Teach Your Children Well: Rules of the Road for Kids Walking Around Town

ONE OF OUR family’s favorite things to do is to go for walks. In Chicago, we’d spend entire days wandering neighborhoods, playground hopping or visiting favorite shops.

Walkability is an important factor for us -- and one of the things we look for when we choose where to live or spend our time. It’s one of the things that we like about Kirkland, for the most part. But with sidewalks stopping and starting within the same neighborhoods, and in some cases missing altogether, Kirkland isn’t perfectly walkable.

In fact, according to www.walkscore.com, Kirkland gets an average walkability score of 68, which according to the site’s criteria (based on proximity to various types of businesses and services, among other things), is considered “somewhat walkable.”

There are various ways to measure walkabilty, of course. As Patch reported earlier this year, a Wall Street Journal article listed Kirkland as the 10th-most walkable suburb in America. Walking magazine has called it one of the top 15 most-walkable cities in the country.

But Kirkland has some work to do, particuarly in upgrading pedestrian facilities in the recently annexed neighborhoods. Just last night, my dog, girls and I headed down to Juanita Village for an evening stroll before picking up some take out at .

We parked by the restaurant, then headed out up to , where we hung a left. We followed the sidewalk to 97th Avenue NE and headed south toward the beach. However, without a sidewalk, we were left to walk in the gravel up to the parking lot. With cars crossing our path multiple times in the short time it took for us to get to the corner, I was on full alert, holding hands, holding babies and pulling the dog close. It wasn’t the most relaxing walk we’ve ever taken.

After a quick trip to the beach playground, we walked back toward the restaurant, this time heading east along Juanita Drive to avoid the gravel shoulder. However, the path still took us across several parking lot entrances, which is perfectly reasonable for a commercial area. However, as we stopped at parking lot entrances and looked both ways, it was a great reminder of the importance of teaching pedestrian safety to our kids.

That point was reinforced this morning as I watched dozens of children cross streets as they made their way to school.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 13,000 pedestrians aged 14 and under were injured -- and an additional 244 were killed -- in 2009. Forty-two percent of these injuries took place in the afterschool hours, between 4 and 8 p.m. The next most dangerous time -- which I am guessing is largely the coming-home-from-school commute – accounted for another 21 percent of the injuries between noon and 4 p.m.

Interestingly – and importantly – the vast majority (74 percent) of all youth pedestrian injuries took place at non-intersection locations.

Kirkland takes pedestrian safety very seriously. In-ground flashing lights at several crosswalks in town have measurably increased the rate and distance at which cars yield to pedestrians at those crosswalks. And the pedestrian flags at crosswalks throughout town have also improved safety for pedestrians crossing the street.

In addition, the Kirkland police monitor high volume crosswalks, enforce school speed zones and work with the schools to provide traffic safety education to kindergarten through third graders.

However, with school back in session, it’s a good time to freshen up. Not only do we need to teach and reinforce the safety rules, we need to model them with our own, safe behavior. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, here are some of the basics:

To cross a street:

• The safest place to cross a street is at a corner or intersection.

• Stop at the curb (or at the edge of the road if there isn’t a curb) to check for moving cars by looking left, then right, then left again.

• If there is a car coming, wait until it goes by and then check left, right, left until no car is coming. (My own two cents: Remember to stop and check before crossing driveways, parking lot entrances and alleys, as well.)

• If there is a parked car where you are crossing, make sure there is no driver and that the car isn’t running. Then, walk out to the edge of the park car so you can see into the road and look left, right left to check for oncoming traffic.

• When the road is clear, walk – don’t run – across the street and continue looking both ways while you cross.

• Children under 10 should never cross a street without the supervision of a responsible adult.

• Never dart into the street, no matter if you think the road is clear.

To walk along a street:

• Stay on the sidewalk if one is available.

• If there is not a sidewalk available, always walk facing oncoming traffic so you can see what’s coming toward you (and get out of the way if need be!).

Be seen:

• During the daytime, wear bright colors to make yourself easy for drivers to see.

• At night, always carry a flashlight and/or wear clothing with reflectors.

Done safely, walking is great exercise and provides a wonderfully free, environmentally friendly and fun form of transportation. It can help us meet our neighbors, clear our heads, discover nature and explore our community.

However, with a high volume of drivers and bikers, the roads are not always safe for pedestrians.

We can’t control the actions of others on the road. However, by following these rules, we can ensure that we are almost always out of harm’s way when on foot. They empower us to take responsibility for our own safety.