At Alameda Elementary, upwards of a third of the students ride their bikes (or other wheels) to school on Wednesdays. Even in this bike-loving city, that’s a lot more than usually cycle to school. Their gym teacher, Sam Balto, has organized an official weekly ride to school for more than a year now. He calls it the Bike Bus — a nod to the fact that it’s an alternative to a school bus (or their parents’ cars). He’s gotten attention from NBC News and spawned copycats at least as far away as New Jersey. (Salt Lake has a bike bus too.)
His videos on social media are full of joy, so I asked why he’s doing it and what would make cycling safer for his students.
Why do you want more kids to bike to school?
As a physical education teacher, I think it is important for children to be active. Walking or biking to school is a great way to build physical activity into your schedule.
Why does a Bike Bus encourage more kids to bike?
We are consistently doing it — weekly — and we make it fun. Lots of children and parents might not feel safe biking alone, so biking in a big group creates safety in numbers.
If you could wave a magic wand, what's one thing you would have the city, school district, or state do to get more kids to bike to school?
I would like the City of Portland to create School Streets that prevent car traffic in front of schools during arrival and dismissal [times], and implement a safety concept used widely in London called Low-Traffic Neighborhoods. They remove all traffic cutting through neighborhoods [by blocking traffic to cars at key spots or strategically making the streets one direction in key places]. Creating neighborhood streets that have no unnecessary car trips would make streets safer for children to ride to school.
Follow Sam Balto and his Bike Bus adventures on Twitter.
