Youth walking and biking rates vary by environments around 5 Louisiana schools

The prevalence of obesity in children is high, and many do not meet physical activity recommendations. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program encourages school-aged children to walk and bike to school. We assessed the condition of the walking/biking environment around schools in Louisiana prior to the state's first SRTS program.

Assessments were made at the neighborhood level with the Pedestrian Environmental Data Scan (PEDS) instrument, and at the school and individual levels using the National SRTS Center's teacher tallies and parent surveys. PEDS scores were developed to rate conduciveness to walking/bicycling of proposed SRTS routes. Sites' scores were compared with the percentage of students who walk/bike to school. Five schools in Louisiana were evaluated.

Overall, more students walked (range: 2.4-17.4%) than biked (range: 0.3-4.5%) to school with more students walking home than to school. Predictors of walking/biking to school include distance from school, speed of traffic, school encouragement, and if a student asked permission. Sites with the highest PEDS score had the highest percentage of students who walked/biked to school.

There is a role and a need for the SRTS program. The environment and other factors influence biking and walking to school.