Reduce Classroom Stress by Walking to School

...and eliminating parking lots?

A new study finds that walking to school may help kids deal with classroom stress better. Researchers at the University of Buffalo tested a group of 40 kids ages 10 to 14. Half of the kids got to sit in comfy chairs and watch a slide show of suburban scenes (probably not the finale of Ferris Bueller's Day Off) ending with a nice suburban school. The other half watched the same slide show while waking a mile on a treadmill and carrying a book bag loaded to one tenth of each kid's weight.

Sample Stroop test question:

blue

What color are the above letters?

After a 20-minute rest (comparable to the time it takes to go to your locker, chat with friends, then wait while the teacher takes roll and lunch count and figures out why the computer projector isn't working), all of the kids took a Stroop test (see illustration).

The test made everyone's heart rate go up, but the walkers' hearts went just three beats faster per minute, while the sitters' hearts pounded out eleven more beats per minute. The sitters also experienced three times greater rise in systolic blood pressure and reported twice the increase in perceived stress.

The researchers appear not to mention any difference in actual performance. Recalling the maxim of my old chem teacher Jerome Garry—"Stress is good, to a point"—it's possible the stressed commuting kids got great scores on the test. They'll just die of cardiovascular disease sooner.

Believe it or not, this study gets me thinking of the Madison school district's new gym project. What, new gym? You might not realize a new gym is coming, since the superintenedent and local press appear to be trying very hard to underplay the new-gym side of the project and keep our attention focused on all the other renovations that will take place. The last newspaper article on the major school upgrade didn't even mention the new gym, even though the luxurious new atheltic facility will cost more ($8.64 million) than all of the necessary improvements to the long-neglected high school ($7.4 million).

Friends have given me reasonable explanations as to why we can't just fix the high school, why we have to build a new gym right alongside the academic and arts improvements. Maybe I can be persuaded... if we build the new gym and high school improvements right on top of the current parking lot and do not replace the lost spaces. We want our kids to enjoy a comfortable, stress-free educational environment. Let's eliminate their parking spaces so they can all walk to school and lower their stress levels.

Bonus community health idea: Let's see, $8.64 million for a 2500-seat gym... that's about $3500 per seat. Instead, we could buy everyone in Madison a nice $50 armband radio—total cost $325,000—and encourage them to listen to the basketball games on KJAM while taking a walk. Then everyone in Madison would be less stressed, and Lorin Larsen could increase his ad rates!

Learn to Park! South Dakotans Color Outside the Lines

Hat tip to Jeff Martin, who Facebooks this video of bad parking in Aberdeen, courtesy of Lonestar's Jason Robinson and Keech Rainwater:



It's interesting how slight automotive improprieties rouse us to such ridicule. I do the same thing, shouting "Learn to park!" at kittywampus cars from behind the safety of my rolled-up window. I almost never yell similar things about the way my neighbors walk or sit or bicycle. Why are we so hypersensitive about each other's automotive behavior?

Brookings County Wants to Knock Down Houses in One of Best Midwest Neighborhoods

Mr. Powers highlights some special media recognition for his lovely town: This Old House Magazine has named the Central Residential Historic District in Brookings one of the best places to buy an old house in the Midwest. What makes the center of Brookings such a peachy place to perch?

• Lots of trees and greenery
• Proximity to parks and schools
• Downtown restaurants, book store, and antique shops just a five-minute walk away
• Safe place to raise kids
• Children's museum coming in old Central Elementary

TOHM also notes the healthy real estate values in this neighborhood: folks stick around and keep up their properties, and the neighborhood's placement on the National Register of Historic Places prevents "unattractive updates and alterations."

So who would want to reduce the housing stock available in such a great neighborhood? Why, the Brookings County Commision. They think the community will be better served by demolishing a couple of these choice tax-generating houses and replacing them with parking lots.

I don't see parking lots anywhere among the criteria that won Brookings this national recognitions in TOHM.

The National Register of Historic Places can't stop all dumb ideas. Fortunately, we have a public vote as a back-up. Let's hope voters reject the notion of parking über alles and preserve the integrity of a healthy, tight-knit neighborhood.

Brookings Petitioners Seek Referendum on County Parking

...can't we just park on the street... or ride our bikes to the courthouse?

Speaking local democracy, the Brookings Register (which still can't figure out how to properly format Web articles) reports that Brookings residents Gloria Kloster and Nancy Flynn are circulating petitions to refer to a public vote the decision by Brookings County to buy two houses on Fourth Street and probably bulldoze them for parking lots.

I say probably, because, as reported by Dakota War College last month, Brookings County has been formulating its plans for the lots in the Brookings Historic District under the guise of a "task force" which has been conducting closed meetings. Even fellow commissioner Dennis Falken has grumbled a little about the task force's secret operations.

The petitioners could face a legal challenge, as there is some question about whether the county's action is legislative (referrable! :-) ) or administrative (not referrable :-( ). Deputy state's attorney Mark Kratochvil and even Commission Chair Don larson seem to feel residents can refer this decision, though we'll see if they still sing that tune if the petitions come in. The bigger challenge is to beat the clock: municipal referendum petitions need to be submitted within 20 days of the decision's publication. The purchase decision hit the Brookings paper May 28; petitions with at least 969 valid signatures are therefore due at the Brookings courthouse by the close of business this Wednesday, June 17. Better hustle, ladies!

Responding to the petition drive, Commissioner Larson demonstrates an amusing inability to answer the question:

I think [the purchase is] a sound decision. My question would be, if it's bad for the county to be proactive , why aren't these citizens taking out the same petitions against the city and the university for their expansion? What's the difference between the two? What's the difference with the county being proactive and the city being proactive? [quoted by Ryan Woodard, "Citizens Challenge Commission Decision," Brookings Register, 2009.06.15]

Who says locals can't spin? Commissioner Larson goes for the classic line of painting his opponents as enemies of progress. But we don't hear the petitioners saying it's bad to be "proactive". They're saying it's bad to rip up homes in the historic district and replace them with parking lots. They're also saying that it's bad to conduct public business, proactive or otherwise, in secret meetings. (Transparency, transparency, transparency, Commissioner Larson!)

You know me: I'm all about public conversation, open meetings, and citizens taking political action. I hope the neighbors get their thousand signatures by Wednesday (don't let the rain stop you!), and I hope Brookings citizens get a vote on the use of their money and their historic neighborhood.

Madison Parking Ordinance Promotes Wasteful Consumption

I see Craig Miller took a reasonable beef to the Madison City Commission Monday night. KJAM reports that Miller asked the city to revise its 24-hour parking ordinance. Evidently we have a rule that prohibits leaving your car in the same spot on city streets for more than 24 hours. After our last snowstorm weekend before last, Miller left his truck parked by the curb for more than a day, and the city left him a ticket. Evidently displeased, Miller suggested at Monday night's meeting that the city should revise that rule.

The city took no action. The city should. A 24-hour parking limit makes the incorrect assumption that everyone will drive every day. It may even encourage people to drive when they could just walk. If you're parking on the street and you have to move your car anyway, you'll be more inclined to drive those five or ten blocks to the post office than to just take a healthy walk.

Some folks may not have a better parking option, and they may not want to drive. When Erin and I lived in Vancouver, our landlord had no room for us to park, so I had to leave the trusty van on a side street. In eight months in the city, I drove the van once. The rest of the time, I took the bus, bike, or boots. Having to move the van every day would have been a waste of time and gasoline.

We've got bigger things to worry about than whether Craig's truck has been in the same spot for 24.1 hours. As KJAM points out, some other towns have two-day or five-day parking limits. Madison should by doing the same to support energy conservation and healthy living. If the car has a valid license, the city should let it sit.