At the same time, idleness and a sedentary lifestyle are contributing to weight gain and its associated illnesses. Time constraints keep many people from leisure-time exercise and recreation. The government recommends 30 minutes a day of moderate activity, which includes lifestyle activity as well as exercise and sports pursuits. It might seem that a logical resolution to these related problems would be to combine exercise and transportation, that is, to walk, bike, or skate to work or errands. This logic starts to come apart, however, in the face of cities that present busy streets with no bike lanes or shoulders, developments with no sidewalks, and traffic lights with walk signals so short you have to cross at a jog to be safe from the anxious and increasing traffic.

What can employers do? Let’s start with secure bike racks. Showers, changing rooms, and lockers can help. Flex time might help some people with their commute. And, perhaps most important, businesses should offer incentives that put a value on muscle powered commute. Most big companies promote car pooling and many offer company vans and buses. Employees who live close enough can be given prizes (or maybe breakfast) for walking or cycling to work from home, or from public transportation.

What can communities do? They can start with sidewalks and bike lanes. Get the space when the street is widened, or adjust parking restrictions. Certain streets can be turned over to non-vehicular traffic, at least at some times of the day. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy works to turn old railroad rights-of-way into bike and walking trails. You may be able to find similar opportunities in your own neighborhood. Bike racks can be put on buses and trains. Shopping centers and recreation facilities can be made more accessible to biking and walking. Consider the old system where all traffic is stopped at busy intersections and pedestrians can cross in all directions. Pedestrian bridges at busy intersections are a possibility.

How about building new developments around a central core where the businesses would be, and vehicles would not be allowed? You could get to work on a public tram, or bike, run, walk, skate, ski or snowshoe in the winter, or even ride a horse. There are lots of other ways to approach the problem. You can get good exercise going to work or the store while conserving energy, fighting pollution, and saving money. Then you could work out at the gym, play tennis or swim, and get in even better shape.

It turns out that public policy does favor making cities more friendly to walking and biking. An editorial in The Physician and Sportsmedicine reveals that there has been enabling legislation since the 1990s (Richard E. Killingsworth, MPH, CHES, and Thomas L. Schmid, PhD, Community Design and Transportation Policies, P&SM Feb. 2001). The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, and Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) provide both state and federal funds for programs that encourage walking and biking. TEA-21 also requires each state department of transportation to have a bicycle and pedestrian program coordinator (so you know who to bug about it), and that local governments include walking and bicycling projects in their transportation plans. Killingsworth and Schmid urge public health practitioners to work with city planners and transportation officials to promote physical activity. Nearly 25% of trips in the U.S. are under one mile, but over 75% of those are made by car. We can change that. (Learn more at www.ite.org and www.uli.org)

You have to demand changes if you want them. Too much money? Don’t accept that. We know the funds are there. Look at the money being spent on other projects. The payoff on this one is great in the long term, if you consider the benefit to the environment, conservation of scarce resources, and a healthier population. It is important to work on a local level. Nobody in Washington or your state capital knows (or cares?) about that abandoned dirt road that could be turned into a path with a little asphalt, or that your whole neighborhood could then get to the shopping center or industrial park on foot or by bicycle. Pedestrians unite! We can make a difference.

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