Community

My daughter started school this week. Our school is at the end of a nearby street. It is a far enough walk for a four year old. Before we started school I had my doubts that we'd do this walk everyday. Actually, I was a bit disgruntled about the whole entire situation. Before summer, I had a conversation with the school's vice-principal who informed me that we were just too close to the school to qualify for the bus.

Driving isn't an option. Not only is the school near a busy corner, it is in close proximity to a main arterial road. It is just too congested with parents dropping kids off and neighbourhood traffic trying to get through that particular intersection. The school sent a letter home to parents, explaining that 85 traffic violations were observed during a traffic study last fall. In my opinion, cars and kids don't mix and I rather not add to the congestion.

So we walk. And surprisingly it is going well. During our walks, I've noticed that there is life on our streets during the mornings. We walk past a home day care that is busy with active children playing in the side yard. We observe local high school kids getting on a yellow school bus. I've noticed that one of the neighbourhood dads cycles with his son to school. The local city bus rumbles through the neighbourhood, picking up commuters heading downtown. Then there are the dog walkers. Yes, our community is teeming with activity.

I look at walking as a way to stay active. Although I run on a regular basis, walking will help to my activity levels. It takes about 12 minutes to get to school. In theory, I'm walking about 45 minutes a day, five days a week.

So by walking to school I feel that we are contributing to our community and health. And that feels good.