General Cycling Discussion - Chicago School District Bans Bikes!

I was channel surfing last night and hit the Chicago station at news time, and saw this report. It wasn't brought out on TV but in the article below from the Chicago Trib, they banned bikes from the middle and high school in this district five years ago.

So, why does the Wauconda Shool District hate cycling so much?


Bicycle ban is upheld for Wauconda school


By Courtney Flynn
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 8, 2003

While a dozen young protesters rode bikes outside, Wauconda school board members supported a bicycle ban Thursday and agreed to form a committee to study the matter.

The decision came as a disappointment to the schoolchildren who had gathered with some parents at Wauconda High School, where the Wauconda Community UnitSchool District 118 board meets.


"I think it's not fair to not ride bikes to school," said Kristen Kussy, 11. "I think 5th- and 6th-graders are old enough to know about safety."

Board members supported the Wauconda Grade School administration's recent decision to prohibit bikes at the school when classes start Aug. 27, a move administrators say was prompted by safety concerns. But board members said they want to form a committee of school, police and village officials and parents to review the matter.

"I think it's a way for us to meet the concerns of the administration and still meet the needs of the parents," board President John Armstrong said before the meeting. "If we could make the changes that could make it safe, then maybe [we'd] lift the ban."

The bike ban probably will remain in effect through March while the committee studies the issue, Armstrong said.

A similar ban has been in effect for about five years at the district's middle school and high school. Bike riding is allowed at two district elementary schools.

Although the state doesn't track such data, Illinois school officials said they weren't aware of a similar ban anywhere else.

The state's largest school districts--the Chicago Public Schools and Elgin-based Unit School District 46--do not have policies against students riding bikes on school property.

Officials decided to ban bikes at the grade school because of increased traffic in the area and of an accident last spring, said district Supt. John Barbini. A pupil was hit by a car, though not seriously injured, while riding to school.

The decision sparked Thursday's protest ride, fueled complaints from some parents who characterized the ban as an overreaction and drew criticism from the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation.

On Thursday, Dave Glowacz, director of education for the federation, outlined for school board members a national program called Safe Routes to Schools, which seeks to increase the number of children who walk or bike to school.

The program, which Wauconda expects to use in the district, could be used as a tool to teach groups how to survey students about travel to school, Glowacz said.

The program might also include an assessment of the quality of street surfaces, the behavior of drivers and traffic.

"If we go through this process, they may lift the ban," Glowacz said.

Matt Longjohn, executive director of the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, told board members about the benefits of bike riding as a way to promote a healthy lifestyle.

At least one parent was pleased that school officials agreed to study the issue, but said he wished they would have done it before banning the bikes.

"I think it's a very positive sign and a step in the right direction," said Jose Pineiro, 38, whose son wants to ride his bike to Wauconda Grade School this fall.

"But I'm also really disappointed that we're the only school district in the Chicagoland area to have a ban on bike riding."

If you worked at a school or lived across the street from one you would understand how crazy the parents drive.I think the younger kids would ride better then the 5th and 6 graders.We all see how badly the kids and some grown ups ride,going the wrong way,riding on everything,ect.

Wauconda is NOT Chicago- please don't mistake some uptight suburb in the north west area of the state as Chicago- Chicago is all for the cycling, as is our mayor.

Take note of this part of the article:


The state's largest school districts--the Chicago Public Schools and Elgin-based Unit School District 46--do not have policies against students riding bikes on school property.

The Chicago Public School board is not part of the Wauconda Community UnitSchool District 118 board, nor do they have any authority to act on or involve themselves in this other school board.

It does look like they are going to open this up to the parents and other school officials though, and that's a relief....

Koffee

right, and in a few years the news will run a feature
about the high incidence of obesity in school age children.
we already see this kind of story so what do these
w@nkers do? ban bike riding. go figure.

Marty

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
[B]Wauconda is NOT Chicago- please don't mistake some uptight suburb in the north west area of the state as Chicago- Chicago is all for the cycling, as is our mayor.



Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot. He only hates general aviation.

come visit the burbs in Chicago sometime. They are built for and around the car, in many places it is dangerous to travel by bike. Biking and walking have been margenalized to such a degree in many places that if you do not have a car you can not leave home, there are no sidewalks, poor sholders high speed limits, and millions of aggressive inconsiderate drivers. Actually you should never visit the suburbs of Chicago, they are a bleached wastland of identical houses that pop up by the thousands over night, with the only vegitation being one small tree per half or quarter acre lot. I got lost in one once and thought I was in the movie 28 Days Later or having a bad trip because once people get home from work or school they go inside and don't come out, many time you feel like your going to be arreseted trying to walk down the street (no sidewalks). Not being able to ride to school is the least of these kids worries because they already live in hell on earth. The city on the other hand is awesome, for biking and otherwise.

Years ago when I was stationed at Chanute AFB in Rantoul for training, a friend and I went to downtown, downtown Chicago to visit one of his friends going to school there. We left her dorm about 2 am, to head back to base, whereupon we promptly got lost looking for the I-57 on-ramp, and managed to get ourselves into some of the roughest looking sections of town I have ever seen (and I've been in a lot of 3rd world places in my military careeer!) We ran every light we could get make it though without stopping. We had a compass on the dash, and figured if we kept going south long enough we would come out ok, and we eventually made it to the interstate. I never went back though.

This is insane. I don't care how wasteland the area is with no sidewalks. Kids should be allowed to ride their bikes to school.

I commuted by bike to school every day from 9th grade through college. I went to high school in Northport, NY. This is on Long Island one of the suburbs for NYC. The school was on one of the main roads in the area and there were not sidewalks everywhere.

Big deal, I handled it just like adult commuters do. I travelled earlier than the normal traffic and choose a less travelled route that got me off the arterial road before getting to the school.

In no way should these kids be forbidden to bike to school. It is so stupid.
-Duncan

If I hadn't been able to ride my bike to school as a kid, it would have been brutal. Uphill both ways, in the snow.

Seriously, my intermediate school was about a mile and a half away from my house but they had me classified as a walker, so I rode my bike. Made the trip less than 10 minutes, as opposed to 30 or more. That's a big sleeping-in difference to a 12-year old. Well, I rode until some other kids tried to steal my bike--while I was on it.

I agree with you it is stupid, I don't mean to sound like I am making excusses, I biked to school every day in the burbs too, it's just not surprising thats all. Now it just sucks more to live out there

In the minds of shallow thinkers, it's entirely logical to ban 12 year-olds from cycling to school, while allowing 16 year-olds to drive a car, even though car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States.

Now, could somebody explain how it could be a safety issue for the middle and high school kids, but not for the elementary school kids? That sounds pretty strange-I'm wondering if there is something else going on here? Like maybe the middle and high school being situated on a major highway, perhaps?

FWIW, I had to commute 2 miles to high school each day from 1975 to 1979. We lived less than 1.5 miles from the school in "air" miles, but further by actual roads, so, no bus. I rode rather than walk 40 minutes each way, and I did it through all kinds of weather. Thankfully my old Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub was nearly impervious to upstate New York winter slop.

I walked from 4th to 10th until i got by 61 chevy belair with hijackers and cherry bombs dumped over the axle.

Originally posted by Pete Clark
In the minds of shallow thinkers, it's entirely logical to ban 12 year-olds from cycling to school, while allowing 16 year-olds to drive a car, even though car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States.

To take this thought a bit further: If the district wanted to increase the safety of its students on their way to and from school, the district would require their students to bike or walk to school. At a minimum, there'd be fewer tired and distracted parents dropping kids off. And as anybody whose commute takes them past a school in the morning, riding at 8am in a school zone is at least as dangerous as riding past a bar at 2am.

Plus, they'd be in better shape, develop fitness as a lifelong practice, exercise better road manners when they do become drivers, and be happy shiny people just like all of us BF'ers!

Cant do that and parents wouldnt like it.

Sure they could. I don't doubt that the parents object, but if they can prohibit a student from arriving to school on a bike, they could likewise prohibit a student from arriving in a motor vehicle.

So, let see if I have this 'logic' straight:

A child is involved in an accident with an automobile while bicycling to school, therefore bicycling to school is dangerous.
Since bicycling to school is dangerous, the School Board bans it.
----Is this a correct interpretation of the events?---

If so, then it follows:
A child is involved in an accident with an automobile walking to school, therefore walking to school is dangerous. Since walking to school is dangerous, the School Board bans it.

A child is involved in an accident with an automobile while being driven to school, therefore driving or being driven to school is dangerous. Since being driven to school is dangerous, the School Board bans it.

Conclusion:
Skoolz klozed cuz its tu danjerus tu getz tu.

I grew up riding my bike in the suburban-hell town of Naperville, IL ('burb of Chicago) as did most of my fellow classmates. I often biked instead of taking the bus because it was faster. Likewise when I was old enough to drive, I oftened biked because it was less frustrating. In addition to the morning traffic, finding parking at NNHS was not easy and parking a mile away just so you could drive to school was pointless. I got to school quicker on my bike.

I agree that the answer to keeping children safe during school commute hours is to more strictly enforce the laws already out there regarding motor vehicle traffic and to teach children how to properly deal with automobiles while cycling. Banning bikes is yet another example of grabbing for the low-dangling fruit. It totally ignores the root of the problem.

Originally posted by shokhead
If you worked at a school or lived across the street from one you would understand how crazy the parents drive.I think the younger kids would ride better then the 5th and 6 graders.We all see how badly the kids and some grown ups ride,going the wrong way,riding on everything,ect.

This problem could be solved with some simple bicycle education at the school concerned itself. Unfortunately the level of cycling education for children these days is appalling at best. The problem isn't cycling per se, the problem is cycling incorrectly. Instead of preaching a simple "cycling is dangerous" message, why not explain to them that wrong way cycling (recommended by many people these days) is what's dangerous, or that kerb-jumping in heavy traffic is what causes the problems. Lawful sensible cycling is not a problem.

Originally posted by Pete Clark
In the minds of shallow thinkers, it's entirely logical to ban 12 year-olds from cycling to school, while allowing 16 year-olds to drive a car, even though car accidents are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States.

Unfortunately this doesn't seem to matter to the whole "cycling is dangerous" brigade. Try asking one of them why cycling is dangerous after pointing out those stats - you'll get an answer of "it just is" or a blank stare. Yet they'll still cling to those beliefs, no matter how irrationally.

i regularly train through wauconda, lake zurich, long grove, hawthorne woods, mundelein, barrington, etc.

this is a suprise because this is home to some of the friendliest trails, nicest bike lanes and frequent sidewalks in the entire suburban area.

if my memory serves, i believe that the school district has grown to include some newer subdivisions where children would have to navigate through busy cross sections so they placed a policy to thwart any child, close or farther from attempting this commute.

is it simply not trusting the judgements of the parents?


p.s. mayor daley is called Fredo around here after the weakest link of brothers in the Godfather. that guy is hilarious!!

.s. mayor daley is called Fredo around here after the weakest link of brothers in the Godfather. that guy is hilarious!!

RiPHRaPH, them's fightin' words! You better lay off! ;)

Anyway, I think they have great trails and stuff in the northern part of the state. In fact, the reason why I head north and am inclined to do so many miles lately is because the north part of the state is so much more accepting of bikes on the roads than the actual Chicago downtown and the south suburbs (not a lot of experience with going west, so no imput there).

I agree with Chris- simple eduction for the kids in school about riding their bikes on the streets, correct hand signals, and keeping to the right should be sufficient enough for the kids to ride to school.

Manditory education of drivers at drivers license facilities about cyclists before they can renew their licenses would be nice too. If you make the process of getting the license hellish, I'm sure it would sink in a lot more deeply...

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Anyway, I think they have great trails and stuff in the northern part of the state. In fact, the reason why I head north and am inclined to do so many miles lately is because the north part of the state is so much more accepting of bikes on the roads than the actual Chicago downtown and the south suburbs (not a lot of experience with going west, so no imput there).

The northern trails are certainly nice. and you're right, I haven't found anything south that was acceptable. Admittedly I haven't explored that part of Chicago for well over a decade now. You really should try the western trails and routes. Sure they may seem like "corn country" but some of the best riding is waiting for you out in the country. One of the "epic" multi-day rides I used to do every year as a teenager with my friends was to go from Naperville to Galena and back. We sometimes followed roads and other times we'd try to hook up with bike trails or gravel and backcountry roads, offroad trails, etc... whatever could provide us with a sense of remoteness and make us feel like explorers. Stop by the small towns. Smell the cow pastures... err... I'm getting away from myself here... :D Anyways, give the west a try... you'll like it! BTW, if you go to Galena, visit the caves.

I've heard nothing but good about Galena- it's on my agenda at some point. A lot of folks that want to train in the hills pack up and head out to Galena for some good riding.

Would love to try the trails west of here, but I would like to find someone to ride them with just for the reason that it is so remote- the north suburbs and northern cities are well populated, so I feel better on my own out there. I'm not afraid of remoteness, just worried in case something happens and I get stranded or something along those lines.

Koffee

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Would love to try the trails west of here, but I would like to find someone to ride them with just for the reason that it is so remote- the north suburbs and northern cities are well populated, so I feel better on my own out there. I'm not afraid of remoteness, just worried in case something happens and I get stranded or something along those lines.

That's a good point. Even when I rode around by myself, I never ventured past the outskirts of Geneva, Batavia or Elgin. All my rides past there out into the more remote portions of the countryside were done with at least two other people in case something happened (one person to stay with the other and another to run and fetch for help). Nostalgia is setting in now. If I were in the area, I'd offer to show you my old stomping grounds. I see quite a few Illinois riders here, perhaps you folks could organise a ride or something.

Actually, I had a suggestion kicking around in my head a couple of days ago regarding the formation of subforums that are location specific for purposes of getting BikeForum members in that area together. I don't think there needs to be that many... probably geographically splitting the world up around the same lines as ATC regions would work. I know there are many other local bike forums and message boards floating around already but I tend to regard BikeForums as my one-stop-shop that I frequent most regularly. I'm not sure if that's the case with others though. I haven't formally proposed my idea in the suggestions forum because I feared it would pollute the forumspace.

The parents and students should openly challenge the school district's "right" to ban bicycling. To me, this sounds like a blatant violation of the students' fundamental mobility rights, and the policy should not hold up in a court of law.

Yes, our society would be much healthier in many ways if the minimum driving age were 18 and if students were ENCOURAGED to bike to school. Since our local districts no longer provide school buses, we desperately need to encourage bicycling to alleviate the monumental traffic jams around our schools.

You have a point- I'm thinking I'll be putting the word out around town that I'm looking for a riding partner for the west burbs and stuff.

The Big Rides and Partners section was designed just for what you're talking about, Khuon... I think what we need to do is make that more evident so that people can more easily find partners in their area.

Actually, there is a guy here I've spoken to, but all his bikes are in the shop right now, but as soon as they come out, I'm sure I can get him to head out west with me- that should be fun. He lives up north, but it would be nice to hook up in the north burbs, then head west and see where the road takes us.

Thanks for the ideas! :)

Koffee

Originally posted by John E
Yes, our society would be much healthier in many ways if the minimum driving age were 18 and if students were ENCOURAGEDC

To be honest, I'm not sure raising minimum driving age would do that much good. I've never believed that age-limitations were that effective anyways. I think things like that just don't go far enough at addressing the real problem. To increase safety, we need to increase skill and experience. More rigourous and recurring training and testing should be required at all age levels. I'd really like to see recurrent training and evaluation requirements on a two-year basis.

It's sad that kids can't ride their bikes to school, as I did. When I went to high school in NJ (1953-56), a lot of kids rode bikes to school every day. The huge bike shed behind the school must have had 500 bikes in there each day. None were locked, and rarely was one stolen.

Hi all
Biking is part of growing up kids need to do it!

On th other hand, This is corn country [flat lands] where the speed limit is 55 mph and traffic is thick. If you ride thru some of these intersections you better be looking for that Big rig running a red light. Parts of the burbs don’t have trails or side walks. I think we need more trails, But I all ways say that.

Koffee
My bikes are back. Out of dumb luck I came in to a 12 speed road bike!
I’m looking ford to meeting you and a ride up in the burbs.
My Shop has all the guys pulling 12 plus hr days But week ends/ mornings are always good. .

Mike

HVAC-

I'll call you early this week to plan for the bike races in Downers Grove on Saturday and Sunday....

Koffee

Originally posted by Waxbytes
Skoolz klozed cuz its tu danjerus tu getz tu.

( lol )

Originally posted by khuon
I grew up riding my bike in the suburban-hell town of Naperville, IL ('burb of Chicago) as did most of my fellow classmates. I often biked instead of taking the bus because it was faster.
I remember my first love of the bike. Since lusting after it ( :) ) while watching my older brother and sister balance the magic wheel, I finally mastered the secret.

One morning I rode a bike to elementary school.

Today, the thing that stands out in my mind most starkly that day is that a school patrol (student crossing guard--remember those?) commanded me (along with a multitude of other students yelling at me) to "get off the sidewalk!"

My, how things have changed...

Originally posted by Koffee Brown
Wauconda is NOT Chicago- please don't mistake some uptight suburb in the north west area of the state as Chicago- Chicago is all for the cycling, as is our mayor.



YOU GO GIRL!!! [3 snaps and a circle]

No honey...

It's two snaps up, a twist, and a kiss... <snap, snap>

;)