructure surrounding schools that reduce speeds and
potential conflicts with motor vehicle traffic, and establish safer
and fully accessible crossings, walkways, trails and
bikeways.
Engineering is one of the most important
components of Safe Routes to School. If we encourage and
teach students how to walk and bike to school safely, we must
provide them safe places to do it. Many of our suburban
schools were designed without pedestrian or bicycle facilities
because most of these schools were not located adjacent to
neighborhoods as the automobile was seen as the expected mode of
transportation. Why would sidewalks or bicycle routes be
necessary? We now realize school placement and student
activity are both very important factors in the design and function
of our communities. When schools and neighborhoods exist
within a two-mile radius of one another with adequate pedestrian
and bicycle facilities, it creates opportunity for students to get
routine exercise, parents to help reduce traffic congestion and air
pollution, and the community to actively engage - thus forming a
unique sense of place.
Interested in the Engineering Team?
