WalkSafe And BikeSafe Programs Help Grow Active Kids

In the face of skyrocketing obesity and declining physical activity rates it's often easy to overlook simple solutions to tackle complex health issues. Getting on the right track to healthy living can be as simple as stepping out the front door for a bicycle ride or walk. Walking and bicycling provide easy opportunities for exercise, leisure, and avoids sitting in traffic throughout the city.

For adults and children alike, bicycling and walking are sources of physical activity that are often missing from our daily routines. Despite the numerous benefits, the number of children walking and bicycling to school has declined significantly in the past few years. Safety concerns, infrastructure issues surrounding schools, and increased distance between home and school locations have all contributed to this trend.

By collaborating with multiple agencies-primarily the Florida Department of Transportation-and the community at-large using the "5 E model (Education, Engineering, Evaluation, Encouragement, and Enforcement), the University of Miami's WalkSafe™ and BikeSafe™ programs are changing policies, creating initiatives, and developing systems that will make it easier for children of all ages and abilities to walk and bike safely in their communities. The programs provide children and parents with the training, education and resources they need to travel to school via safe, active transportation.

Under the direction of Dr. Gillian Hotz, Director of the KiDZ Neuroscience Center at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the Miller School of Medicine, the programs have undergone multiple phases of development and expansion over the past ten years.

Since 2003, the WalkSafe™ in-school educational program has been mandated by the Miami-Dade County (MDC) School Board to be taught in every public elementary school in in the county and currently reaches more than 150,000 children each year. The three-day annual program has had a significant impact on pedestrian safety in Florida, particularly in MDC where it originated. Since 2002, there has been a 53% reduction in the overall number of children hit-by-cars in MDC, and a 70% reduction in the number of children hit-by-cars being seen at the county's Level-I trauma centers. With such success, WalkSafe has expanded to 12 other counties in Florida.

Additionally, BikeSafe has created a diverse range of initiatives that have achieved preliminary success in improving bicycle safety. This spring, BikeSafe will implement a bicycle safety program within MDC middle schools that will assist in resolving obstacles that children face when riding their bicycles to school and around their neighborhood. The BikeSafe™ curriculum focuses on improving students' bicycling skills, educating them about the safest ways in which to bicycle, and promoting the utility of bicycling. Adapted from the format which is used in MDC Parks and Recreation's Spring and Summer camps, the BikeSafe™ in-school curriculum is designed to accommodate the specific needs of MDC schools.

For more information about these programs you can contact the WalkSafe™/BikeSafe™ Office at 305-243-8115 or by email at info@walksafe.us. You can also visit us online: www.walksafe.us, www.ibikesafe.us

This material supplied by the University of Miami