News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Beth Gorman - 740-3343
Annabelle Quihuis
- 740-6410
Tucson, Arizona (October 1, 2007) - Thousands of parents and children will be walking or biking to school on Wednesday, October 3, 2007, to increase pedestrian and bicycle safety and improve air quality. The Pima County - Tucson Safe Routes to School Program, and the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality are encouraging children, parents, guardians, and local officials to participate in the 11th annual “International Walk to School Day.” Walking and bicycling also improve health, reduce obesity, and provide parents with an opportunity to spend additional time with their children.
The local International Walk to School Day is sponsored by the Pima County, City of Tucson Departments of Transportation Safe Routes to School Program, and Pima County Environmental Quality’s Clean Air Program. If you would like additional information, please call 740-6403. Schools can register to participate or get additional information at www.walktoschool.org.
How Children are Different in Traffic
(Excerpts
from the Partnership for a Walkable America information)
› Children don’t think about getting hurt.
› Kids
are impulsive and impatient. They are prone to dart into traffic
on a whim.
› Children have trouble
judging traffic speed, gaps in traffic, or whether a car is coming,
going, or standing still.
› Kids have a limited
ability to detect traffic in their side vision.
› Children have trouble
understanding that a car can’t
stop as quickly as they can.
› Kids are smaller than
adults, and have trouble seeing traffic and being seen by drivers.
› Children often think
that if they can see a car, then the driver sees them, even if
they are standing behind a shrub or a parked car.
Amazing Facts About Awesome Air!
_ Air is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% carbon
dioxide and trace amounts of other gases.
_ On average, people take 30,000 breaths each day!
_ People breathe about 2 gallons of air every minute!
_ Tucsonans drive over 23,000,000 miles each day.
_ Every 25 miles you drive puts 1 pound of air pollution into
the air you breathe.
_ Approximately 60% of our air pollution is caused by motor
vehicle use.
_ Skip those short trips to school and back home! A cold engine
emits more pollution and reduces efficiency by 50%.
Drive Less for Healthier Air
Walk Your Children to School
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