[Winona Online Democracy] Linda Fort is concerned about students walking 2 miles to school. Not to bring up the same issue over and over again, but this is one that is easily solved with good compact, efficient city planning: the density necessary to have enough households, and therefore enough children, within 1/2 mile of an elementary school is about 4 units/acre*. This is about what older traditional urban areas are developed at, like the middle of Winona. This is about 2-3 times as dense as typical newer suburban areas, and more than 10 times as dense as large lot rural subdivisions.
It's a win-win-win: kids are close to school, kids get exercise(!), parents don't have to drive all the time, school districts save bus money, residential per-unit land costs are lower, and there's more playmates close by after school's out. It worked for me and my friends going to Madison School in the 60s, and is being replicated all over the country by communities with long-range vision. Phil Carlson, Mpls * The math: - Children ages 6-18 are about 19% of Minnesota population (2000 census) - 1/3 of this population, or about 6% of the overall population, are children 6-10, elementary school age - A typical elementary school is about 400 students - 400 students is 6% of the neighborhood population - Therefore, the neighborhood population is about 6,000 - Average household size is about 2.5 persons - Therefore, the number of households in this neighborhood is about 2,500 - A 1/2-mile walk in all directions makes a neighborhood of 1 mile square mile, or 640 acres - 2,500 households on 640 acres = 4 units/acre - Older students can walk farther, and typically have larger schools as well, so the same density will work for middle schools and high schools -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of lbfort Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2005 8:42 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Winona] walking to school [Winona Online Democracy] I don't claim to have all the answers but having students walk 2 miles to school is too much. Not all parents are able to drive their children to school. How is a 6 year old supposed to walk 2 miles? Yes, I know our grandparents did it........ Linda Fort It's not what you are that holds you back, it's what you think you are not. _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
