Today’s Signal article on the student valets at Helmers Elementary got me thinking.

I’ve had the unfortune of being near some of the schools during arrival and dismissal time. And every time I’m there, I marvel at how crowded small neighborhood streets can become in just a matter of minutes. What’s more, I marvel at how ineffeciently we use our resources: not only are most parents driving only their student to school (rather than three or four others as well), many aren’t even following road signs, directions from staff or common sense in the way they ingress and egress the school zone. Add that to the fact that most neighborhoods have elementary schools in them, which means these schools are within walking distance for many of the students.

Yet everyday we see the same craziness; everyone packs into their car at the designated time then gets frustrated when the street fills up.

Nuts to all that I say.

What if we could replace this:

with this:

okay okay, before you roll your eyes and say, “There goes Jeff the crazy bike commuter guy, I’m going to close this site and go read dlisted.com” I’m not talking about bike commuting here, per se. I’m talking about a crazy European concept called a “Bike Bus,” explained herein via the Streetsblog Wiki:

A Bike Bus is a group of cyclists riding together to a specific destination on a schedule with an experienced leader. Bike Buses are often formed by commuters who ride together to work. However, a Bike Bus can be adapted to go anywhere groups of riders want to go- church, shopping, the zoo, parks—If a road goes there, a Bike Bus can go there.   It’s called a “bus” because there is a set route and timetable so it can pick up more “passengers” along the way.

How easy would it be to adapt this concept for kids in the upper grades in an elementary school, for example? With paseos running so close to schools in much of the valley, great weather for most of the year, and schools close to homes, a “bike bus” might be a solution that fits into Santa Clarita’s design perfectly.

Think of all the things this solves: kids get exercise, have fun on the way to school, noisy, dirty vehicle traffic is taken off the road and parents’ stress level goes down. Parental volunteers could lead the “bike bus” and coordinate with their schools while other parents coordinate the bus’ timetable and route. Best of all, students ride safely in a large group with parental supervision.

I know this idea wouldn’t eliminate all the awful traffic at arrival and dismissal time, but surely it could only help.