E A RT H D AY 2 0 1 2
MOVE IT
Get kids on their bikes
to ride BY SHANNON FINNELL
I
f you want to keep Eugeneans green and fi t, you’ve got to start ‘em
young. Shane MacRhodes, program manager for Eugene Safe Routes
to School Program, says the program makes it safer for kids to walk
and bike to school by use of the fi ve E’s: education, encouragement,
engineering, enforcement and evaluation. This tidy little description
includes a wide swath of projects that shows just how many tools are
required to build a bike culture safe enough for tykes.
One project Safe Routes is always tackling is educating kids on how
to bike safely, a program that MacRhodes says he hopes to expand into
all local 4J middle schools. “We work with city of Eugene Recreation
Program to bring in instructors to support P.E. teachers to do a 10-
hour bike safety education that’s sort of like a drivers ed intro, but for
biking,” he says.
After bringing a fl eet of bikes into the school and practicing safety,
the unit culminates with a neighborhood ride. “It’s a great hands-on,
physical activity learning piece that we do,” MacRhodes says.
On top of the education, Safe Routes also hosts Kidical Mass and
other family events — meeting and riding to fun activities — and
advocates for infrastructure changes that make it safe for kids to walk
and bike to school. MacRhodes says that while barriers like funding and
distance are two areas that require a lot of work, infrastructure changes
also pose a big challenge. “Our built environment and how we plan and
build our cities really affects the choices that we make,” he says.
Beyond establishing active habits, Safe Routes helps kids stay
healthy in other ways. “Biking helps to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and helps to reduce congestion around schools, which have
been shown to have higher air-quality issues than other parts of the
community,” MacRhodes says.
“Getting more kids healthy and active in their transportation choices
helps the greater environment as well,” he continues. “We hope that we
teach the kids lifelong lessons and also to build the infrastructure.”
ew
MY CAR
YOUR CAR
WECAR
S
ometimes biking or using public
A FORD
FUSION TO
transit isn’t a viable option, so peo-
BE USED IN
ple keep a car around just in case.
EUGENE’S
But if that eats a hole in the old
WECAR
wallet or makes driving on the regular too
PROGRAM
tempting, now there’s the WeCar option.
PHOTO BY ROB SYDOR | DIGITALLATTE.COM
Lane Transit District’s Point2point
Solutions expanded Eugene’s WeCar
program with Enterprise on April 2 (the program already had cars aimed at UO students).
The program’s contract stipulates that it has to pay for itself, not using tax revenue. After a
$25 annual membership fee (which buys you $35 in credits), Eugeneans and Springfi elders
can rent Ford Fusions for $5 or $8 an hour or overnight. Complete information on pricing is
available at wkly.ws/191
Point2point Program Manager Theresa Brand says that car-sharing can have signifi cant
impact in lowering CO2 emissions. “Statistics show, nationally, that car sharing vehicles take
between 11 and 15 cars off the road.” By taking cars off the road, and with high participation,
other vehicles can spend less time stuck in traffi c because of lowered congestion.
There’s another benefi t on the pocketbook as well: “They are fuel-effi cient so they might
not be burning the national average of 21, 22 miles per gallon, they’re getting high 30s to
40s in these vehicles, which saves money and saves CO2,” Brand says.
— Shannon Finnell
To participate in family events or volunteer on neighborhood rides, check out eugenesrts.
org and kidicalmass.org and sign up for the e-alerts.
Save money. Save time .
Safer Products.
Safer for the Enviromnment
Connect with people going your way
for work and play. Find carpool and
biking partners.
It’s easy, secure and FREE.
Register today at DriveLessConnect.com
2825 Willamette
342-5191
Mon-Sat: 8:30-5:30 | Sun: 10-5
point2pointsolutions.org
541-682-6183
16 APRIL 19, 2012 EUGENE WEEKLY
mvDB
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM