OCTOBER IS International Walk to School Month, the month when communities all around the world participate in daily, weekly or monthly events designed to raise awareness about the many benefits of safely walking and bicycling to school.

As October comes to a close, awareness about the benefits of walking and cycling to school need to increase — our health and prosperity depend on it.

Joining 40 countries and all 50 states, at least 70 schools throughout Alameda County ditched their cars and traveled to school in active, nonpolluting ways during the week of Oct. 5-9. Forty years ago, nearly 90 percent of students who lived close to school walked or bicycled to get there; today that figure has dropped to between 25-50 percent.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, a group representing more than 7,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists, "The problem of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. Between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year. The annual cost to society for obesity is estimated at nearly $100 billion. Overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise."

In Alameda County, the annual estimated health care

According to the American Obesity Association, "Diabetes, hypertension and other obesity-related chronic diseases that are prevalent among adults have now become more common in youngsters. "... (T)oday's youth are considered the most inactive generation in history caused in part by reductions in school physical education programs and unavailable or unsafe community recreational facilities."

In Alameda County, we are actively working to change these numbers. The Safe Routes to Schools Partnership Program, led by the nonprofit, TransForm, includes Alameda County Public Health Department and other local agencies and organizations. The SR2S program is funded in large part by you, the taxpayer, through a major grant from Measure B — Alameda County's half-cent transportation sales tax administered by the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority.

My office is launching an expanded effort to increase Safe Routes to Schools efforts through a fivefold program:

1. Reduce health disparities.

2. Increase physical activity and health.

3. Increase safety.

4. Publish and distribute customized school transportation plans for each school.

5. Engage parents and community.

ACTIA also has joined Active Transportation, a national effort aimed at increasing federal transportation funding for walking, biking and access to transit. Active Transportation will inspire people to walk and bike more; advance pedestrian and bicycle access to transit; and connect our communities through urban greenways including building a new East Bay Greenway, filling gaps in the Bay Trail from Fremont to Albany and completing the Iron Horse Trail from Dublin/Pleasanton to Livermore.

As October winds down, we believe it is imperative that we continue to foster an environment, and provide the necessary resources, to create walkable and safe communities, especially for the youngest and most at-risk among us. With your continued support, we will turn the clock back and make walking to school once again a common occurrence.

Alice Lai-Bitker, chair of the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority Board, serves the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 3.