Walk to Burbank school drives home safety message

Fire Capt. Jose Ramirez watches kids walk by his Burbank-Paradise fire station every day. Many stop to ring the fire engine bell. He worries about them walking along narrow streets with no sidewalks and few streetlights to get to class.

On Wednesday, about 50 kids, parents and volunteers gathered at his station before strolling down Beverly Drive and Picardy Drive in west Modesto to Burbank Elementary School as part of International Walk to School Day activities.

“This is a good reminder about traffic safety. I’m glad they’re doing this. I’ve never seen them do it before – this is great,” Ramirez said after giving the group a safety pep talk as they started off. “There’s a stop sign. Drivers are supposed to stop, but sometimes they just don’t. We see it every day, so that’s why (you should) always look.

“Always think about what drivers are not going to do.”

The morning was festive, with mascots posing for pictures, Modesto police and California Highway Patrol officers sitting kids in their patrol cars, Modesto and Burbank-Paradise fire engines to climb into, and Riko the K-9 officer to peer in at.

But the message was somber, driven home with a pedestrian safety story featuring Clifford the big, red, four-legged star of a series of children’s books.

Safe Kids volunteer Heidi Ortner brought her niece’s Clifford doll to Kimberly Smith’s early kindergarten class for the story. Selene Villano, one of the wiggly class turning 5 by Dec. 2 – just a little too young for regular kindergarten – got to hold the stuffed animal while Ortner read.

“Look left, look right, look left again and meet the person’s eyes so we know they see us,” said Ortner as she read “Clifford Takes a Walk.” The book was a joint effort of Safe Kids, FedEx and publisher Scholastic, and every Burbank student through third grade was given a copy.

“We may think they see us, but they might be drinking their coffee, listening to their music. You might even want to wave at them so that you know they see you. They might wave back, or they may give you a funny look, like, ‘Why is this person waving at me?’ But you know they saw you,” Ortner told the class.

Speakers repeated the warning at every opportunity, making the point that with so many drivers texting or on their phones, walking to school becomes a lot more dangerous.

About half of Burbank’s 740 students take the bus, being dropped off on busy Paradise Road, and the others walk, said Principal Jim Mendonca.

The school sits at the center front of a large triangular block, with its attendance area covering the modest neighborhood behind it. The streets have no sidewalks and few have crosswalks, Mendonca pointed out, and the main entrance to the school from the back is through its parking lot.

The pedestrian safety message came to the right school, he agreed. In Stanislaus County, pedestrian and biking accidents are the third-leading cause of childhood deaths.

“Some drivers, they’re not even paying attention to some kids just walking,” said older brother Francisco Jacquez, walking his sister to school with the group Wednesday. His biggest fear, however, is some stranger will take her, he said. That’s why he walks with her.

For mom Esther Schedler, “It’s good exercise – go green!” she said with a grin as she stood with her first-grader, Isaac.

Students said they liked the exercise. “But my legs hurt,” said fourth-grader Samantha Felix, who lives a few blocks away.

Exercise is the upside to walking to school, and the “walking school bus” idea promoted Wednesday gathers kids and parents in groups to make the trip safer and more social.

Safe Kids and FedEx volunteers put on the event. Safe Kids offers tips for walking safely, all part of an interactive video at www.safekids.org/howtowalk. They warn against walking while on a phone or listening with headphones, jaywalking and walking in dark clothes at night, and urge people to watch out for cars turning, backing up or passing.

Safe Kids Stanislaus is led by Doctors Medical Center and includes 25 agencies and nonprofits. For more information, go to www.safekids.org.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Walk to Burbank school drives home safety message."