ABCs of Schools Close to Freeways

With projected regional increase in population and commerce in the Los Angeles metropolitan area with proportionate
increases in vehicular pollutants, school location will not solve the problem
of students' exposure to pollutants.

Air
Quality affects students not only in school, but in their homes and home
communities.

Beyond
air quality issues, there are quality of life issues at stake. The majority of Los Angeles' poor
families live, breathe, and seek the best for their children in communities
heavily impacted by air pollution.

Community
level decisions are the first step in choosing school sites. Parents want their
children schooled in their home communities. Poor communities are faced with
the decision between pollution-impacted sites and no new schools in their home
communities. Bussing of students was instituted to relieve the problem of
school overcrowding in poor neighborhoods, resulting in another problem, children
shuttled back and forth on school buses that belch pollutants across wide
swaths of Los Angeles.

The
solution to the problem of school sites and air pollution goes beyond the
schoolyard. We must educate our communities to demand action that ensures
cleaner air. We must demand better coordination among regulatory agencies to set
and enforce strict emissions standards. We must demand action to accelerate
availability of cleaner fuels for all vehicles and development and access to
clean burning engines for all personal and commercial vehicles. We must also
look beyond the freeways for answers. We must demand dramatic expansion of mass
transit throughout the entire Los
Angeles metropolitan area. Finally, we must insist
that the level of discussion related to air quality expand beyond a few
interested parties to all who breathe in Los Angeles.

Breathe California
Los Angeles County
(Breathe LA) promotes clean
air and healthy lungs in Los Angeles
County. We invite
comment on schools and air quality issues as we prepare to convene county-wide advisory
councils for BREATHE LA Air Quality Compact.

Sincerely,

Anastacio Medina

Board Member, BREATHE LA

Member, School Construction Bond
Citizen's Oversight Committee

Member, South Coast Air Quality
Management District Ethnic Advisory Group