Walking to School

Every morning, middle school students flock to the streets to take the 20 minute walk to Whatcom Middle School from all around the Lettered Streets Neighborhood.

All of these students fit the requirements specified in the Bellingham School District’s transportation plan which creates a safe, energy efficient alternative to buses for students in close proximity to the school.

The plan explains that every student living within a one mile radius of the school they attend will not be provided bus services and are expected to either walk or have a parent provide transportation to school. There are various different resources provided to make the process easier such as a Walking School Bus, Bike Trains and walking routes for students and families.

Parents of the students have voiced concerns about their children walking to the school based on the route they have to take and the weather conditions of the day.

One mother, Rena Priest, explained that her daughter doesn’t feel safe taking the route the school has planned for her.

“She has to walk past the jail alone to get to school,” Priest said. “It just seems unsafe for a twelve-year-old kid.”

When the plan was created for the students in the district to walk to school, there were several guidelines put in place to determine the safest route for every student to take in order to make it to school.

“Walking by the jail means you walk by the sheriff’s office as well, so there is plenty of law enforcement available for safety reasons,” Rae Anne Thon, Director of Transportation Services said. “We also take into account the amount of sidewalks, street crossings, heavily traveled streets and the grade level of the student when making the plan.”

Alternatively, there are usually multiple routes for each student to take which will get them to school in approximately the same amount of time, as safe as possible.

For students in the Lettered Streets Neighborhood, the walk to Whatcom Middle school is estimated to be about six to eight blocks which will take the student an average of 15-20 minutes to walk to and from school every day.

“Walking and biking are a great way to get kids interested in staying healthy and they help cut down on energy costs,” Kim Brown, Transportation Options Coordinator said.

The City of Bellingham is a strong advocate for more walking and biking options, which means that students are a target group for innovations in the city.

In the winter time, the threat of snow is also a concern for students walking to school. The school district is unable to provide more bus services and conditions may be unsafe for walking.

“When we sit down at 3:30 in the morning to talk about a school closure due to snow, students who walk are a main consideration,” Thon said. “We need to make sure they have a safe way to make it to school without big hills or a lot of ice on the roads.”

If there is too much snow or ice on the roads in the morning before school, the transportation department may vote to close the entire school due to a limited availability of bus routes for students to safely attend the school that day.

Winter time also means an hour set back of the clocks, which leaves many students who participate in after school activities to walk home in the dark.

Although the school district provides buses that take student athletes to events that require them to travel to another school, a bus service is not in place to take them home if they have to stay after school for any amount of time.

Parents are encouraged to pick up their children when an activity is over or ride share options between the parents are also suggested.

“Ride share and walking together in the evenings is the best way to keep safe,” Thon said. “We are constantly working on making the plan safer for the students.”

As new options and other safety concerns arise, the transportation department will continue to innovate and create the best plan possible for every student involved.