"Walk ‘n Rollers was founded to encourage children to walk and bike to school more frequently, helping kids start their day in a fun, active way." The non-profit is based in Culver City and has embarked there on a four-year contract to provide co-ordination, encouragement, education, helping to make sure that the Safe Routes to School funding is used effectively. "If you want to encourage kids to bike, walk, skate and scoot to school more frequently, then it is not about a new traffic light here or there, it is really an investment in cultural change." This is why a comprehensive and on-going encouragement program is fundamental.
Jim Shanman from Walk ‘n Rollers is full of praise for the Culver City School District. The district is very closely involved with the work he is doing on behalf of the city. He has monthly meetings with the CCUSD finance director. This continuing conversation allows school staff to give feedback and support his projects. "This kind of close collaboration is really essential," Shanman says. The school district has been very welcoming of his effort and is supportive of his work. "After 5 months we have not had a single case of reluctance or push-back. This is very encouraging. Culver City and the school district really get it."
For the city, which is funding his work through a SRTS grant, his role is to make sure that the Safe Routes to School funding is really spent in the best way possible. For this his local knowledge, his local contacts, the fact that he himself is a parent in the district, are invaluable. "Cities tend to think of Safe Routes to School as an engineering problem, but it is much deeper than that. It is about role models, about conversations at the school gate, about school nurses and involving the police department. You have to change the culture from within, and it will take time." One important item in his list is the drafting of a district-wide policy on walking and cycling which will create the basis for development in the future.
Santa Monica has better infrastructure for cyclists, but Culver City has embarked on a path of cultural change which is just as important. The fact that the Culver City school district cares deeply about how the students are getting to school is something Santa Monica school district should take note of.
