Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Streetsblog.net Back-to-School Season Brings Bike-to-School Bans

As schools across the country open their doors for another year,
Robert Ping of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership says
students are increasingly facing "bans" against walking and biking to
campus. Network member BikePortland.org reports:

229710.jpgIn Portland, fears of liability turned Safe Routes to School to "Safer Routes." Photo: BikePortland.org

"It’s pervasive throughout the country and we’re hearing about it moreand more,” [Ping] said. The problem, according to Ping, is that many schoolprincipals and administrators feel that biking and walking to school issimply unsafe. They are concerned about being held liable for anythingthat happens during the trip to and/or from school.

In addition to studying the current scope of the problem, the SafeRoutes National Partnership is putting together a team of legal expertswho will craft a legal statement directed at school principals,outlining why improving biking and walking options will not increasetheir liability exposure. They hope the legal statement will also helpallay the fears that lead to bike ban policies in the first place.

Though, as Ping points out, principals can't actually stop students
from walking and biking, they can use their influence to discourage it.
Administrators can also deny students a decent place to store their bikes during the school day. But if the issue is safety and liability, what about those high school parking lots?

Ping said one safe routes advocate he heard from countered a bike banin their community by asking the principal whether or not he feltliable for kids who drive to school. “That’s a great way to push backon this idea.”

In a somewhat related post featured on the Network today, Car Free With Kids sings the praises of raising a toddler on transit. Also: The Overhead Wire notes light rail progress in Houston, while Streetsblog LA finds controversy over one Metro rail line; Gateway Streets maps "desire paths" in St. Louis's Forest Park; and NY Examiner analyzes another case of motorist-on-cyclist violence, this time in Staten Island.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

Metro and Caltrans Break Ground on 105 Freeway Expansion

105 Freeway expansion is touted as "leaving a lasting legacy for Angelenos for decades to come" but it might not be the legacy that Metro and Caltrans think it is

April 25, 2025

Metro LAX Transit Center Station to Open June 6

The LAX Transit Center will serve the C and K light rail lines, connect to the future LAX people mover, plus includes bus/bike/walk hubs

April 24, 2025

Eyes on the Street: New Protected Bike Lane on San Vicente Blvd

San Vicente's new stretch of parking-protected bike lane extends a half mile, from Keniston Avenue to Redondo Boulevard

April 23, 2025
See all posts