Student Travel Survey Gives A Picture of How Children Are Getting to School

Here's something I've never heard of but wish I had before. The Washington State Student Travel survey was conducted in the spring of 2014 by the Washington State Department of Transportation and Washington State Department of Health. It asked parents how children, in kindergarten through 8th grade, get to and from school on a regular basis. It also asked for possible barriers to walking, biking, or riding the bus. 

Results show that overall, 44 percent of children in kindergarten through 8th grade ride the school bus, 38 percent are dropped off by a family member or friend, 15 percent walk and less than one percent ride their bikes. 

About a third of students live within one mile of school and over half live within two miles of school. As expected, those that live within one mile are more likely to walk (39%) or bicycle (3%) than those who live further away. When asked about barriers that keep children from walking or biking to school, more than 50 percent of the children who responded said distance, the age of the child (too young), unsafe roads to cross, convenience of driving, poor weather, speed or amount of traffic along the route, time, and a lack of sidewalks.

The most common reasons parents said their children didn't ride the school bus was that the bus was not available (46%) or that it was not available at the right time.

Very interesting. My neighborhood is a fair distance from all three schools so the majority of children ride the bus (and I know because I get stuck behind it almost every day). But what kills me is that, from my observation, a large number of parents also drive their children to the bus stop. Which I find odd because, as far as I can tell, not many of the students live far from the stop; probably a block or so. I know this because I also get stuck behind the parents as they're pulling out of their driveways, then stop in the middle of the road a block later to let their kids out at the bus stop. 

If you would like to see more results and recommendations from the Washington State Student Travel Survey, the full report is here. 

Latah Bridge Rehabilitation Public Open House

It appears that December is the new 'It' month for public meetings, based on the sheer volume of meeting announcements I've posted here recently. And here's another one: The City of Spokane is partnering with CH2M Hill to develop rehabilitation solutions for the Latah Bridge, also known as Sunset Bridge or High Bridge. The study team will host a public open house on Wednesday, Dec. 14 from 4-7 p.m. at the Woodland Center at Finch Arboretum, 3404 W. Woodland Blvd.

Study staff want to hear from drivers, bikers or walkers who use the bridge, in order to ensure the long-term vitality of the critical link the Latah Bridge provides in the region’s transportation system. The purpose of this study is to provide the City with an understanding of the current condition of the bridge and develop a plan on how to rehabilitate it. Once completed, the study will allow the City to seek funding for the next steps.

WP-SIA Study Article

We've just recently wrapped up the West Plains-Spokane International Airport Transportation Study here at SRTC. Not familiar with it? Here's an article in this week's Journal of Business that 'stars' our own Senior Transportation Planner Eve Nelson. You may have a hard time accessing this one because sometimes the Journal asks for a password. If you really want to read it and can't get to it, let me know and I'll email it to you.