On Wednesday, October 5, 2016, members of the Avenue of Heroes Neighborhood Association (AOHNA) joined forces with the Coronado Police Department to participate in the International Walk and Bike to School Day. The AOHNA provided coffee, doughnuts, and juice while representatives of the police department provided police stickers and free passes to the Recreation Center to parents and students walking and biking to school. The group was also joined by Coronado Unified School District Superintendent Karl Mueller and Assistant Superintendent Keith Butler who came to show their support for this community outreach.
In addition to the refreshments, the AOHNA sponsored a petition signed by 44 adults and 64 kids requesting that the city council install permanently the Yield-to-Pedestrian signs at the intersections of F Avenue and Third and Fourth Streets. As one student explained, his parents work so he must walk to school alone. He and his parents have been concerned about the safety of crossing Third and Fourth Streets and have found the pedestrian signs useful in making these intersections safer to cross. Currently the pedestrian signs are only in place when there are crossing guards on duty, yet students come and go from the Coronado schools at all hours of the day. There have been a few incidents recently of students hit by motorists while riding their bikes home from school at times when the crossing guards are not on duty.
The International Walk and Bike to School Day is an initiative sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School. According to its website, the benefits of walking or biking to school include less traffic congestion, stronger sense of community, safer streets as walkers and bikers can improve security by providing more eyes on the street, lower costs in terms of energy savings, improved accessibility, and economic gains by increasing home values. Coronado’s climate, village atmosphere, and flat terrain contribute to the high percentage of students who walk or bike to school.
By Barbara Tato, President of the Avenue of Heroes Neighborhood Association
