How to avoid a problem

I have just finished reading the regular newsletter from our school principal. In part, she notes that some kids want to ride bikes to school, but the school doesn't want them to do it.

I can understand the reasoning:

• space is limited for installing bike racks
• motorists use the surrounding narrow streets as rat runs
• some kids might have to cross two busy roads - roads that are so nasty, I avoid them wherever possible, and only cross at one location where I have found a fairly safe crossing point
• young kids are idiots (this was described as "developing peripheral vision").

However, I think the answer is pretty stupid - ban bikes! Instead of trying to attack the root causes, which are difficult, they take the easy way out and want kids to get driven to school. They'll weasel out of that by saying that kids can take the bus, but that's like saying paraplegics can drag their wheelchairs up and down stairs - it ain't going to happen.

I have done the school run dozens of times over the last two years, and it is a nightmare of congestion. The kids aren't too bad. The problem is the mums - talk about "developing peripheral vision". Most of them tunnel vision on their kid, and then nearly run into or over everyone else. They are useless.

One of the simplest things the school could organise would be car pooling for kids. They know where every kid lives - it should be easy enough to get a map and organise a few kiddie car pools. That might reduce the amount of 3.30pm traffic around the school, and make it a bit safer for those of us that want to ride.

Bloody beauracrats.