Group seeks people to 'Think outside the car'

More than half the students at Le Mars schools drive or ride in a car to school every day, according to a recent survey.

But a group of locals are looking into other options, and they want your help.

Locals are invited to a Safe Routes to School meeting 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23 at the Le Mars Convention Center to talk about the possibility of starting a Safe Routes to School program in Le Mars.

Safe Routes, a national program, works to make sure people living in town within a 2-mile radius of a K-8 school have a safe option for biking or walking to school.

"The main purpose of the meeting is to look at our community and see if there are opportunities for healthier and safer ways to get to school," said Wayne Marty, who is helping to organize the meeting.

Currently, he said, only 14 percent of all Le Mars students at both Gehlen Catholic and Le Mars Community Schools walk to school. Less than 4 percent bike to school.

His numbers came from a survey done earlier this week where all LCS and Gehlen students were asked how they got to school. Nearly 2,000 students took the survey.

At the high school level, Marty said, more than 50 percent of students are driving to school.

"Safe Routes is a way to see If we can do better, be healthier, safer and save energy," he said.

At the meeting, those who attend will hear about how Safe Routes to School has worked in other communities and will help decide if the program is something they'd like to see in Le Mars.

Grants are available to help pay for both planning a Safe Routes to School program and to enact it in the community, Marty said.

Members of the Iowa Bicyclist Coalition, Mark Wyatt and Molly Gabel, will lead the meeting Tuesday.

The agenda for the meeting also includes:

*Why safe routes to school matter -- safety, health and transportation issues

*Field exercise of school campus and surrounding area

*Perspectives from local stakeholders

*Engineering strategies

*Pick-up and drop-off area strategies

*Enforcement strategies

*An action plan for our community

Marty said he hopes parents, grandparents, teachers, principals, city council members, the mayor, law enforcement officers, and others attend Tuesday.

Before the Safe Routes meeting next Tuesday, people have the option of observing the end-of-the-day rush from 3-4:30 p.m. at either Gehlen Catholic or Le Mars Community Schools.

The meeting begins with a light meal at 5 p.m. in the lower level of the Le Mars Convention Center followed by the teaching and discussion session at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting will tentatively last until 8:30 p.m., but Marty said people can come and go when as their time allows.

Pre-registration is required.

Those planning to attend should contact one of the following by the end of this week: Le Mars Chamber of Commerce 546-8821; Gehlen Catholic School 546-4181; Le Mars Community Schools superintendent's office 546-41555.