IS THE car impoverishing our children's experience of childhood? The answer, according to a recent survey by Catherine O'Brien, a postdoctoral fellow at the York Centre for Applied Sustainability and author of the "Ontario Walkability Study", seems to be yes.

O'Brien's study shows too many kids are missing out on the daily adventure of walking or riding their bikes to school. Statistical evidence indicates they would be healthier and happier if they could.

More than 26 per cent of Ontario students surveyed said they would like to ride their bicycle to school, but only 3.5 per cent do. "Heavy traffic has reduced the independent mobility of our children and youth," says O'Brien.

Fewer than half of Canadian children now walk to school, and the figure drops to 10 per cent in the United States. "If parents understood the detrimental effects of the car society on their children, they might think twice about how they use their cars," she says. (Traffic fatalities are the leading cause of death in Canada for children over the age of one year.)

Her research includes survey results and comparisons of 12 municipalities: Toronto, Perth, Oshawa, Markham, North York, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Etobicoke, Mississauga, St. Thomas and Kitchener.

O'Brien compiled data from interviews with 6,369 Ontario students. Almost 75 per cent of those interviewed said they would prefer to walk or cycle to school.

Photo: Horst Herget