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Could a good transportation network help keep you healthy and smart?


We all know that a robust transportation network with lots of bus and rail options and safe routes for biking and walking is better for the environment, the economy and quality of life.

But could a good transit system also help keep you healthy and smart?

The answer -- at least according to some recent studies -- is "yes."

How we travel to work, shopping and entertainment has a direct influence on our health. Studies show that a daily dose of physical activity at least 5 days a week provides measurable health benefits including reductions in obesity, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.

We all struggle to fit exercise into our hectic schedules, but a study of Atlanta commuters from the Journal of Public Health Policy in 2009 found that people traveling by public transit were more likely to meet their daily target of 30 minutes of walking.

Buses and trains do not provide door-to-door service, so transit users often rely on walking and biking to get from home to the station and from the station to their final destination. More people walk when they live or work in areas surrounded by higher residential densities and a mixture of land uses (commercial, residential, office space) than in more suburban or rural areas. The study showed that almost a third of transit users achieve their 30 minutes of physical activity a day solely by walking to and from transit.

Another study published in the Oct. 19, 2010 edition of Neurobiology looked at the relationship between physical activity and brain gray matter volume in late adulthood. The study examined adults (mean age 78 years) who walked from 0 to 300 blocks a day. The study found that people who walked 72 blocks or more had increased gray matter with a 2-fold reduced risk of cognitive impairment.

The connection between health and transportation will be highlighted at the 5th Annual Health Policy Legislative Forum. The public is invited to attend the forum titled "Broadening Public Health Advocacy Beyond Healthcare" on Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 1:00 to 4:00 at the Governor's Room in the Rhode Island State House.
 
To learn more about the important connections between transportation and health, consider participating in the American Public Health Association (APHA) free webinar series, "What Healthy Communities Need from their Transportation Network."

- Community Health and Transportation Planning. This webinar took place on January 18 and has been archived and can be viewed from the web site

- The Health Benefits from Active Transportation  -- February 15, 2011 from 2-3 pm EST

- Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) in Transportation -- March 15, 2011 from 2-3 pm EST

- Preventing Roadway Fatalities and Injuries -- April 5, 2011 from 2-3 pm EDT

Good quality transit service will give more Rhode Islanders the options and incentives to get out of their cars and into more healthy life styles. CTC is working to promote policies and funding to enhance Rhode Island's transportation choices and give us all more opportunities for improved health.
About the Coalition for Transportation Choices
The Coalition for Transportation Choices (CTC) calls for a 21st century transportation system that enhances our economy and provides all Rhode Islanders with healthy transportation choices.

Rhode Island's 21st century transportation system must provide all people - employees, tourists, youth, elderly, able and disabled - with safe and dependable access to their community's opportunities for work, education, services, and recreation. The system should be considerably less dependent on cars and fossil fuels as well as efficient, effective and easy to use. It should minimize impacts to land, water and air and improve the health and well-being of all Rhode Islanders. Such a system should be sustained with predictable and consistent funding for operation and future growth.
CTC's work is supported by the Rhode Island Foundation, The Prospect Hill Foundation and Third Sector New England's Capacity Building Fund

Coalition For

Transportation Choices Member Groups
 

* AARP

* Amalgamated Transit Union

* American Lung Association in RI

* Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living

* Aquidneck Island Planning Commission

* Audubon Society of Rhode Island

* Blueways Alliance

* Blackstone Valley Partnership

* Blackstone Valley Tourism Council

* Blueways Alliance

* Brown emPower

* Childhood Lead Action Project

* City-State, the Urban Design Lab at RISD

* Clean Water Action

* Conservation Law Foundation

* Cornish Associates

* DOT Watch

* East Coast Greenway Alliance

* Ecolect

* Environmental Justice League of RI

* Farm Fresh Rhode Island

* Goodwill Industries

* Grow Smart RI

* Head of the Bay Gateway

* LISC-RI

* Narragansett Bay Estuary Program

* Opportunities Unlimited, Inc.

* Pawtucket Foundation

* Providence Foundation

* Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau

* Recycle-A-Bike

* Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition

* RI Consulting Engineers (RICE)

* Rhode Island Student Climate Coalition

* RI Association of Railroad Passengers

* RI Interfaith Power and Light

* RI Land Trust Council

* RICOSH

* Save The Bay

* SEIU, District 1199

* Sierra Club

* The Providential Gardener

* U.S. Open Cycling

* Working Rhode Island

* Youth in Action