by Tim Schaefer
Kids in Hillhurst Sunnyside have some great options for attending a school right in their own neighbourhood. There is Sunnyside, Hillhurst and Queen Elizabeth Schools that are all within the neighbourhood. Then in adjacent communities there is Rosedale, Crescent Heights High, Madame D’Houet, and Louise Dean to name a few.
The proximity of these schools means many Hillhurst Sunnyside kids attending them can walk to school. For others, biking may be a preferred option especially if the distance is a bit further. The practical distance a kid can walk to school generally increases as they grow older. It comes down to preference and ability, but in general grades K to 3 that distance may be up to 0.5km. By grade six, 1km can be practical. For middle school and high school 1km is easily doable. As you go beyond 1km other active modes like biking become an appealing option. See diagram of the neighbourhood with 0.5km radius circles from elementary and 1km radius circles from High Schools.
The good news for biking to these schools is they all have bike racks. The bad news is almost all of the racks are the old 1950’s “wheel bender” style. Those racks don’t allow bikes to be locked in a secure way. Many people don’t realize this. They see a bike rack and think it looks solid so what’s the problem? Let me explain.
Wheel bender racks are only intended to hold the bike upright from the front wheel. They do not allow the bike frame to be close enough to the rack to securely lock the bike. Working with what the grown-ups have given them, kids resort to using less secure cable locks that can stretch far enough to lock the frame to the rack. However, cable locks are easily cut with a pair of $20 bolt cutters. Sadly, on several occasions kids have discovered their bike has been stolen while they were in school. This sort of experience is very impactful on whether that kid will ever bike to school again. It may result in the kid being driven instead.
To help address the risk and in turn encourage more kids to bike to school, I recently got involved with my kids’ middle school in Bridgeland. Riverside School also had a pair of wheel bender style racks and what we decided to do as a School Council is upgrade them to the Youth En Route design (see photo with bike in the new rack). Openings were made wider by removing some of the upright bars in the old rack, then hoops were added to make it easy to lock a bike’s frame with a more secure U-lock or heftier chain lock.
The process to upgrade the school’s bike rack took about eight months to complete. It started with engaging the school council, then working with the Principal to coordinate with CBE Facilities and of course a fundraising event (CBE has no funds for this sort of thing) before the actual work was completed.
Today Riverside School has a great Youth En Route style bike rack that looks brand new and has the kids feeling more confident about parking their bikes at school. Ridership numbers are up, and we are looking at other opportunities to make things even better.
Providing infrastructure for our kids to be able to independently travel to school on their own steam is an important part of creating a safe and inclusive neighbourhood. When we allow people no matter their age or ability to feel comfortable moving about the neighbourhood outside of a car, we are building on the wonderful vibrancy that makes Hillhurst Sunnyside a great community!
If you’d like to get involved in improving the bike parking infrastructure at your school, get in touch with your school’s Council and get started today!