Michael, Age 8, Abbotsford
2nd Session, 38th Parliament – November 29, 2006
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Michael, Age 8, Abbotsford
Local municipalities and regional districts have an important role to play in ensuring that adults and children have easy access to infrastructure that supports the integration of physical activity in our daily lives. Through the development of community and municipal plans, B.C.’s cities and towns have the power to design neighbourhoods that will encourage walking and cycling to schools, shopping, work, or to recreational opportunities. Conversely, many neighbourhoods under construction today entrench a family’s dependency on the automobile to simply purchase a litre of milk from the “corner store.”
While income and education strongly influence how healthy and active people are likely to be, urban design and transportation infrastructures play a key role in making physically active choices easier or more difficult. Witnesses told us that more compact, walkable communities tend to promote active choices and reduce weight gain, while more spread out, fragmented communities requiring automobile travel tend towards less physical activity and greater weight gain. Clearly there is an important role for urban design standards that favour compact, mixed-use communities linked to destinations like schools, universities, and places of work by safe, accessible walking and cycling routes. Addressing the infrastructure deficit in B.C.’s existing communities is necessary if obesity and physical inactivity are to be effectively resolved. This requires action, in the form of targeted investments in walking, cycling, and trail facilities to modify the built environment so that physical activity can more easily be part of daily life, whether as recreation or active transportation.
A new study of the impact of neighbourhood design on health status published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information confirms research conducted here in B.C. One conclusion is that people who have to commute to work are more likely to be obese because they spend more time in their cars, while people living in pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods tend to be more physically active. In addition, children who live in places with more safe and accessible play spaces are less likely to be overweight. 46 Modifying neighbourhoods and the streets linking them to daily destinations like schools, universities and colleges, and places of work will prompt more children and adults to engage in physical movement.
Making the active choice the easy choice means a working partnership with B.C. communities to retrofit streets and neighbourhoods designed for car travel with safe and appealing walking, trails, and cycling facilities. B.C. is a leader in providing seed money to municipalities to partner in these kinds of facilities, but reversing the trend of weight gain and physical inactivity demands action on a broader scale. A provincial commitment to facilitate ‘active living in walkable communities’ for all British Columbians provides a framework for these changes, while expanding the cost-sharing of annual improvements will accelerate the pace of positive change.
Survey research at the national scale has shown strong evidence of high levels of latent demand for improved walking and cycling environments. The public is ready for change, but demand will only crystallize if the supportive facilities are provided at the local level.
Below, we highlight three programs in which the province and local municipalities can and should work together to design (and redesign) communities to promote physical activity. These include the Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program, the recently-announced LocalMotion grants, and Green Cities Awards.
“The Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program is delivered through the local government. It’s a very popular program; each years, it’s been oversubscribed by local governments. We can’t fund all requests.” A. Callandar, |
One way in which the provincial and municipal governments have been encouraging British Columbians to make cycling an easier choice for transportation is through the Cycling Infrastructure Partnerships Program (CIPP). The CIPP is a cost-share program in which the provincial government partners with local governments in the construction of new transportation cycling infrastructure. The goal of the program is to promote transportation cycling (cycling to work, school, or errands) as a means of reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. All British Columbia municipalities and regional districts are eligible to apply for up to $250,000 in CIPP funding.
The Committee learned that the provincial contribution of $2 million for 2006/07 assisted in developing 18 projects in 12 communities. Over the three-year life of the program, the province has contributed nearly $5.5 million to develop 75 kilometres of new bike lanes in the province.
However, we were also informed that the current funding envelope for the program was unable to provide sufficient resources to all municipal projects meeting the criteria of the program. It is the Committee’s opinion that the province should significantly increase funding offered through the CIPP to leverage the interest shown by municipalities in developing cycling routes.
Furthermore, the Committee has observed that the Ministry of Transportation does not have a performance measure within its service plan to set targets for cycling and walking infrastructure development. It is the Committee’s opinion that the Ministry should include evaluation criteria within its service plans detailing the number of kilometres and cycling paths and walkways constructed, planned, and funded per year.
The Committee recommends that:
Allie, Age10, Nelson
Recently, the government announced that it will commit a total of $40 million in a new LocalMotion Fund to improve environmental sustainability. Under the program, the province will share the cost with municipalities, for up to 50 percent of capital funding, to help build bike paths, walkways, greenways, improved accessibility for persons with disabilities, and support programs to get kids playing in communities and parks.
Clearly, an additional $10 million per year available to municipalities for projects is a significant boost for municipalities looking to build, redesign, or rehabilitate transportation infrastructure that promotes physical activity or encourages children to play in their local communities. Based on the demand for the Cycling Infrastructure Partnership Program, it is our opinion that many municipalities and municipal districts will support this investment. We would encourage the government to boldly announce that this funding will be available to local communities beyond 2010, and consider increasing funding should demand for the LocalMotion grants exceed the $10 million per year allotment.
The Committee recommends that:
At the recent Union of British Columbia Municipalities conference, the government announced the creation of an annual Green City Awards to be given to communities encouraging physical activity, energy conservation, and environmental benefits. The Committee supports the government providing recognition to those urban and rural local governments that commit to developing innovative strategies that promote physical activity, recreational opportunities, and densification.
The Committee strongly believes that local governments and developers must work together to ensure that new communities, and new developments within established areas, are designed to facilitate daily physical activity. Local governments should work closely with developers to ensure necessary infrastructure is incorporated into new developments — playgrounds, sidewalks, trails, and bike routes — to limit costly retro-fits down the road.
We would encourage the government to consider acknowledging those communities and developers that place significant attention on developing programs, community facilities, recreation, and unorganized play opportunities for children and youth.
The Committee recommends that:
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© 2006 Legislative Assembly of British Columbia