202

Day 118  - I walked 6.85 km (4.26 miles) with 82.9 m (272 feet) climbed in 01:18:43.  This was unique, because I divided the walk into three parts for HumanaFit purposes.  The numbers here are the total of the three parts. 

Series 2B totals 323.35 km (200.96 miles) in 67 hours 21 minutes, with 3398.8 m (11,150 feet) climbed in 11 counties in 9 states.

The total of 12 Series 3 walks is 69.08 km (42.93 mi) in 17 hours 14 minutes. Total distance climbed is 1677.3 m (5506 feet).  The twelve walks so far were on February 12, 19, 26, May 7, 14, 21, June 11, July 2, August 19, 26, 31, and today, September 9.

Here are HumanaFit maps and pictures of each part of the walk:

Now for the story connecting my walking ... with politics?  Yep.  The LaVerkin City Council has been invited to a lunch meeting on Tuesday, September 13 with the Washington County School District at the district's St. George offices.  Officially this is a routine meeting, on the premise that the school district meets with all the various city councils within its boundaries from time to time to keep communications lines open.  If this is the case, we have waiting a long time for our turn.  I have been serving over seven years, and we have never been invited to meet with them in that time.  Phil Jensen has been serving much longer than I have, and he says such an invitation has not occurred during his tenure either.

I'm guessing, and I'm not alone in this guess, that the invitation has come because a couple months ago we unanimously voted to stop paying the school district to bus twenty middle school students who are deemed ineligible for school bus transportation because they live less than two miles from the school.   The short version of our position is that we don't believe walking twice daily along the busy state highway, much less crossing it, is safe for 13 and 14 year olds.  The school district chose where to locate the school and they should be responsible to provide transportation to and from the school for those who would have to walk on or across the highway to get there.

We also question their calculation of the distance to the school.  So I walked it today to see what it is for myself.

There are three groups of homes that are in question here.  Let's consider one of them, those living near the intersection of 100 West and 300 South.  That's the starting point of the walk mapped above.  It is 1.90 miles walking distance from that intersection to the front door of the school.  Anyone living more than a house or two from the intersection will be more than two miles from the school.  It is a useful intersection to consider because the area between it and the state highway is open pasture with no homes.

Here are some pictures I took along the walk to the school:

These are pictures of the approach from the La Verkin side of the bridge over the Virgin River.  You will note that there is no sidewalk on the west side of the bridge, walkers must take the east side.

Here is a view where students would have to cross the highway at 800 North in Hurricane to get to the school.  I had to run across the highway.  There is no other way to cross without being hit by ongoing traffic.  Because this is a state highway, the state transportation department would have to approve any school crossing here.  Given the dangers involved, I would be surprised if they would approve any such thing.

Sidewalks end once 600 North is reached, as you can see in this picture.  I crossed to the south side of the street so that I would walk facing oncoming traffic.

Here is the school itself.  After a brief break to take a picture, I started on the second part of my walk to consider those who live in the first few blocks of the Pheasant Glen neighborhood.  Here is a map of the path students living there would walk to get home at the end of their school day:

It is 1.96 miles walking distance from the school to the first intersection within Pheasant Glen, the corner of 170 South and 210 West.  This is also a useful intersection to consider, because students living in Pheasant Glen would all pass through it to travel to the school.  As with the first group, which was considered earlier, anyone living more than one house away from the intersection would be more than two miles from the school.

Here are some pictures taken along that path:

These pictures are at the intersection on 800 North and Utah State Highway 9, better known as the primary access to Zion National Park for three million vehicles each year, each direction.  That is six million vehicles when both directions are considered.  Students would have to cross the highway here to walk home, even though Pheasant Glen is on the west side of the highway, because there is only a sidewalk on the east side of the bridge crossing the Virgin River.

The sidewalk on the west side ends after the Eagles club and before the bridge.  There is a lot of traffic both directions.  Over half of the traffic northbound on Interstate 15 uses exit 16 to take state highway 9, making this road busier than the interstate as it continues north to Salt Lake City.  Seems hard to imagine how a road with that much traffic is safe for school children to walk on.

Trees shade the road much of the day at the intersection of 170 South and the state highway.  This is a view across where Pheasant Glen students would have to cross the highway yet again to reach their homes.

Gasoline tank trucks are among the many large rigs using Highway 9 daily

These are views of the crossing these same students would make each morning when beginning their walk to school.

The third group of students are those living along 480 South.  HumanaFit showed 1.53 miles when I reached the intersection of 480 South and the state highway on the return trip from the school.  I concede that those students are less than two miles from the school and rely on the question of where and how would anyone propose they cross the highway to make the case that they should be provided school bus transportation as well.

For those of you reading this to make sure I complete my walks, here is the map of the final stretch from Pheasant Glen to my home:

Eating today:

Calorie Goal: 2,447  Calories Consumed: 2,281  Calories Burned: 666  Net Calories: 1,615

Food Item	Servings	Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
Western Family Oatmeal Old Fashioned	1.80	270	5g	0mg	0mg	49g	0g	7g	9g
Greek Gods Yogurt Non-fat Plain Yogurt	1.00	60	0g	5mg	105mg	10g	7g	2g	6g
50 Blueberries	0.50	20	0g	0mg	1mg	5g	3g	1g	0g
Wendy's Double Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe	1.00	390	20g	75mg	840mg	30g	7g	2g	23g
Wendy's Chili - Small	1.00	220	6g	35mg	780mg	23g	6g	5g	17g
Crackers, Saltines	1.00	59	2g	0mg	230mg	11g	0g	1g	1g
Croissant (medium)	2.00	462	24g	76mg	848mg	52g	12g	2g	10g
Chicken Pasta Salad with Grapes	1.00	390	12g	44mg	304mg	50g	20g	6g	6g
Kroger Ranger Cookie	2.00	280	14g	0mg	150mg	36g	22g	1g	2g
Dairy Queen Pecan Mudslide Treat	0.20	130	6g	7mg	84mg	17g	14g	0g	2g
Fitness	Minutes	Cals Burned
Walk: 3 mph (20 min/mi)	78.0	-666.0
Totals		Cals	Fat	Cholest	Sodium	Carbs	Sugars	Fiber	Protein
		1,615	88g	243mg	3,342mg	283g	92g	27g	76g

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/#ixzz1Xb1sGCr0