University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

The study hopes to find ways to make walking and biking more appealing for students and residents.

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By PATRICIA DONOVAN

Published: September 23, 2009

Graduate students in the School of Architecture and Planning are working with officials of the Town of Amherst to make the town more “walkable”—that is, safer for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

In particular, they want to make walking and biking to school safe and appealing to K-8 students and parents in the Williamsville Central School District.

To that end, the students will hold concurrent meetings with parents and students in the district from 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Amherst Pepsi Center, 1615 Amherst Manor Drive.

Walk-ins are welcome, but to assure a spot, those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP by Sept. 28 by calling Kelly Ganczarz at 829-2133 ext. 225, or emailing amherstwalkability@gmail.com.

The UB students say they want to hear the values students and parents place on the idea and their vision regarding a more “active” Amherst. Incorporating the community’s values, they explain, is essential to creating a plan that will be effective and beneficial for the district.

The meetings also will help assess community assets, current barriers to pedestrian traffic and biking, and other areas of public concern related to children actively commuting to the Williamsville schools.

The UB students are members of a graduate planning studio taught by Samina Raja, associate professor of urban and regional planning. They have partnered with the Town of Amherst to come up with ways to make the town friendlier to pedestrians and bikers.

Fenna Mandolang, a student in the studio, explains that the federal government in 2005 established a Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program to “empower communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity once again.”

“The Town of Amherst is participating in the national SRTS program,” she says, “and our task is to help Amherst move closer toward its goal of encouraging students to walk and bike to school.”

“We will create a plan for the Williamsville Central School District, the largest district in Amherst and a partner in the SRTS grant, that will include programs and policies to facilitate ‘active commuting’ to and from school by children,” she says.

Her colleague, Jessie Hersher, notes that active commuting “in this case refers to the use of self-propelled means of transportation, such as walking, bicycling or using a scooter, to get to school. It offers a number of benefits to individuals and the community, including healthier levels of physical activity and a lower-carbon footprint than offered by bus or auto transportation.”

“Unfortunately,” says Hersher, “active transportation rates in the United States, especially among children, have been consistently declining. In the early ’70s, more than half the children in the United States walked or biked to school. Today, about half are dropped off by automobiles and a quarter take the bus.”

The Raja studio is following up on a planning studio last spring directed by Ernest Sternberg, associate professor of urban and regional planning, that identified physical barriers to walking and riding to school in the Williamsville district and made recommendations to the Town of Amherst for addressing them.