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Study: Leaner nations bike, walk, use mass transit
Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press via WaPo
… New research illustrates the health benefits of regular biking, walking or taking public transportation to work, school or shopping. Researchers found a link between “active transportation” and less obesity in 17 industrialized countries across Europe, North America and Australia.
(15 December 2008)
Car-free Sundays proposed for some Vancouver streets
CBC News
A few busy Vancouver streets could be car-free every Sunday this summer if a new Vancouver councillor gets her way.
In recent years, community groups have closed some main shopping streets such as Commercial Drive to all vehicles except buses for one day a year, and staged ad hoc street festivals, often featuring live music and street hockey games.
But next summer, newly elected councillor and environmental advocate Andrea Reimer wants the city to organize car-free days every Sunday for three months. The proposal was part of the Vision Vancouver platform during the recent civic election campaign.
“There’s a lot of demand for it, and it’s a chance for us to turn streets into parks essentially every Sunday over the summer months,” said Reimer.
… Annual car-free days have become common in cities around the world, but making every summer Sunday car-free is still a new idea for most places. New York City ran a similar experiment in Manhattan last summer and Bogota, Colombia, has had car-free Sundays for decades.
(11 December 2008)
U.S. driving on the decline
Aaron Smith, CNNMoney
Americans continue to avoid the open roads, even as gas prices continue to fall, says the Department of Transportation.
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Driving in America has undergone its most dramatic continuous decline in history, the Department of Transportation said Friday.
Americans drove 100 billion fewer miles during the 12-month period between November 2007 and October 2008 compared with the prior year, according to the DOT’s most recent data.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters noted that driving continued to decline even as gas prices came off their summertime peaks.
“The fact that the trend persists even as gas prices are dropping confirms that America’s travel habits are fundamentally changing,” she said in a statement.
(12 December 2008)
