And yet less 40% of students who live within a mile of school walk regularly. For kids who live <.25 miles, that number is still <50%. Walking a quarter of a mile takes ~5 minutes, maybe a bit longer for a small kid with a large school pack.

Many should be able to walk almost as fast as loading up the car, waiting in the queue, etc.

It may be short as the crow flies but incredibly unsafe due to e.g. having no sidewalk or having to cross 6 lanes of traffic. When everything is designed around the car it's no wonder people have no choice but to drive.