I had to pass this great article along....
Cycling to Planetary
Happiness
by Guy
Dauncey EcoNews, June 3rd
2008
Two wheels on the road, the summer air in your face - it’s
a wonderful way to travel!
When we look at the urgent need to eliminate our carbon
emissions, plus the end of cheap oil and the benefits of being healthy and fit,
cycling has to be one of the most important transport initiatives we should be
investing in.
Coaches, transit, light rail, electric vehicles,
ride-sharing, walking – these are all part of the answer.
But cycling should have a special place on the list,
because it brings so many benefits. In Copenhagen, where 36% of the population
commutes to work by bike, cycling
has
become such a style that they have invented a verb, “Copenhagenize”, to capture
what’s happening. (
www.copenhagenize.com)
And just look at the economics of it. They know from their
health statistics that physically active people live five years longer and have
four fewer years of lengthy illness than those who are non-active.
They know that cycling for four hours a week – 10 km a day,
a typical Copenhagen bike ride – makes a person physically active.
They know that if Copenhageners cycled 10% more kilometres
each year, their health system would save $12 million a year, and their economy
would benefit from $32 million a year of production not lost to illness. There
would be 57,000 fewer sick days in the workplace each year, 61,000 more
person-years
enjoyed, and 46,000 fewer person-years lost to lengthy
illness.
They know that each additional kilometre of bike lane
attracts 170,000 more cycle-kilometres a year, 19% more bikes on that stretch of
road, a 9-10% drop in the number of cars, accidents and injuries, $51,000 in
saved health care costs, and $134,000 in saved production costs. For every
dollar they invest in the bike lane, they save 5 dollars. Knowing this,
Copenhagen has set a goal that 50% of all work trips should be by bicycle by
2015. (For the study details, click
here.)
Copenhagen has a 36% rate of bicycle-commuting, while
Victoria has a 6% rate - and we boast
that we are the cycling capital of Canada. And yes, it rains just as much as in
Victoria. They get 71 cm a year; we get 66.5 cm.
So what would it take for Victoria – and other North
American cities - to reach a 36% level of cycling, with all the multiple
benefits it brings?
If I was the Premier – a game we all love to play – I would
first ask all my Ministries to adopt integrated long-term co-budgeting, so that
a $100 million investment in cycling that was known to generate long-term
savings of $500 million in health care and business costs would win immediate
approval from the Treasury Board mandarins.
Secondly, I would ask every municipality to prepare a
long-term plan to increase the commuter cycling rate to 25% by 2020, drawing on
the best examples from around the world.
What would such a future look like? Every major road would
have a cycle lane, separated from traffic by a yellow rumble strip, like the
ones that we have on highways to tell you when you’re veering off the road.
Throughout the city, there would be a network of safe cycle routes where most
traffic was not allowed, using a mixture of railway rights of way, back lanes,
and quiet residential streets.
At every major intersection, cyclists would be allowed to
gather in front of the traffic, and given 30 seconds to advance with all lights
on red, before cars were allowed to go.
All over the city, there would be safe, sheltered, bicycle
parking places.
As in Paris, where 24,000 VeLib bikes were placed on the
city streets last year, there would be city-bikes bikes for rent by the
half-hour, using a smartcard. To guard against theft, you would lose a $150
deposit if you didn’t return the bike to a bike station after use.
Every community would hire bicycle planners. Davis,
California, which has a 17% cycle-commute rate, has two full-time cycling staff
for a population of 64,000. A region of 300,000 people would employ ten
full-time cycling staff.
For those not fit enough yet, or who can’t make the hills,
electric bikes would become the norm, costing only one cent per 20
kilometres.
Every school would have its Safe Routes to School, and all
parents would be strongly encouraged to stop driving their kids to school.
The magic of this is that the more cycling there is, the
safer it becomes, because – from Denmark’s experience - when more motorists are
also cyclists, they are better able to understand the cyclist’s needs.
And not just here, but all over the planet. When such a
simple technology already exists with so many benefits, how foolish could we be
not to make the most of it?
June 2nd to 8th is Bike to Work Week in BC – so let’s
celebrate it, knowing that we are biking not just for our pleasure, but also for
our planet, our health, and our children’s future.
From EcoNews, June 2008 - Promoting the Vision of a
Sustainable Vancouver Island.
For the full issue, click here.
This article also ran in today's Victoria Times
Colonist.
