The survey of parents at Cole Elementary found that over half of students live within a half mile of the school and most walk to and from school daily. However, many parents reported issues with the walkability of routes like missing or discontinuous sidewalks, wide roads without safe crossings, speeding drivers who don't yield to pedestrians, and unleashed dogs, which make walks feel unsafe. To improve safety, Walk/Bike Nashville recommends continuing to build out planned sidewalks and bikeways, focusing on safe crossings near schools, and enforcing leash and traffic laws around school start and end times.

1. Walk to School Day
2012 Walkability Survey
Walk/Bike Nashville – October 2012

2. Walk to School Day 2012 Walkability Survey Walk/Bike Nashville
1
Executive Summary
Cole Elementary, the 2012 Walk to School Day spotlight school, has a
large population of students who walk to school on a regular basis,
likely due to the fact that many students live within ½ mile of the school.
Although the majority of survey respondents rate the walkability of
their school as Good or Excellent, many parents expressed concern that
their child’s route to school lacks adequate sidewalks, marked
pedestrian crossings, and crossing signals.
Additionally, survey respondents noted that unleashed dogs and the
behavior and speed of drivers made their child’s route to school feel
unsafe.
To make our streets safer for walking for all road users, whether eight or
eighty years old, Walk/Bike Nashville recommends the following:
• The city of Nashville should continue to aggressively work on
building out the Strategic Plan for Sidewalks and Bikeways.
• Special attention should be placed on safe crossings around
schools
• Leash and traffic laws should be enforced, with a particular
emphasis on the times of day when children are walking to and
from school.
About Walk/Bike Nashville
Since 1998, Walk/Bike Nashville has sought to make active
transportation an option for all Nashvillians, no matter where they live
or where they're trying to go. Walk/Bike Nashville advocates for
sidewalks and bikeways that support active living, commuting options,
and recreational opportunities, with the ultimate goal of building a more
walkable, bikeable, and livable Nashville. For more information, visit
www.walkbikenashville.org.

3. Walk to School Day 2012 Walkability Survey Walk/Bike Nashville
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About the Survey
The 2012 Walkability Survey was designed with assistance from the
Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. The survey
was administered to Cole Elementary parents in both Spanish and
English. Parents received the survey as part of a take home packet and
returned paper copies to school officials.
In total, 74 responses were recorded. Walk/Bike Nashville staff
members entered the survey into REDcap, an electronic data capture
software system funded by Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and
Translational Research grant support (UL1 TR000445 from
NCATS/NIH).
Walk to School Day
On October 3, 2012, more than 10,000 walkers participated in Walk to
School Day at more than 50 Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Walk to School encourages students to engage in physical activity while
highlighting the importance of sidewalks, crosswalks, and other
pedestrian infrastructure.
The 2012 Walk to School Day spotlight school was Cole Elementary.
Mayor Karl Dean joined students, teachers, and parents from Cole to
highlight the benefits of daily walking. Students walked with the MNPD
mounted patrol, motor brigade, student performers, and other colorful
community members before attending a special assembly with Mayor
Dean, Dr. Jesse Register, Chief Steve Anderson, and Dr. Bill Paul.
The annual event is organized by Walk/Bike Nashville in partnership
with Metro Nashville Public Schools, Safe Kids Cumberland Valley, the
Metro Department of Health, and the Metropolitan Planning
Organization.
Cole Elementary – School Profile
• Number of Students 750
• Grades Served Pre-K to 4
• District 2
• School Zone Antioch Cluster
• Principal Chad High
• Address 5060 Colemont Drive, Antioch, TN

4. Walk to School Day 2012 Walkability Survey Walk/Bike Nashville
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Survey Results
How far does your child live from school?
35.1% of respondents stated that their child lives no more than a ¼ mile
from Cole Elementary, with an additional 13.5% residing between ¼ and
½ miles from the school. Nearly half (48.6%) of respondents’ children
live within a ½ mile radius of the school.
On most days, how does your child travel to school?
64.9% of respondents said their children walk to school on most days.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Less than 1/4 mile
1/4 mile to 1/2 mile
1/2 mile up to 1 mile
1 mile to 2 miles
more than 2 miles
Don't know
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
School Bus
City Bus
Other
Bicycle
Carpool
Family Auto
Walk

5. Walk to School Day 2012 Walkability Survey Walk/Bike Nashville
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The next largest group of respondents, 25.7% of total, reported that
their children were driven to school in a private automobile.
On most days. how does your child travel back home from
school?
Respondents were more likely to report that their children walked home
from school than to school. 82.4% of respondents reported that their
student walks home from school, nearly 20% more than those who walk
to school.
How long does it normally take your child to travel from
home to school?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Less than 5 minutes
5-10 minutes
11-20 minutes
More than 20 minutes
Don't know
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
City Bus
Other
School Bus
Carpool
Bicycle
Family Auto
Walk

6. Walk to School Day 2012 Walkability Survey Walk/Bike Nashville
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How long does it normally take your child to travel from
school to home?
For both trips to and from school, more than 75% of respondents
reported that their child’s trip could be completed in less than 10
minutes.
Sidewalks
Respondents were given several opportunities to indicate problems
with sidewalks and catalog the location of issues.
• 26 respondents (35%) reported that their child’s route does not
have sidewalks
• 19 respondents (26%) reported that their child’s route had
sidewalks, but that they were not continuous
• 9 respondents (12%) reported that the sidewalks along their
child’s route were too close to fast moving traffic
• 8 respondents (11%) reported that sidewalks were blocked by cars
or trucks.
Street Crossings
Respondents were given several opportunities to indicate problems
with street crossings and catalog the location of issues.
• 11 respondents (15%) reported a need for marked pedestrian
crosswalks
• 8 respondents (11%) reported that their child’s road featured a
road to wide to cross safely
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Less than 5 minutes
5-10 minutes
11-20 minutes
More than 20 minutes
Don't know

7. Walk to School Day 2012 Walkability Survey Walk/Bike Nashville
6
Traffic and Drivers
Respondents were given several opportunities to indicate problems
with traffic and drivers and catalog the location of issues.
• 23 respondents (31%) reported that drivers seem to be going too
fast along their child’s route to school
• 7 respondents (9%) reported that drivers along their child’s route
do not yield to pedestrians
Safety
Respondents were given several opportunities to indicate problems
with safety and catalog the location of issues.
• 16 respondents (22%) reported that there were unleashed dogs
along their child’s route to school
• 10 respondents (14%) reported that they did not feel safe walking
along their child’s route to school because of the behavior of
drivers.
Overall rating of the school route walkability
More than half of respondents rated Cole Elementary’s walkability as
Good or Excellent, while 20% of respondents had concerns about the
safety of their child’s route and 12% of respondents felt that it is not safe
for their children to walk to school.
0
5
10
15
20
25
Excellent: Walking to school is easy,
pleasant, and safe
Good: There are a few problems with
walking to school, but children can do it
safely
Fair: Walking is difficult; safety is a
concern
Poor: The route to school is unsafe for
children to walk