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Biking Kids to School: A Parent’s Journey into Safe Streets Advocacy
My passion for safe streets advocacy came from my experiences biking around town with my kids. And through our everyday rides to school, and elsewhere, that passion only grows.
It all began in 2021, when my twin children were two-and-a-half years old. A pair of close-call incidents, spaced just days apart, changed the trajectory of my life.
Both incidents involved near misses with cars while trying to cross a notoriously dangerous county-owned arterial street two blocks from my home in Minneapolis. Once, with my kids riding on the back of our family cargo bike; once, as we crossed the street on our way to a local park, their Strider balance bikes bundled under my arm.
It turned out the county was examining the street for a potential four-to-three lane “road diet,” and I soon got involved canvassing and organizing in support of that pilot project. (The road diet went ahead, and severe crashes were much lower for all users post-project.)
As my involvement in local advocacy grew, so did my kids—along with their interest in and skills in riding their own bikes.
Short jaunts striding their balance bikes around the block turned into longer rides to daycare. Balance bikes gave way to pedal bikes. Today, my six-year-olds energetically zip around on 20-inch-wheel three-speed bikes. Where an outing around the City of Lakes once meant hoisting my children on the rear seats of our family cargo bike, today it’s just as likely to mean everyone hopping on their own bike.
Our most frequent ride is the daily trip to school. My family is fortunate to live three blocks from our neighborhood elementary school, with just four street crossings en route. We’re extra fortunate that most of the ride is on a newly-reconstructed city street with smooth sidewalks, bumpouts, and shortened crossing distances that my kids can roll across in a few seconds.
Even living in a Gold Bicycle Friendly Community like Minneapolis, putting pint-sized kids in proximity to big cars and trucks can still feel uncomfortable. So in addition to advocating for safer streets in the long-term, I’m also helping my kids understand and practice what they need to do to stay as safe as possible in the short term.
Some of the skills, practices, and pro tips we’re employing:
- Choosing to ride on the sidewalk: I’m not quite ready to unleash my kindergartners on the streets of Minneapolis, so when we’re not riding on one of my city’s many sidewalk-level paths or concrete-protected bike lanes, we carefully ride on the sidewalk.
- Passing pedestrians in a safe and friendly way: When we’re on the sidewalk, I have my kids slow down, get to the side, and call out “passing” to minimize discomfort from fellow users who are on foot.
- Edging out to check for traffic: I have my kids take turns practicing safely crossing. I teach my kids to go down the curb ramp to the edge of the street, confirm that it’s clear in all directions, then quickly go. (Lingering too long before riding after you’ve confirmed it’s safe can allow new cars to come into play, or lead drivers who were waiting at their stop sign for us to give up waiting and suddenly pull out.)
- Orally signaling their intent: I teach my kids to call out “Slowing” and “Stopping” so those behind them can follow suit, and avoid crashing into each other. When we approach alleys and confirm they’re safe to cross, we’ll shout out “Safe!” before rolling across.
- Gently encouraging the use of different gears: I’m beginning to encourage my kids to shift down to gear 1 when they’re stopped, then shift up to 2 or 3 to gain power as they’re riding. I also model that in my own riding. They’re mostly not following these suggestions, but I’m planting the seeds for them to later gain comfort shifting speeds as conditions warrant it.
- Keeping backpacks above the rear tire: On one of the first rides after my kids got their new, bigger bikes, one of my kids’ backpacks sagged down and dragged on the rear tire. This is mainly a challenge when a kid is newly sized-up to a bike and sitting on a lower seatpost. To get around this, I tightened the straps on the backpack and used the release lever to raise his seatpost a bit.
- Getting the lock right: Since we ride with multiple kids, my spouse purchased a simple, long looping lock that can easily thread through both bikes and a bike rack. It’s standard for locks to be sold with multiple keys, and crucially, we each carry our own copy. When a different parent does pick-up, they already have a key. (We haven’t invested in heavier-duty locks for them, since I’m not too worried about bike theft: the majority of places we ride are brief daytime outings, or to their school which has a bike rack in a well-observed area in front of the main entrance.)
💡 Smart Cycling tips: The League’s Smart Cycling curriculum recommends children nine and under ride on the sidewalk at a slower pace, rather than on the road. Around age 10, many children develop the decision-making skills and depth perception needed to begin learning roadway cycling skills, though maturity varies widely at this age. Parents or instructors should assess each child’s readiness individually. Our Youth Skills curriculum offers guidance on setting up drills, instructor positioning, and key practices to help kids grasp important safety concepts for riding on roadways. League Cycling Instructors are a great local resource for this type of on-bike instruction!
Riding with my kids to school is a highlight of my mornings and daily practice for them in our family’s chief mode of transportation (we don’t own a car). It also keeps stoked my fire for creating safe, human-centered infrastructure in which folks of all ages and abilities can safely and comfortably walk, bike, and roll.
For those looking to take the next step from using sustainable transportation to advocating for sustainable transportation, connecting with other families who bike, roll, or walk to school can be a powerful entry point.
Start by reaching out to your school’s PTA/PTO, joining a local Safe Routes to School group, or finding a local bike or pedestrian advocacy organization—many have family-focused events or action groups. Resources like our Connect Locally map or national resources like Safe Routes Partnership can help you get plugged in.
And of course, you can meet plenty of folks by joining one of the over 2,000 Bike, Walk & Roll to School Day events this Wednesday, May 7th. Use the momentum of Bike Month to keep efforts for safer streets going all year long!