Kim Hurley has been driving her children to Ellwood Elementary School for more than five years. But this year, the family made a big change —thanks to big improvements to their route. The Hurley kids —Liam, 11, and Kasey, 9—now start their mornings by meeting up with a group of neighborhood friends and then pedaling half a mile along a newly completed bike and pedestrian path in western Goleta. It’s been a great change in routine, Hurley said. “They absolutely love it.”
The path —a 14-foot-wide shared space for bikes, scooters, strollers, and pedestrians —is encouraging more children to get to school and back in a healthy, active way. Prior to its construction, there were two options for the Hurley kids and the hundreds of children living nearby: Cross the street and navigate a narrow sidewalk, or ride in the bike lane alongside cars going 45 miles per hour.
For years, Hurley felt that driving her kids was the only safe option. But it came with significant drawbacks. “My kids are very active,” she said. “When I was driving them, they weren’t getting a chance to get some of that energy out before school. Now that they ride, they arrive ready to focus and learn.”