As a parent it saddens me how we've essentially eliminated the idea that children can walk to school.
When I was a child in Winnipeg there was a school patrol at nearly every intersection within the walking zone of my school; as such if you lived in the walking zone you actually walked to school.
Now as a parent in Calgary my child's school has exactly 1 cross walk with patrols, the rest of the zone is 'at your own risk'. There is even tact acknowledgement of the risk for just arraigning for my child and one of her friends to be able walk to/from school together in the 2nd grade required both children's parents to meet with the principal for 'safety reasons'.
While safety is cited as the reason for eliminating patrols I suspect the real reasons are money and politics.
Walking isn't just good exercise for children but also teaches them that there are other modes of transport than driving and that you don't need to drive everywhere.
#education #walking #children #school #yyc #cdnpoli #abpoli