Walk to School Day deemed a success

Five out of six people enjoyed the Village of Brockport's first Walk to School Day event on October 4, according to survey results. The Walk to School Committee of the Walk! Bike! Brockport action group, chaired by Dr. Jim Goetz, Sara Silverstone and Dave Ball, gathered up volunteers and spread the word to school children in the Brockport School District to give up the bus and car and take to their feet as a way to get to school.

Goetz addressed the village board on November 20 with an update on how the first-time project fared, even tough the weather didn't cooperate as well as the walkers and organizers would have hoped.

"There were 300 walkers that day (in a typical day, close to 200 students walk to school in Brockport), despite the rain and lightning, parents and students still brave the elements," Goetz said.

As part of the walk, surveys that "rated the neighborhood's walkability" were distributed and out of the 300 handed out, 53 were returned. "Overall 83 percent of the walkers said the walk was fine," Goetz said. "There were issues with traffic, such as drivers who sped up to get through the traffic signals, some drivers who didn't stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks, drivers turning right on red which meant the walkers couldn't cross."

When checked against other communities on the walkability rating, Brockport scored a 26. According to Goetz, scoring between 26 and 30 meant a neighborhood was "great" for walking. "We were a bit on the low end but that is something we can address," he said.

Mayor Mort Wexler said he was pleased with the police presence on that day. "For the first time, given the weather, it went well. I saw a lot of parents walking with the younger kids and that was one of the goals," he said.

Goetz said the committee will be working on fundraisers in order to defray expenses for next year's event.

November 26, 2006