This video show families and kids biking and walking to school. It’s simply amazing to see such a high level of participation — and all of these kids developing a positive healthy lifestyle. It’s a huge contrast from schools in Metro Detroit which are often clogged with parents chauffeuring their children to school, causing area traffic congestion, and fostering a dependence on commuting by car rather than by biking or walking.

This video was taken by David Hembrow who adds “It’s important to realize that this is not an exceptional day, nor an exceptional school. Dutch children [are] everywhere, every day travel like this.”

Additional resources: National Center for Safe Routes to School, Michigan Safe Routes to School

Building a bike facilities is a great start, but you also need to devote some resources to getting the word out. We did this in Ferndale by creating videos that described why and how the bike network came about, as well as how to properly use them from a cycling and driving perspective. These videos were run on the local public access channel.

This week I came across a couple excellent public service announcements that also get the word out and get more non-cyclists on a bike.

This first one is from London, England (where they apparently had a decent budget):

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Last year, Detroit Public Television aired a half-hour segment on greenways and trails in the Metro-Detroit area called “Pathways for People.” It’s a well put together look at trails and their importance. If you have the time, you can now watch that video on-line. Pathway for People