Mom and son face off with the law for biking to school
Saratoga Springs school district prohibits kids from biking to school, but a mom and her son defied the law. A state trooper was there to greet them.
Tue, Oct 06 2009 at 5:45 PM EST
25
Photo: Kaneda/Flickr In stark contrast to Copenhagen (where more than half the residents travel by bike), one school district in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., created a policy that prohibits biking and walking to school.
Though Janette Marino and her son, Adam, were warned prior to the first day of school, they rode in defiance anyway only to be greeted by an unhappy group of school administrators and a state trooper.
The school cited dangerous road conditions on Route 9, which leads to the school, as a primary reason for the policy, even though the road in question is currently designated as an official "bike route."
Janette made it clear that her son feels "pretty strongly" about biking to school. She explains, "I think it’s my parental right to transport my child to school in the way I deem is appropriate. I think the district is usurping its authority by telling me that I can’t."
The policy is currently under review, but the whole situation points clearly to the immense lack of foresight we have here in the U.S. regarding urban and suburban planning. It's a sad day in America when a kid can't bike to school.
Read more at The Saratogian.
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Comments
pedro
12/25/2010 10:48 AM
I´m not american, and i have to say that american law is the strangest i have ever seen........
The government and state exist to serv us with some basic stuff; education, health and habitation...in a simple look. There is allways the "demand" that a country gives to their rulers.
But we are neither a business nor ant´s!
They cannot just invent laws that tell me how i´m taking my kid to school...or how i put him to sleep, or the storys i tell him. It´s my kid! Nature gave me.... More
andrea
12/24/2010 02:43 AM
why is the picture of a kid on the sidewalk, isn't that illegal. And yes if her precious joey gets hit she will probably sue the school.
Pedro
12/25/2010 10:54 AM
WHAT? illegal a kid on the sidewalk????????? may be better on the road right?!
And what does the school have to do if the kid is hit by a car on the way to school......it´s a problem on the Driver! The one that hit the kid or the own kid! one of the drivers was less carefull.....not the mother´s fault neither the school!
SO WHAT? I SHOULD LOCK MY KID AT HOME IN A ROOM UNTIL A LAW COMES THAT GIVES ME THE INSURENCE THAT IF MY KID´S DEAD FOR SOME REASON, I HAVE SOME ONE OR SOMETHING.... More
Lips of Anubis
12/24/2010 20:33 PM
Egocentric morons may assume: that the municipality they live in mirrors theirs; the picture is in fact a picture of the mother and son, not a stock photo or of bystandards; and take the entire article out of context and focus on a non-related issue. You might read the book, "1984" if you stand by that lame argument.
Angry Citizen Against Opression
12/03/2010 10:25 AM
How is this going to help our kids stay in shape or become adults if we can not trust them to bike to school. I understand when you say that there safety concerns but honestly i have more concerns about my child getting shot at school then riding to school. This will only lead to a less active child more prone to being obese.
augman
11/01/2010 20:33 PM
Seem the solution would rather be to do what it takes to make the road conditions safe, thereby decreasing the probability of future accidents - duh!
linda
12/26/2010 10:00 AM
truly you hit the nail on the head. to make the roads safe for the kids to go to school and for all who travel/walk on them is the obvious answer what a waste of law enforcements time to harass a mother and child on way to school shame of the school system I am so glad that my children are now college students/grads. I would never want to raise and educate my children in such an *** backward town (pardon my language) and more power to the parents that make this so obvious and defy stupidity .... More
Susan
10/27/2010 09:05 AM
To me it seems like people are focusing on the wrong thing here. Instead of asking "What can the school do to make this one person happy while keeping all of the students safe?" we should ask "What can the city do to make it's roads safer?"
Brak
07/19/2010 11:16 AM
it seems the road is very dangerous according to the locals, so the mother is foolish to have her son bike it. People so willing to break the rules to make a point are generally the type to frivolously sue to make a point. It's a lose-lose for the district. They ban biking, and they get fools like this woman. They allow it, they get sued by women like her.
Rebekah
12/27/2010 17:07 PM
The article also says that the road in question is a official bike route. It can't be that bad.
Holley
07/14/2010 09:10 AM
Please change the name from "Saratago" to Saratoga. This should have been proof-read!
Don
03/08/2010 11:58 AM
The schools policy was enacted after a parent sued the school district cause their child got hurt on their bike on the way to or from school?
C.E.
11/18/2009 04:48 AM
I am not at all surprised that the system is usurping another thing from parents. Remember, things can only change when people care enough to band together and change them. Complacency is the blood off which the government thrives. Being a local, I can agree that Saratoga, and other schools around the area are far too often telling others how 'things are going to be'. First they take away dodge ball, and now this, whats next? suits and ties for the children? Maybe mittens and helmets.... More
Guest
11/15/2009 14:36 PM
Why encourage our young ones to exercise when they can just sit in a car and eat a doughnut. Maybe they can stop by Starbucks and get a tall white mocha with extra sugar.
Jules
11/14/2009 10:10 AM
Look...you insignificant, mental midgets of the planning board; when will you get it through your skulls that parents can actually TAKE CARE of a child. I understand that in all your colleges liberal arts education classes you have been taught the opposite, but when are you going to actually put the parents shoes on your feet before deciding something. You are not the end-all be-all here. Parents have been, are now, and always will be the responsible parties in a childs life. Now go decide what.... More
Guest
11/11/2009 18:45 PM
next they're going to outlaw dancing
kid rock
11/11/2009 17:36 PM
get rid of all of your lawyers for a start, they just feed off other peoples misery. They are ruining our world.. Wake up!
dwindle
11/08/2009 17:52 PM
Under what authority does the school have over public roads?
Chad
10/16/2009 09:22 AM
Actually, the green or environmental issue is secondary here. It is far more outrageous that a parent isn't allowed to decide how to get their child to school. Talk about Big Brother.
jsavedge
Today 10:18 AM
Thanks so much for posting this Karl. I can't believe that in this day and age, when we are trying to encourage kids to get exercise and reduce greenhouse gases by driving less, that the school district would create this policy and be so hardnosed about enforcing it. How ridiculous! Yet, if this story did not receive media attention, it probably would have been swept under the rug.
rKeyTeq
Today 06:01 AM
It's amazing how mindless beaureaucrats agree to "review" a failed policy when it comes under scrutiny. Good for her and her son. Urban and suburban planning in the past half century have replaced accessibility and humanity with "efficient" and "safe" motorized transportation. Have they really "reviewed" which mode of transport is the most efficient and safe?
Elizabeth
10/06/2009 22:11 PM
And I admire her for standing up for exercise and the outdoors! I really hope she wins this case.
Dorothy
10/06/2009 21:46 PM
This is sad, I admire her for standing up for mother nature!
