Students Take a Walk by the Thousands

An estimated 100,000 Los Angeles students walked to school with their parents Wednesday to mark National Walk a Child to School Day.

Two San Fernando Valley schools, Strathern Street Elementary in North Hollywood and Noble Avenue Elementary in North Hills, made particularly strong showings.

“At Noble there were hundreds,” said Los Angeles Unified School District administrator Carole Takaki, one of the event organizers. “There are a number of apartment buildings a few blocks east of that site and [a lot of] children. It’s a high-density apartment area.”

Pat Hines, executive director of the Los Angeles-based pedestrian safety organization Safe Moves, estimated that 150 students passed by one corner near Strathern Street Elementary School.

Of 17 area schools highlighted by the walk-to-school campaign, about 40,000 students walked Wednesday, Hines said.

The annual day began in Los Angeles five years ago and went national in 1997, she said.

“Los Angeles is by far the most successful [event],” Hines said. “People always say that nobody walks in L.A., but it’s not true. We have as many kids walking to school as New York City.”

Los Angeles has an extraordinarily high number of latchkey children--whose parents work long hours and leave their kids home alone for long hours--and many of these kids have to walk to school alone, she said.

Walking to school with parents helps to teach young children how to properly navigate traffic and stay out of danger, and it’s also good exercise, Hines said.

Takaki offered other incentives for Angelenos to leave their cars behind.

“The schools in LAUSD are large in population for the most part,” she said. “Should everyone drive and drop off their children, it would create horrific vehicular congestion.

“It’s also a good opportunity to talk with your child.”