Walk to school event increases Arlee speed limit awareness
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It was a chilly morning, the kind where your breath hangs in the air and frost etches itself across windows like stained glass. As the sun peeked over the mountains, one by one students bundled in coats and strapped with backpacks hopped out of cars and buses ready for school. But on this morning these students would get to school a different way than they usually do: on foot.
Arlee School hosted its first Walk to School Day event Oct. 18 for students in grades third through sixth. National Walk to School Day is celebrated Oct. 5 but during the whole month of October, schools can celebrate this event. About 75 students participated in Arlee, as did several high school students in the drivers’ education class, who stood at different points along the walking route as guides. Students with permission slips were allowed to walk from the Arlee Community Center or the Nkwusm Salish Immersion School to the Arlee School campus.
“This is the first year and we worked out some of the kinks,” organizer and physical education teacher Susan Carney said. “Now we know how much time it takes to walk to the school but it was all so effortless because everyone enjoyed it so much.”
After completing the walk students were given little beaded charm bracelets with a walking charm given out by the Arlee PTA.
“It was a collaborative effort,” Carney said of all the volunteers involved, including parents, teachers, community members and students.
The idea behind the event was not only to provide students the opportunity to walk to school but bring awareness to the community about providing safe routes to school.
Carney mentioned that even though the speed zone through Arlee is 35 mph, she and others notice that many cars do not abide by this speed.
“Even when I come around that corner near the school I notice sometimes even I am already pushing 35. It’s easy to do but you have to make a conscious effort,” Carney said of maintaining the 35 speed limit on U.S. 93 Highway that cuts through Arlee. Carney said she and others feel the speed limit needs to be lowered.
A couple of weeks ago it was brought to the school’s attention that a student was trying to cross the road at one of the four crosswalks and was almost hit. One car stopped but another one did not and ended up rear-ending the other. Fortunately, the student was able to move back onto the curb to avoid getting hurt.
Elementary School Principal Lisa Miller said she noticed vehicles and semis during the Walk to School event that were going well over 35 mph.
“That’s a major corridor,” Miller said. “It’s not that far where people can’t slow down for seven blocks.”
Miller suggested putting in flashing lights during the beginning and end of the school day would help some.
“We need people making people obey the law,” Miller said of the speed limit.
The Arlee School District recently received a Safe Routes to School grant for $72,947 to build a bike path for students that would start at Oxford Lane and extend to the administration building on campus.
“There has been no real trail for (students),” Carney said. “There’s a beaten-down path where kids have walked or (ridden) their bikes to school.” Carney said the construction on that bike trail would begin either this fall or in the spring depending on weather.
The eventual construction of this path will also change the way staff and visitors park their cars in lots in front of the school. Right now there is no clear definition of where people can and can’t park and that will change to ensure the safety of students walking in those areas.
“It’s a ripple effect,” Miller said of the path’s construction.
Through the same grant, the school bought a new bike trailer complete with 14 bikes, helmets and flashers, which Carney will use to teach bike safety. Before, the school often rented a similar trailer.
“It’s not like it used to be when you would get up, do chores and then get to run to the park,” Carney said. “We can’t allow (children) to run around on their bicycles. We have to teach them how to be safe first.”
