Please take a minute to fill out this survey for the Madison
school district. There are two questions on it.
This might be a good time to get safe routes to school on their
radar. My comment to that effect is below.
Here is the forwarded message:
_____________________________________________________
The Equity Task Force, appointed by the MMSD Board of Education, is
seeking community and district employee input regarding aspects of a
proposed equity policy.
To facilitate gathering community input, a brief online survey is
available.
To take the survey, please go to
http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/boe/equity/survey.htm
Thanks for helping the Equity Task Force.
Ken Syke
Public Information
Madison School District
voice 663 1903; cell 608 575 6682; fax 608 204 0342
***************************************************
Here is my comment (submitted on the MMSD website, copied here):
Equity, in part, must include the ability for all children to be able
to get to school under their own power. This means the idea of the
distant centralized school is wrong. It is wrong for a whole host of
socio-economic-educational reasons. But it is also wrong from a
life-long health perspective. Busing and driving kids to a distant
centralized school is a multiple assault on children's physical
well-being. Not only does the emphasis on motorized transport present
an immediate danger of injury (yes, even while riding in it!), it
also instills the wrong message about transportation and everyday
physical activity. It also fills our children's lungs with
pollutants. Combined, these factors mean a much less healthy
childhood than one centered around routine physical activity. Walking
should be a basic fact of childhood.
Unfortunately, your current school siting, scale, site designs and
school policies militate against against health. I know because I see
the designs come before the city commission I'm a member of, the
Urban Design Commission [and MMSD has fought our efforts to rein in
the paving].
For MMSD's health equity policies to change, the school district must
plan its own facilities with the pedestrian at the center. This is
currently not happening, as the emphasis at new schools is always to
over-provide for the automobile at the expense of walking safety as
well as to the detriment of greenspace (the Leopold addition is a
perfect example thereof).
It will also require the school district to engage the city for
better pedestrian-oriented planning city-wide. (And yes, you are your
brother's keeper in this case. You cannot abdicate your
responsibility as a unit of government by failing to vigorously
provide input into how schools--and most importantly, *children*--fit
into the community at large.) Current city policies emphasize
automobile-oriented housing tracts, rather than mixed-use,
pedestrian-oriented neighborhoods. The city's current car-oriented
planning puts children at risk even if they live near a school.
Furthermore, the current design and siting of schools, set apart from
surrounding neighborhoods as stand-alone entities sends a poor
message to the community. A look at older schools (Lowell, for
example) provides a much more socially-embedded feel (something
cherished by neighbors, children especially), rather than that of an
autonomous institution.
It is time for a new day to dawn for walking to school. For health. For equity.
Sincerely,
Michael D. Barrett
2137 Sommers Ave.
Madison, WI 53704
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