KAPA‘A — There were more than three dozen people on the “Walking School Bus” by the time it reached the crosswalk opposite Kapa‘a High School, Tuesday. Starting with a handful of walkers, the first-ever Walking School Bus departed from the
KAPA‘A — There were more than three dozen people on the “Walking School Bus” by the time it reached the crosswalk opposite Kapa‘a High School, Tuesday.
Starting with a handful of walkers, the first-ever Walking School Bus departed from the Menehune Mart area of Kawaihau Road and picked up steam as it made its way down the Kawaihau plateau, eventually reaching Kapa‘a Elementary School.
The Walking School Bus coincided with the national Walk to School Day, an event designed to address the issues of physical activity, safer communities and environmental health, states a Get Fit Kaua‘i release.
“I guess this means it’s OK to walk to school,” said Bev Brody, the Get Fit Kaua‘i island coordinator. “Aside from reduced carbon dioxide, less traffic time and teaching children self-reliance, the most important benefit of walk-to-school programs are the health benefits. It has been proven over and over again that children who engage in regular physical activity perform better academically.”
The program addresses several areas of concern, including obesity and inactivity, physical activity leading to better self-esteem, and reducing passenger transportation.
“This area always gets a high rate of complaints on congestion during the time parents drop off students,” said Kaua‘i Police Acting Assistant Chief Ale Quibilan, who joined the walk from the start.
The Patrol Services Bureau set up speed-monitoring points at several locations on Kawaihau Road, the radar-equipped officers not lacking subjects.
“The sad thing is that a lot of the people we stop are parents with kids in the car on the way to school,” one of the monitoring site officers said. “They should look at their child and realize the school zone speed limit is there for the children’s safety.”
Passenger transportation accounts for 45 percent of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the average American family, states a release from Get Fit Kaua‘i. By reducing the number of short car trips like the ride to school, families can be part of slowing climate change.
A mother from Wailua Homesteads was waiting with her daughter at one of the many side streets connecting to Kawaihau Road, noting that her child would be willing to connect with the Walking Bus which is convenient for her because of the connecting points.
The Menehune Mart location was selected because it is the cutoff point for bus service, said another parent waiting at another intersection. By having a program such as the Walking Bus, it alleviates her fears of safety for the child who needs to walk to school because there is an adult, or adults, who are with the children.
Get Fit Kaua‘i states that obesity and inactivity, particularly among children, has been identified as one of the nation’s major public health challenges and one of the principal drivers of health-care spending.
Physical activity improves self-esteem, enhances psychological well-being and academic performance, overcomes boredom, and provides positive leisure pursuits, states the release.
Despite these aspects, two-thirds of American children don’t get the 30 to 60 minutes of daily physical activity required for healthy development, the release says.
Brody believes that in addition to the health benefits of walking to school, the children establish healthy habits that will last a lifetime.
Get Fit Kaua‘i, in conjunction with the Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition of Kaua‘i County’s School Task Force, spearheaded the Tuesday activity which was funded by the Department of Health’s Healthy Hawai‘i Initiative through a contract with the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa Office of Public Health Studies, John A. Burns School of Medicine, and the Kaua‘i County Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition which first convened in March 2009.
