Photo: Congestion near the Wellington on Common
Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac has something to say to parents of school-age children: Tell your kids to take a walk! As in take a walk to school each day.
With vehicle trips returning to pre-pandemic levels and changing traffic patterns and street repairs leading to congested roadways during weekday mornings and afternoons, MacIsaac is asking parents to consider NOT driving the kids to school.
“Every week during the school year, we receive complaints that pertain to motor vehicle traffic around our schools” with “[t]he vast majority of violators we identify are parents,” said MacIsaac.
The troubles start with the realization that the parking lots of each school and the adjacent roads “are not conducive to the amount of traffic that occurs around start time and the end of the school day,” Belmont’s chief said in a press release.
Add to that road construction and new traffic patterns at the new Belmont Middle and High School, Chenery Middle School and the Wellington and Burbank elementary schools and the sum total equals a significant amount of traffic challenges that police are facing each day.
So MacIsaac is putting the question to parents: consider alternatives to the usual drive to and from school such as have children take the bus, ride a bike or walk with their child to school.
Rather than taking them to the schoolhouse door, parents can also park a block or two away so a student’s walk will be a short one. And if driving to school is the only option, parents should exercise patience and be considerate to walkers and other motorists while driving Belmont roads, said MacIsaac.
I really love this suggestion! Walking is health and stress relief even for kids. They are smarts and can learn to cross the street on their own in grade school, and if you haven’t taught them that, you are not doing your job. Have them walk together and build social skills too. There is too much Mommy swooping in to do things for kids these days.
Yeah have your children bike or walk to school and worry about them getting hit by cars, assaulted, kidnapped, or killed! I prefer not to go that route but thanks for the suggestion!
The days of OLD are long gone!! Nobody who cares for their children want them walking to school because of idiots that aren’t paying attention, or sexual predators, or whatever sick stuff that goes on these days. Absolutely NOT would I let my child walk to school these days!!! Nope!! It’s not safe!!
Childhood obesity is epidemic. Walking 3 miles a day is excellent for parents and kids health.
WTG Chief!!!
Awesome ideas. Yes, get the kids to walk!!
Especially the middle school and highschool students.
Parents, take some control of your children.
Please don’t enable the kids, Giving them responsibility will build greater self esteem and independence.
If parents don’t believe their kids can be trusted to walk a block or two to school, then you have to wonder, are the parents doing their “parenting.”
Preparing their children to be self sufficient and contribute to society.
It is the same way here in Manchester.
But the Belmont kids all wanna show off the new porsche SUV they got for their sweet 16! 😂
Another idea: create a “walking bus.” When my son started school, several neighbors and I created one. Each parent took turns walking a group of 5 kids to school. We all met at a convenient corner. Then that day’s walking-bus parent took over and walked with the kids from there to the door of the school.