A couple of weeks ago, I posted a story on High Point Road. In the midst of highlighting all the joys of the longest dead-end street in town — the road I grew up on — I complained that kids there no longer rode bikes to school, the way my friends and I did.
Maybe — because I regularly pass so many parents waiting for their kids’ buses on nearby North Avenue (and don’t get me that they drive to the beginning of roads like Adams Farm and Greystone Farm Roads to pick them up, aaaargh!) — I just assumed that High Point parents did the same.
My bad.
Biking to school from High Point is alive and well. Here’s a shot of Long Lots Elementary the other day:
(Photo/Tally Jacobs)
When they’re older, many youngsters walk from High Point to Bedford Middle School too.
“This time outdoors is an important part of the kids’ day,” says High Point parent Tally Jacobs.
“It says so much about Westport that kids take advantage of their proximity to the schools, the fresh air, the independence and community feeling that results from walking and biking.”
Of course, walking to Staples — directly behind homes on the west side of the road — is a different story. Most High Point kids with their licenses drive to high school — even though it takes longer.
I’m can’t make fun of them for that.
I did the same thing, waaaaay back in the day.
(Hat tip: Amy Hochhauser)
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN NYC I REMEMBER ROLLER SKATING TO SCHOOL!
Very positive article about Westport’s schoolchildren. Btw, Greystone Farm Lane is an awesome street to grow up on! Great kids who’ve gone through the Westport school system with wonderful involved parents and now lucky to have some fabulous younger families move to our little lane with children just begininning their educational journeys here. Our homes have been here for more than 20 years so we’re one of the established streets in Westport. Why are you picking on us again Dan?
Hi Gwen,
I’ve known some wonderful people on Greystone Farm. But I find it bizarre that I’ve seen parents waiting to meet the bus with their cars. It’s not a long street at all. The message being sent seems to be that parents have to drive their kids everywhere. That was my point.
Hi Dan, I got your point and it’s a really good one. It’s definitely the exception, not the rule on our street but I know that some parents wait for their kids because they are going from the bus directly to another activity after school or other very legitimate reasons other than laziness.
Thanks, Gwen. I get it. But judging by the number of cars I see (more often at the Adams Farm bus stop than Greystone Farm, for sure), there are an awful lot of those gotta-get-there-immediately activities these days!
Yes, we sure do a lot of “whisking” kids around Westport!
I have always loved High Point Road from when we moved here in 2008 onto Bayberry Lane, it reminded me of the U.K. plus the great community spirit and not forgetting Halloween night! We are now lucky to live on the road (opposite your old house Dan) and my middle schoolers favourite thing is that he can WALK to school even in the snow and easily hang out at the fields on the weekend. Many people bike/walk to school here and I love that!
Thanks, Heather! I’m glad there’s a Lyons family back on High Point. For many years the Lyons family lived just north of High Point West. Doris Lyons was a wonderful elementary school teacher. Not the same family, I know, but a great coincidence!
Not sure I would let my kids ride a bicycle in Westport these days. I sure as hell wouldn’t do it as an adult either.
I agree. Riding a bike on Westport Streets is risky business.