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Cycle lanes bring many benefits
December 4, 2015
Cycle lanes bring many benefits
The Canterbury District Health Board has submitted in favour of proposals by the Christchurch City Council to develop more cycle lanes in Christchurch.
Dr Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury Medical Officer of Health, says cycle lanes benefit people’s health, the environment, and business.
“One of the key ways of tackling our rising rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease is to change our environment so that it’s easier to get active. This is exactly what cycle lanes help to do,” Dr Humphrey says.
“Not only do cycle lanes lead to a healthier population, they’re great for our environment. More cyclists means fewer cars, and that means lower carbon emissions. In a time when the world is grappling with how to respond to climate change, cycle lanes stand out as an easy way to lower emissions and protect our planet.”
Dr Humphrey says replacing car parks with space for bicycles also makes economic sense.
“Many cities are becoming more cycle friendly and this has created a whole body of evidence on the impact of cycle lanes on nearby businesses. It’s clear from this that replacing on-street parking with cycle lanes can be good for business.
"Cyclists can’t carry as much, so visit shops more often than motorists. Research shows that over the course of a week cyclists end up spending about the same, or even more, than motorists.
“You can fit six bikes into a single car parking space, so replacing car parks with spaces for bikes should in fact be very good for business, as well as benefiting health and the environment,” Dr Humphrey says.
More
information
A video featuring Dr Humphrey talking about
the benefits of cycle lanes can be found here:
https://vimeo.com/147798934
ends
Canterbury DHB
CDHB
Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is a Christchurch, New Zealand based hospital and healthcare provider for the
Canterbury region of New Zealand. Our region extends from Kekerengu in the North, to Rangitata in the South and Arthurs Pass in the West and comprises the six Territorial Local Authorities of Kaikoura, Hurunui, Waimakariri, Christchurch City, Selwyn and Ashburton.
We collaborate with other health and disability organisations, stakeholders and our community to decide what health and disability services are needed and how to best use the funding we receive from Government to improve, promote and protect the health, wellbeing and independence of our population.
At the Canterbury DHB, our vision is to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Canterbury.
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