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Officials join students for Walk to School Day
Oct 9, 08:54 AM
Meriden Record Journal
By Andrew Perlot
Record-Journal staff
MERIDEN — As children from the neighborhoods surrounding Ben Franklin
School shuffled out of their houses into the chill morning air
Wednesday, a number were met with the unusual sight of a suit-clad
elected official waiting with a smile to walk with them to school.
They were there as part of the city’s first Walk To School Day,
organized by Meriden Kids Walk Safe to encourage students to take safe
routes to school for exercise, but also to draw attention to the need
for sidewalk and street crossing improvements, said event organizer
Gwen Samuel. Samuel is concerned that the city is not receiving
available federal funds to make walking safer.
U.S. Rep. Christopher S. Murphy, D-5th District, met up with the
children and parents of three families outside 53 Vine St.
Richard Weaver brought his three children from a nearby house to join
him there for what Samuel calls a walking school bus. When eight
students and their parents had arrived, they headed south to West
Main Street.
“This is a great idea,” Weaver said. “The people that drive the
streets should know that there’s kids walking to school.”
Each of the children wore a bright green T-shirt, and someone dressed
as Blue from Blue’s Clues walked alongside them.
At the beginning of the five-minute walk to the school, at 426 W. Main
St., the sidewalk was made of uneven slabs of slate. These can trip
walkers and become icy in winter, Samuel explained to the group.
It’s problems such as these that Murphy would like to fix, he said.
The state has $1 million per year to distribute to municipalities as
part of the Federal Safe Routes to School program, Murphy said, but
that amount doesn’t come close to meeting demand.
“I’m pushing to get more money in the program,” he said.
The funds can be used for sidewalk improvements, bike lanes, crosswalk
signals, and other infrastructure improvements that would make it
safer for children to get to school.
But regardless of available funds, Meriden is not eligible because the
city has not created a plan for making the city more pedestrian
friendly, Samuel said.
As they approached West Main Street, the group met other walkers.
Tom Ross, the school’s crossing guard, manned the crosswalk with a
stop sign and a bright yellow vest. He brought the quick-moving
traffic to a halt to let the group cross.
About 300 children cross both ways every day, he said.
Inside the school, students who walked with other officials were
gathering in the library.
House Majority Leader Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, walked up
South Grove Street with a young girl who told him about her love of
reading, he said. Mayor Michael S. Rohde, state Sen. Thomas P.
Gaffey, DMeriden, state Rep. Catherine F. Abercrombie, D-Meriden, Lt.
Sal Nesci, commander of the Police Department’s Neighborhood
Initiatives Unit, and other city officials and employees also walked
students to the school.
Lea Crown, a health educator with the city’s Department of Health and
Human Services, walked a group down from Syl- van Avenue.
“I think a lot of parents were shocked at how little time it takes to
walk,” she said.
She made the trip from Sylvan Avenue in 12 minutes.
Walking at least some of the time is great for the health of the
children and their parents, she said.
Gaffey addressed the gathered children and told them to keep moving
and reading.
“Exercise your mind and your body and you’ll be all right,” he said.
After the students dispersed to their classrooms and the officials
went off to their responsibilities, Samuel stood at the crosswalk on
West Main Street and pointed to the rushing cars. The crossing guard
had departed, and she worried about children trying to run the
gauntlet of cars if they were arriving a few minutes later.
The school could use another crosswalk down the street, she said, and
the malfunctioning nearby crossing signal needs to be repaired.
She saw the walk as a success, she said, and will to urge the city to
get a plan together so it can apply for funds for pedestrian
improvements around all city schools.
Walking to his car, Rohde told her he supports the project and will
talk to the city manger about creating a plan.
“It’s free money.” Samuel said. “I want this walk to become a tradition.”
