CDC MMWR: Barriers to Children Waking to or from School, US 2004.
Summary: This article details how and why fewer children walk to school today compared to 1969. Survey results reveal the most common reported barrier for children 5-18 years was "distance." The article also details the national Safe Routes to School (SR2S) initiative's efforts to eliminate barriers to active transportation.
General Concensus:
Most students found this article helpful but many noticed that it failed to report actual
distances for parents who cited "too far" as a barrier.
Additional Comments:
"I also wonder what proportion of the decline in walking/biking from 1969 to 2005 is a
result of mandatory busing for integration." (UPPA)
"While the walking school bus is a valid concept, this does nothing to address the fact that\ modern schools are generally built on huge, cheap tracts of land located too far away to\ walk for most of the students it serves." (UDPL)
"I would have found it much more interesting if this article had been able to survey both the general population and a subset of individuals whose schools were involved in an SR2S program, in case perceived barriers to walking were impacted by the program." (HSERV)