If there’s one thing most parents can agree on, it’s that the drop off and pick up line at school can be an aggravating place to be.
Dozens of memes, blog posts and rants have been dedicated to the subject, mostly around how agonizingly slow the lines are every day.
Even worse, long drop off and pick up lines have dangerous consequences for kids. When many cars idle in line for extended periods of time, it creates unsafe levels of air pollution. And because children’s lungs are still developing, they are more at risk for experiencing symptoms from breathing in harmful air.
Little Steps Cleaner Air, an outreach campaign from the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA) funded by grants from the Federal Highway Administration and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, offers solutions on how to make schools a safer place for students, parents and teachers. The campaign encourages residents in the greater Omaha metro to take small steps to improve the air quality in our area, such as:
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Turn off your car if it will be sitting longer than 30 seconds.
Idling your car for more than 30 seconds uses more fuel than stopping and starting your engine.
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Consider parking and walking.
It might be faster to park your car in the school’s lot and walk your child in, rather than waiting in the drop off or pick up line.
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Get your daily exercise by walking your child to school.
If you’re spending 15 minutes in the drop off or pick up line, it might not be much longer to walk the whole distance if your child attends your neighborhood school.
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Bike to school.
Don’t forget your helmets!
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Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle.
Better yet, buy an electric vehicle the next time you’re car shopping. If you’re not in the market for a new car, fill your gas tank with biofuels such as E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline), which are cost-effective, American-made, renewable and better for the environment.
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Make sure your tires are inflated properly and that your engines are maintained.
Cars burn fuel more efficiently when they’re in proper working order.
Less cars in the drop off and pick up lines not only makes it faster for everyone, but reduces the amount of vehicle emissions in the air around the school.
“When we take steps voluntarily to reduce the emissions that pollute our air, we prevent the need for more expensive measures and government oversight,” said MAPA Information Officer Sue Cutsforth.
The Little Steps Cleaner Air campaign also offers The Science of Air Quality curriculum and activities for Omaha area science classes, customized for a variety of ages. Students have the opportunity to use air quality monitoring devices to measure the pollution levels around their schools. If you would like to invite air quality experts into your science class, contact Little Steps Cleaner Air at 402-444-6866.