Spoiler
It's an elementary school.
Lafayette, Louisiana is so car dependent that their brand new elementary school is built like an industrial center where trucks line up to deliver and pick up goods.
All of this for a demographic (kids) that can't even drive.
At my kids's school here in Europe the city has put up posters on nearby lamp posts shaming parents for driving kids to school and telling how every kid should ride a bike to school.
Lots of parents still drive their kids for whatever reason but the general consensus is that it is best for kids to bike, not only for health and environmental reasons but also as a way to develop independence.
I don't want to doxx you, but that line of thinking sounds very Dutch. On the one hand I like the promotion of non-car based modes of transport, on the other, the overemphasis on "independence" for children dutch people have creeps me out a bit, and kind of explains a lot of the interactions i've had with Dutch people, who even when well-meaning can be stubbornly individualistic and callous.
Several northern European countries have a bike culture that is similar to the Dutch so don't worry about doxing me. Bikes just works really good in flat densely populated areas.
I think your point about overemphasis on independence is interesting and I would love if you could elaborate. Northern Europeans have a reputation for being introverted and hard to get close to but I have never thought that it had something to do with parenting styles.
I still think there is value in teaching kids that they can go places and do stuff without constant adult supervision. If nothing else it is practical for parents that they don't have to chauffeur their children everywhere. But you might have a point about communal values being neglected in the process.