As someone who used to walk to elementary school and later enjoyed riding a bicycle to school, the mere concept of being told you have to take a bus or get dropped off in a car is very baffling to me.
I especially remember those days when it rained. It rained cats and dogs, and I would walk slowly, focused, being in the senses, thinking in abstract ways, happy, sometimes with umbrella, sometimes all wet, maneuvering between pools of water and hundreds of earthworms (pavement close to school was especially packed).
Sometimes I still get this state of mind, I wish I would be in it more often.
Or in snow. I remember it being dark, snow sparkling in city lights. Amazing. Sometimes we would play with other children on our way to school, already. Sometimes, still in the dark, we would make a shortcut and play in the corn fields (effectively destroying crops) and being chased by the owner (being chased was rather 'an afternoon thing').
Returning home with friends entailed possible detours.
Recently I kind of realized how this walking alone to school and back home was just, I could call it, very high state of consciousness.
"Those were the days of our lives."
I hope these worlds are not totally forgotten.
This whole only in America "Texan car dealer sponsors school walking ban" .... just seems too perfectly crafted to not be bait for climate outrage. From where I'm standing, you just couldn;t make this stuff up.
I agree that prohibiting walking to school is a ridiculous thing, but I think it's more likely an extreme case of CYA by the school administration or local school board, afraid of getting blamed for anything that might happpen related to a student or parent walking to or from school.
That's not what the article says - that's what the headline says. The article just says parents can't walk onto school grounds to get their kids.
I wonder why a car dealer would be interested in preventing walkability.