Illinois school district rolls out bicycle ban

WAUCONDA, Ill. -- Biking on campus will no longer be allowed at Wauconda Grade School after officials banned bicycles for safety reasons.

The ban, which starts Aug. 27, has prompted protests from parents and children, some of whom plan a protest ride at the school board's Thursday meeting.

Officials at the school in the greater Chicago area said they didn't want cycling students to get hurt. They noted that traffic in the area had increased and that a student was hit by a car last spring while riding to school. That student wasn't seriously injured.

"We cannot run the risk of ignoring a safety problem," said superintendent John Barbini of the Wauconda Community Unit School District 118. "The simplest answer is for the school to ban bike riding."

But parent Jose Pineiro called it "a knee-jerk reaction." He suggested that school officials control traffic around the school, add a second crossing guard or find other ways to ensure safety -- not ban bikes.

Adding a crossing guard won't help, Barbini said. "Given the way students at this age level tend to ride their bicycles, it's just not worth the risk," he said.

The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation called the ban "a mistake."

"It's says to children, this is a transportation choice that's not viable," said Dave Glowacz, the group's education director. "It's easy for us to understand their thinking, but a lot of people don't realize there's a greater danger to children from a sedentary lifestyle."

The school district has banned bikes at its middle and high schools for several years.

Taylor Sherman, 11, planned on biking to school this fall. "I don't think it's fair," he said.