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Walking, cycling and transit – the path to healthier living

Walking, cycling and transit – the path to healthier living

Active transportation
Let’s talk about health and transportation in our region

Post by TransLink communications advisor Borjana Slipicevic

Hi Buzzer readers, a few weeks ago we started a conversation about the future of transportation in our region. Considerations of health play a large role in transportation planning for our region.

Did you know that every hour you spend in a car each day makes you 6% more likely to be obese? And, every hour you spend walking each day makes you 4.8% less likely to be obese?

Taking transit encourages commuters to walk or cycle to a station or a stop, so by choosing active transportation, you can fulfill more than 25% of your daily required physical requirements.

As research shows, sedentary lifestyle is a major cause of many chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease and some cancers. Many chronic diseases are preventable and sustainable transportation choices offer the possibility of prevention and even treatment through increased physical activity.

We are rethinking transportation and the health, economic, environmental and lifestyle benefits it has for the region.

The research report “Transportation and Health: Context Report”, published by UBC’s Health and Community Design Lab, and funded by TransLink and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, shows that transportation and health are closely linked and health outcomes need to be considered in transportation planning.

This report is a part of the process to update Transport 2040, the current regional transportation strategy.

In Transport 2040, the region agreed that the most affordable and efficient way of achieving our livability, economic and environmental goals would be to make it possible for people to make half of all trips by cycling, walking and transit and to reduce distances driven by one third. We believe that if we achieve those two goals, our population will be healthier, economy will be more stable and our air will be cleaner.

What do you think? Fill out the survey on translink.ca/rts so you can be part of the plan.

Author: Borjana Slipicevic

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