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FIGURE 6-10
Distance to school for youth aged 5-18, 1969.
SOURCE: CDC, 2008.
Figure 6-10.eps
34
18
15
33
<1 Mile
1.0-1.9 Miles
2.0-2.9 Miles
3+ Miles

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Approaches to Physical Activity in Schools
 
291
FIGURE 6-11
Distance to school for youth aged 5-18, 2001.
SOURCE: CDC, 2008.
Figure 6-11.eps
21
14
15
50
<1 Mile
1.0-1.9 Miles
2.0-2.9 Miles
3+ Miles
routes, and mixed land uses (Ewing and Greene, 2003; Fulton et al., 2005; 
Schlossberg et al., 2006; Timperio et al., 2006).
All nine schools interviewed for one study by active transport pro-
grams reported that the environmental factors that most affected these 
programs were sidewalks, crossing guards/crosswalks, funding, personal 
safety concerns, and advocacy group involvement. All schools also report-
ed that a school speed zone was the greatest concern (Eyler et al., 2008). 
Other environmental factors include weather (heat, humidity, precipita-
tion) and geographic location (Pucher and Buehler, 2011), with the South 
having a built environment less conducive to active transport compared 
with the Northeast, Midwest, and West (Bassett, 2012).
Related to infrastructure issues are parental concerns about safety 
(Loprinzi and Trost, 2010). These concerns include traffic dangers 
(Dellinger and Staunton, 2002). For example, 50 percent of children hit 
by cars near schools are hit by cars driven by parents of students (CDC, 
2008), and drivers often exceed the posted speed limit and/or violate traffic 
signage in school zones (CDC, 2008). Safe routes to school initiatives that 
have linked engineers and educators to make school trips safer have seen a 
64 percent increase in the percentage of students walking to school (Boarnet 
et al., 2005). In urban areas, infrastructure is conducive to active commut-
ing to and from school, but these areas may be characterized by high crime 
rates. Dellinger and Staunton (2002) propose that safety is of particular 
concern for primary school children, which may account for their finding 

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Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
292