Bike Traffic - September 2006

September 2006

Safe Routes Ambassador Kevin Mitchell shows students at Heffran school, on the West Side, how to peek around parked cars and other things that obscure children’s view of traffic. (photo: Emily Fitzgerald)

‘You Can Take That to School’
Teaching skills inside and outside

By Emily Fitzgerald

Kevin Mitchell stood before a group of second graders at Bell School on Chicago’s North Side, wearing his sharp red track jacket emblazoned with the Mayor Daley’s Safe Routes Ambassadors logo.

“What are some good ways to get to school?” Mitchell asked.

Several eager hands shot up. Walking, riding the bus and other familiar answers were offered.

Mitchell continued to call on students, expecting someone to eventually mention a bicycle. What came next took him by surprise. “You could make an invention that is a scooter that starts to fly when you push it with your feet,” offered one pupil. “You could take that to school.”

Safe Routes Ambassadors exchange ideas about transportation and safety with second and fifth graders all over Chicago. The program, operated by the Chicago Department of Transportation with consultants from Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, encourages children to imagine how the world would be different if people chose to walk or bike more often. It challenges students to examine their experiences as pedestrians and bicyclists, and to develop safe practices for walking and bicycling.

In its first year of operation (the 2005-2006 school year), Safe Routes Ambassadors visited more than 80 schools from Norwood Park to the East Side and spoke with more than 10,000 students.

Focusing on pedestrian safety with second graders, Safe Routes Ambassadors present information that students can apply to their daily commute. Skills such as adjusting their line of sight and recognizing the safest place to cross a street are vital to the safety of young pedestrians, and are common mistakes that lead to injury.

The Ambassadors teach an interactive lesson using a 3-by-3 foot “Street Smarts” model, which helps students visualize pedestrian scenarios. In addition to the classroom presentation, the Ambassadors lead an on-foot workshop, in which students apply the skills they have discussed and practice crossing streets near their school.

With fifth graders, Ambassadors discuss the importance of helmets, the independence bicycling allows, and how to be both visible and predictable. Common bicycling scenarios are played out with the Street Smarts model.

This school year, the Safe Routes Ambassadors are expanding their reach to include community groups, Local School Councils, Parent Teacher Organizations, as well as high school students. The goal is to engage more adults and young people in Safe Routes activities and support those already involved.

Mayor Daley’s Safe Routes Ambassador program is a free city service for all Chicago schools. To schedule the Ambassadors at your school, contact Emily Fitzgerald at (312) 744-3019.