When I was a kid, no one really thought twice about walking to school unaccompanied by an adult. It was just the way we got to school, full stop. Neighbourhood kids skipped along our local streets. Historical data bears this out: a generation ago 58 per cent of children walked to school, but today, that number has dropped to 28 per cent.

Remember your walk to school? Remember how it took you 15 minutes to get to school but an hour and a half to get home? I remember moments when I thought I couldn’t manage: my feet soggy in leaky boots on cold winter days, my brown paper lunch bag ripping and my apples tumbling onto the sidewalk, or having to dodge unfriendly, oversized, neighbourhood dogs. But I also remember the adventures I had — the games I made up with my friends, the times we daringly “double rode” when we were short a bike or two, or lingering through the puddles on a rainy day.

I did manage, and now I believe that walking to school — being out in the world, taking chances, making choices — is a critical part of progressing from childhood to becoming an autonomous adult. It is also an important way for us to reduce our environmental footprint, and in light of growing childhood inactivity and obesity, it is directly linked to a health imperative as well.

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In my family today, with my children, we have had to be intentional to choose walking to school. At times it’s been tricky, but most of the time we find a way.

Experts say that around age 9 children are ready cognitively and physically to walk alone — depending on maturity and distance. When my daughter Alexandra was 9 we had some long talks: she thought it was too far, so we Googled the distance to her school and compared it to what I walked as a kid. My walk was longer. More issues arose: her backpack was too heavy (we now regularly cull it for essentials); she’s too hungry after school (we pack a snack); there are busy streets to cross (she’s had to develop savvy in paying attention); and of course, what about “stranger danger?” Admittedly, this wasn’t her concern as much as it was mine. So we taught her some ago-old lessons about interacting with strangers, and then did something very modern: we equipped her with a cellphone.

For several weeks I walked or cycled with her. But then we reached a point when it seemed natural, and easy — it wasn’t necessary for me to accompany her any more. I’m proud that she knows her way around our neighbourhood. Walking alone has increased her confidence, her freedom, her awareness of her neighbourhood, and her sense of responsibility. A few years later she started using the TTC on her own, and it’s been a great instrument of freedom for her to explore the city and to visit her friends — on her own.

My son Luis is almost 9, and after several years of walking, cycling and skateboarding to school accompanied by an adult, he is eagerly anticipating the opportunity to walk to school on his own, for the first time, this year.

My greatest fear has been that my kids might get hit by a car. I can teach them street smarts, but it’s unfair that they have to contend with people driving too fast, and too carelessly. A child on foot is no match for a hurried, driving commuter.

Children have a right to be in the city, to experience the pleasure of starting and ending the day with a walk. It’s a sad testament to the mess we’ve made if children are not safe — or welcome — on our neighbourhood streets.

But this is a mess we can fix.

We can choose to slow down when we drive and look out for children, to make walking to school safer.

Neighbours can work together to organize “ walking school buses ,” thereby normalizing the walk to school once again.

If we must drive, we can drop our children off for the last leg of the trip, or maybe only drive a few days a week, such as when there are hockey bags or instruments to lug. They will experience the benefits of walking at least part of the way to school, or at least some of the time, and we reduce the traffic congestion that accumulates in proximity to our schools.

We can also choose to get out and walk ourselves, becoming the “eyes on the street” that make the places we live, real neighbourhoods.

According to research by the University of Toronto, 22 per cent of all morning rush hour traffic is generated by parents driving their children to school. Sometimes it’s necessary, but we also know that often this is a choice.

The more that children are encouraged to walk to school, the safer — and healthier — our city will become.

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