Less than 30% of kids in the United States walk or bike to school on a regular basis. How does Pittsford stack up? According to our Walking and Biking to School Survey, 23% bike or walk regularly (3-5 times per week) and 9% to do occasionally. 60% never walk or bike to school.

Almost 140 Pittsford parents took our Walking and Biking to School survey in the fall. Here is a breakdown of the ages of their kids:

 

How often does your child walk or bike to school?

Only 23% regularly walked or biked to school. Most never did. We also had a few fair weather friends. 🙂

 

If your child does not walk or bike to school, why?

Those whose children didn’t bike or walk gave lots of reasons. We offered some standard ones, then left some room to expand on others. Concerns about traffic safety and the lack of sidewalks were the two biggest reasons parents gave for their children not walking or biking to school.

Reasons given under the “Other” category:

• After school sports and backpacks too heavy
• High school kids speeding down Guilford Way
• Middle School is too far from our house; school starts too early and it is dark out most of the year in the morning
• Mom and Dad drive both girls together in the morning. It’s actually our special family time:)
• My highschooler usually gets driven to SHS with a friend in the neighborhood.
• My son rides from the Village to CRMS because he likes to ride instead of taking the bus. He would ride more if we trusted drivers to pay attention and slow down.
• Our kids both attend middle school and it is far away (bus picks them up at 7AM). They would have to wake up really early to bike there. When they have activities, they do take the late bus home from school, which drops them at the high school and they walk home from there.
• The traffic by Sutherland/Rt 252 is not monitored and cars are going very fast.
• Too dark for safe walking or biking AND class starts too early We are 3 mi, so could occasionally walk/bike home, but complicated logistics.
• Too young. PCSD only allows 3rd grade and up.
• We do not feel comfortable having our children bike alone. We accompany them because there are no side walks, bike lanes, or crossing guards in school parking lot
• Will start kindergarten next year. Attends Pre k near my work
• School is 4.5 miles from home 🙁
• Used to bike to Park Rd School. Sidewalks!!

I am concerned about traffic safety:

We asked those who said they were concerned with traffic safety to select further. It won’t surprise you that speeding traffic and drivers not yielding for pedestrians topped the list.

Is there anything else you’d like us to know about walking and biking to school in Pittsford?

For our last question, we gave parents a blank slate to help us know what to look at in future surveys and — more importantly — provide the Town and Village a list of real world concerns from parents.

Pittsford has never done a survey to ask parents if/why/how their kids bike or walk to school. Pittsford never participated in Bike to School Day until last year. Yet it’s clear from the sentiments expressed in this last section of our survey that parents and kids are craving safe walking and biking options. 

This section was the most interesting to us, so we didn’t want to water down or alter the comments when we shared it with you. It is a long list, but well worth a scroll when you have some time. You will likely see your concern, neighborhood or school listed.
[You can also see them listed at the end of the Pittsford Walk Bike to School Survey, if you’d prefer to view them that way.]

Parent comments:

— PLEASE do something about the speed of traffic at and around the 4 corners. It is the heart of our village and town. Don’t let drivers come first. If they want to drive through, make them slow down and stop for pedestrians! Put some flashing lights up near crosswalks and, for Pete’s sake, light the corners where the crosswalks are (I’m talking to you, Monroe/Washington & Schoen Place/N. Main, Jeff Rd/Sutherland.)

— The biggest systemic barrier to more kids walking or biking to school in Pittsford is the bussing policies. This is the only place I have ever lived where the town busses kids who live so close to school. Pittsford used to only bus if a child lived more than 1 mile from school. Now it’s down to 1/3 of a mile. It’s a waste of money and horrible in terms of carbon emissions. Even if they went back to 1/2 a mile it would help. To see kids on South Street and Boughton Ave picked up by a bus to go to Jefferson Road School is ridiculous.

— Need to improve the side walks/dedicated paths between the Powder Mills side and Barker Road area. Going through Thornell Road Elementary School is an alternative but the sidewalk to Thornell needs to be completed.

— Need more crosswalks and crossing guards. We can walk/bike to Mendon Center, but not without parent because not enough convenient crosswalks or guards.

— I’ve got lots of ideas about making it friendlier to walk to MCE by paving a small path from the cut through on Guildford way to the basketball courts (idea #1) or by putting a small cut through sidewalk from the sidewalk on Mendon Center Rd to the brand new parking (for the cars only!) and around that lot to the sidewalk that currently exists. Walkers to MCE from the south have to cross several busy traffic intersections. That could be eliminated with a small sidewalk connector to the south edge of that lot (and a raised sidewalk around the lot). Let’s do this!

— Our elementary school child has an easy, short, mostly sidewalked walk to school (which will change drastically next year when he goes to Calkins- it’s far and I’d never let him ride his bike, as the route has no shoulder and no way for a child to bike safely). Our high school student has a longer walk, mostly sidewalked, but still has some tricky intersections to cross.

— I am hopeful that if more sidewalks and crosswalks are built, then there might be a shift in the community’s mindset.

— The Turtle Creek neighborhood and surrounding homes do not have a safe walking route to the schools. The neighborhood is not connected to Hedgewood or Wren Field which connect to trails that lead to the schools and Farm Park. At minimum a sidewalk from Turtle Creek to VanVoorhis Rd would be helpful and very much put to use by the active families that live in that area.

— Keep up the good work, Walk Bike Pittsford!

— Would love side walks on east st in order to get to park Rd school!
Really would love to see Marsh Rd to have sidewalks.

— I wish the paths to the high school would be plowed in the winter!

— We live in Perinton (Fairport mailing), and we have to pass another Pittsford elementary school to get to ours. Either school would be too far and too dangerous (no sidewalks and lots of curves). We previously lived in a district that was only walking (no buses at all) and we miss being able to walk terribly.

— My daughter walks home from school regularly now, but this will likely change as the weather turns and it is darker earlier. Our neighborhood has no sidewalks or street lights, so it isn’t safe in the dark or in snowy weather.

— We live in Turtle Creek, a small neighborhood off of Rt. 64. We have no access to any other neighborhoods and as a result, our children are isolated and rely on parents and buses to transport them safely anywhere. We strongly encourage Pittsford to add bike and walking paths to the Turtle Creek neighborhood to allow our neighborhood to connect with those around us.

— We live on Turtle Creek off 64. There are no sidewalks between our street and Thornell Rd. If sidewalks continued down 64 from the high school all the way to Hedgewood, more kids could safely bike to school and the village / Canal Path. We won’t even bike 64 as a family – too much traffic going 55mph.

— Need sidewalks in the neighborhoods that surround the schools

— Please consider sidewalks on Mendon Center Road.

— Yes. I wish that there were sidewalks or trails that would allow my children to walk to and from school. We live nearby (Turtle Creek). I am a single working parent and my kids cannot stay after school for clubs, activities or to use school resources. The late bus takes over an hour and does not run for activities that occur late in the day or in the evening.

— MORE CROSSWALKS with stripes/ lights/signs!

— When my kids were in elementary school I worried all the time about the speed of traffic when they rode bikes to school. There are no crossing guards in our area.
I live off 64 about a mile from hs towards mendon. There r no sidewalks and 64 is too dangerous to walk on. Very very frustrating

— We love walking and biking to Jeff Road but find the School Road & Jefferson Road intersection very stressful.

— Human buses (scheduled groups of walking kids and a parent chaperone) is something that might help me give this option to my child more regularly

— Need more sidewalks!

— We just moved here from Michigan and we’re surprised that the community planning doesn’t necessarily include sidewalks and/or proper bike lanes. I would like to be included in future planning.

— Would love if path from Guilford Way to Mendon Center was paved all the way to the school. Grass gets sooo muddy.

— Secure bike parking facilities are not available.

— Our neighborhood surrounds our school and is a major cut through for drivers. The lack of sidewalks is very concerning.

— We live in Bushnells Basin area and the biggest safety issue hands down is the one way bridge on Marsh road. I will never walk or ride with my kids over that bridge to get to the canal!! People are not aware of how to proceed slowly and take turns and there’s no separate lane for pedestrians. It’s even worse when there’s an event or wedding and Burgandy Basin that brings people that have never encountered the bridge before.

— We live off of Clover, south of Caukins. My elementary school child attends Mendon Center. Biking to school would be great, but we need sidewalks on Clover.

— we walk any time we can. but i would not feel comfortable with my kids walking without me yet. the traffic is too fast on both our street and side streets by school. I don’t think people are at all paying attention to kids walking/riding to school

— 1. I did not even know there was a bike to school day. 2. Thornell Road NEEDS sidewalks for the entire length of the road, as do other areas in The Pittsford school district.

— We live so close (Tobey Rd.) to the village and to school and would LOVE sidewalks on our end of the road so that we could walk and the kids could ride their bikes!!

— It is still dark out when the kids have to go to school we have no bike lanes on East avenue and the traffic is too fast for me to feel safe about my kids biking or walking to school along East ave.

— Would be great to have sidewalks on Thornell Rd from Mendon to Thornell Elementary
West Bloomfield road is too dangerous for me to allow my kids to walk or bike on it. Sidewalks would help I guess, but the main issue is that despite its 40mph speed limit, cars fly by at speeds much greater…

— We live at edge of pittsford district, near Bushnell’s basin. Our route to school (at Thornell Rd school) would be a challenge because Thornell from route 96 to the school does not have sidewalks or a good shoulder on th road. Unfortunately that stretch is too dangerous without sidewalks.

— We live down Marsh Rd where there are no sidewalks. People speed all the time. If I go less than 5 miles above speed limit I constantly get tailed

— We live past the Clover/Jefferson intersection (Fairway Xing) and the sidewalks don’t reach us or are incomplete. We are not far from Sutherland, but I will probably not even let them walk when they are in high school if there is still a lack of sidewalks.

— Thornell Road needs sidewalks the whole length of the road – especially in the direction of bushnell basin, and a safe area for bikes. I was sorely disappointed that these were not installed this season when the road and gutters were redone!!

— This just isn’t our thing. We love our morning time together, and the insanity of drivers in this village… well, you know. Even when they are at Sutherland and it’s walkable, we will likely still drive them!

— There are not enough crossing guards for us to feel comfortable that our child is safe crossing Main and South streets.

— signage, brighter cross walks, and crossing guards would probably all be necessary for me to allow my first grader to ride to school without one of us. thanks!

— We live on Thornell Road, 1/4 mile from the school. There are no sidewalks on our section for my children to safely walk to school.

— Sidewalks from the village to CRMS would promote cycling during warmer seasons for my middle school child. Cycling and/walking to Jeff road elementary is very accessible from the village, and my 5th grader loves riding, rain or shine … the additional autonomy and freedom he feels pays huge dividends in other developmental domains. I do not allow my 3rd grader to ride to Jeff road yet … the traffic at major crossing is one issue, but a large 4th/5th grader on a bike is more visible at a crosswalk than smaller children, which is my primary concern in not allowing her to ride with her brother on a routine basis … but she would if she could!

— Hook ’em early. Even though we lived close (1 mi ) from Allen Creek, there were no sidewalks or neighborhood paths to access the school and playground. Those 6 years would have been the best time for teaching bike and traffic safety. Family rides/walks. CRMS too far, so not in middle school either. Now at SHS East Av is a tough place to learn.

— We would love for our kids to walk or bike to school but East Ave does not have enough shoulder to allow for comfortable biking. We don’t like it when experienced adult bikers are on East Ave either. Road is too narrow and constantly full of lot holes.

— The intersection between Sutherland highschool and 252 is really awful in the morning. Cars will go through heatherhurst/courtnae circle and speed to cut off the light in front of the high school. Speed bumps in place would slow down this traffic as children are waiting for buses or walking to school

— If others in our neighborhood walked to invite more ritually we would absolutely send our third grader to school this way. Not having time to walk or bike with her is due to the fact that we have to scoot to work right after she gets on the bus. And since I could not make two selections, I would add that we do not send her on her own for multiple reasons… I am concerned about overall safety which does include traffic and traffic speed. So if we cannot go with her or she cannot travel with a posse from our neighborhood, we feel it is safer for her to take the bus. Our two highschooler’s are close enough to the high school that they do walk.

— Children should walk/bike to school regularly. The more children who do, the safer it would be, the healthier physically and mentally the children would be. What makes parents believe that their obsession of driving their children makes them safer? They are great contributors to the heavy traffic that they complain about. And, people who live in the Village also live in the Town

— My children walk every day to and from elementary school. Only on dangerously cold days, or major sttorm day’s will they take the bus.

— Cars go right through the crosswalk at Jefferson road and school lane because it’s hard to see around the corner unless you pull out into the crosswalk. The other crosswalk that worries me in the morning is at the YMCA. The cars whip in and out of there in the morning!

— My children used to always walk with an adult to Saint Louis School. Unfortunately it is not safe to let the walk alone. The cars do not always stop for pedestrians on Main St and there is no crossing guard in the village. We wish it were different and the children could walk safely to school.

— Would love a sidewalk on Thornell Rd from Mendon Rd to Thornell Rd Elementary. I’d feel comfortable letting the kids walk/bike if it were safer to do so. No way would I let them do so now.

— Budget for crossing guards in trafficked area

— Park Road to the BRMS/MHS there are some dangerous stretches with no side walk. My middle and HS kids would walk home from school on nice weather days if there was a safer route home. (If school didn’t start so early, they would walk there too… but that’s a different topic. 🙂 ) I am glad for the folks around Calkins road that received nice side walks and those on East Ave…. now the south side of town could use some attention please.

— My son walked/biked to Elementary School almost daily. He’d love to bike to middle school but there aren’t enough sidewalks and the traffic around the MS and high school is too busy.

— We live in a neighborhood where my kids don’t have to cross any major streets, but as a runner and cyclist in this community, I can verify that often cars veer too close to the shoulder, don’t observe speed limit signs–particularly in Powder Mills Park, in my experience–and often don’t stop for pedestrians. More sidewalks and wider shoulders would be a huge boon to the community.

— Calkins Road….. SHOULD have the “stop if a pedestrian is in the crosswalk” signs!!!!! Drivers are wayyyy too fast!!! Frankly, any crosswalk that could potentially lead to a school (at the very least), should have a sign that makes drivers stop!!!!! Why just in the village?!! Glad this survey is out there. The traffic issues in crosswalks infuriates me!!!!!

— I have one child that regularly walks/bikes to JRE. The other goes to Calkins Road. Even though it is paved all the way, I don’t feel it’s safe enough with all the intersections between the Village and CRMS. Neither will walk or bike to Sutherland either as Jeff Road/Main Street is too busy and unsafe. It’s so unfortunate! We are such an easy walk but I worry too much about their safety in traffic.

— Crosswalks, especially in the village, need some way of alerting drivers that someone is trying to cross because they often don’t see a pedestrian at the edge until too late to slow down or stop easily, and walking out into the street assuming cars will stop is something I discourage my kids from doing. I suppose the flag system that was used at one point on 31 near the Starbucks is better than nothing, although the kids (and I) felt a little silly using it so it may not get used consistently for that reason. A flashing light or something, which can be activated when wishing to cross, would be ideal – something out of the ordinary to catch attention so drivers aren’t on autopilot and know before getting close that there’s a pedestrian waiting to cross. Even though it’s a concern for me, sometimes I even fail to notice someone waiting at the curb myself until it’s too late to stop safely. They can be hard to see from a distance when standing behind parked cars, and yes, I admit my attention may not be fully focused on looking to see if there’s someone wanting to cross at each and every crosswalk some days. Also, the crossings at the main intersection in village at 96 and 31 can be risky, with drivers turning right on red even when the crossing sign says walk.

— Excited there are sidewalks going in!

— The heavy traffic along Tobey where there are no sidewalks are a big problem for safe biking. The paths that a connect the neighborhoods are helpful.

— There are main roads which connect neighborhoods to the schools and there are side streets too which are plenty safe for bike traffic. The kids biked to Park Rd School (1 1/2 miles from our house) all of the time. They don’t bike to Barker or Mendon HS now. First they need to arrive at 7:30 so its early but moreover there are NO continuous sidewalks from our house to school. There are segments which terminate along the busiest sections of Thornell Rd and East Street. If the town (towns)would get together and install a few key connections to sidewalks or safe biking and walking paths (could be through Powdermill Park?) then the biking or walking becomes more feasible and safe. A nice sidewalk along Thornell as it approaches 64 at the hill and light and a sidewalk along 64 from Thornell to the highschool connects almost 70% of homes in the Powdermill Park area to the High School AND Middle School (sidewalks exist already from HS to Middle School) A complete and separated sidewalk along Thornell from East street all the way to Rte 96 and the Basin would be perfect. (this has been a topic of discussion for years! and came out with a vengeance in discussions about the repaving and the changing of the Intersection of Thornell and 96) A short section of sidewalk on Railroad Mills from Old Forge to the Auburn Trail and then a real bona-fide sidewalk section from Auburn Trail INTO Powdermill Park on Woolston would allow pedestrians and bikers alike to navigate the blind hill into and out of the Park. Finally a full blown sidewalk the length of East Street from Thornell to Rte 96 then on Rte 96 to connect to the existing sidewalks that lead to the village of Pittsford would make the entire east side of Pittsford almost fully connected and navigable for young and old. More pedestrial friendly. A widened shoulder as a substitute is NOT the same. A separate dedicated sidewalk is what is needed. It isn’t just about biking and walking to school. A sidewalk plan to connect the town to the village and also to the already existing network of trails would make the town and village incredibly bike/walk friendly by more than 100-fold of what would have to be installed. (I am sure there are more areas that could use real sidewalks like Rte 96 between the HS and Clover. The little section of sidewalk to nowhere for example does little to connect to Kings Bend Park. Almost, but leaves the walkers and bikers in a dangerous situation. I am of course partial to the part of Pittsford where I live (off Railroad Mills)

— The speed limit on East Ave must be reduced. Sidewalks are apparently in the works but it will be a couple more years before they appear near Allens Creek School. The speed limit is 40 but, which is already to fast but traffic speeds by at 50-60 miles per hour on this residential street with students from several schools including Allen Creek and the colleges. It is unacceptable and no one will do anything about it. Cars routinely do not stop for school buses. Kids have to be bussed to go a few blocks. There is no shoulder. It should be reduced to one lane each way. These are fixes that can be made before sidewalks are added and must be part of the plan once sidewalks are in place for the safety of pedestrians.

— Live on Crestview Drive. Deeply disappointed to see sidewalks go up all around us, and not on the actual street which has a path to the school. The stop signs have helped with speeders a bit, but the street is still used as a cut-through and people still go way to fast. It’s dangerous.

— Thornell Rd needs sidewalks like the ones recently added to Calkins Rd. Not having safe access to this pathway is a disadvantage to those in the PRE, TRE, and BRMS areas. Our kids can’t walk or bike to school in many cases.

— If the sidewalks were extended on Calkins Road toward Henrietta our children could ride their bikes to MCE and CRMS.

— They need to put a sidewalk in on Thornell Road from the Basin to Rosewood Drive.
CRMS was designed horribly to allow/encourage bikers/walkers. There should have been sidewalks built when the school was built. It’s taken years but there are finally some east of the school. But if you live west of the school? Forget it. Same for SHS students. If you live east of the school you have a chance for a sidewalk on the way to school. West of the school? Nope.

— Please make it safer for our kids! Slow down traffic, better signage for bikers and walkers, physical medians and curbs for protection. Make pedestrians and bikers a priority over moving traffic through the town!

— The main reason I don’t let my child walk or bike is the distance, the bushnells basin area to Sutherland is just too far.

— I am a bit concerned (visibility-wise) that my 13 yr old pictures himself riding daily to Sutherland given that we live near CRMS. But he’s been riding to school daily for 5 years now.

— The middle school is too far from our home to regularly bike, given how early school starts and it is dark outside most of the year when they catch the bus. Our kids would sometimes bike if drivers near CRMS and along the route from the Village to there would watch for pedestrians and cyclists. As of now, drivers speed and do not stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.

— Keep pushing, Walk Bike Pittsford! We can make this place better for people who want to walk and bike!

— Please do something about the crosswalks on the main roads in the Village (Monroe, State, Main, Jefferson). We live only 4 blocks from the high school, yet my daughter has to take her life in her hands every day to cross at Monroe & Washington (she’d cross at Sutherland, but that place is even more dangerous).

— My son rides to CRMS from the Village and also to soccer practice at MCE. He rides on the sidewalk and is equipped with lights and all sorts of flashy things. Drivers STILL turn in front of him and don’t pay attention. It’s terrifying, yet biking is so good for his Independence & health (physical and mental). We moved to the Village because it is walkable. Pittsford, please do something to change the car-centric culture.

— The town should put bike lanes in on the main roads. There is plenty of room and would signal to drivers to slow down. It would encourage more adults bike for short trips, thus helping to encourage more people to do the same. The more of us there are, the safer we will all be.

— Riding with my child on Bike to School Day underscored how fast and furious traffic is in the village. This is our community and most of the traffic is just driving through (and recklessly). I’m okay with people driving through, but the town leadership should make some changes to put quality of life first. It will make it better for everyone who uses the village and it will help local business.

— We moved here because it had a safe, hometown feel. We thought our kids would walk to school. We don’t trust all the angry drivers. Speeding is a HUGE problem. The village could be a unique place in the country if it took back its streets and did not put speeding traffic first.

Interested in reading our full report? Pittsford Walk Bike to School Survey_2017

Want your school to participate in Bike to School Day on May 9th? Use our Bike to School Day Checklist and get started!