A
fundamental operating principle of public health is to start conversations on
relevant health topics. Oftentimes without clarity of
solution. Such is the history of tobacco and obesity.
Many times solutions run smack into a few individuals’ purse and wallets as an
unanticipated cost in their search for wealth. The great success of
public health being the consistency of vision to improve the public’s wellbeing
and overcome short term speed bumps.
The
thematic around transportation and health has few personal winners and requires
massive shifts in public thinking. It may affect all of us in the wallet/purse
in gas costs, vehicle costs as well as how our taxes are used to build and
repair roads and subsidize public transit. The relative winners are those
that use the roadways for product distribution and for single passenger vehicle
use, and that is a lot of winners who carry votes with them. The winners in the
discussion will be future generations.
While
much has been made about defining relationships between transportation and
health, in part to stimulate dialogue. Astute readers asked “so
what?” What is it that you want me to do differently at work and in
my personal life? Here for your consideration
are DrPHealth’s recommendations for improving the public’s health through
addressing transportation related issues:
At work
1.
Incorporate transportation and health issues in
public health reviews of community planning documents
2. Advocate
for improvements and support to public transit and stimulate local conversations on public health
and transportation topics.
3.
Support decisions that provide meaningful
options to single occupant vehicles for transportation.
4.
Advocate for separated lanes for active rolling
wheel transports (bikes, blades, boards)
5.
Support school programming that encourages
walking buses and riding or other active transportation to and from school
6.
Build on existing well established agendas (eg.
air pollution reduction, obesity or motor vehicle safety) to promote
public and active transportation
7. Support solutions that reduce the
demand for individual travel such as telecommuting, teleconference and telemedicine,
or have professionals commute to multiple clients in a single trip rather that
multiple trips of those clients to see the professional.
8. Educate yourself further by
following the conversation on transportation and health
9. Advocate for your own organizational
policies to promote healthier travel
a.
Telecommunications
solutions for meetings
b.
Itinerant
services that reduce demands for client travel to services
c.
Work
hours that align with convenient public transit schedules
d.
Car
pooling policies that reward employee participants (eg. preferred parking)
e.
Preferred
parking/storage for those that use active transportation
f.
Equitable
Vehicle reimbursement policies that support alternate forms of transportation
(eg mileage for bicycle use, bus fare reimbursement to events where parking
might be provided
g.
Rewards
for creative transportation solutions.
h.
Link
the above incentives with disincentives (eg more realistic mileage pricing that
lowers mileage reimbursement as distance increases)
In your personal life attempt to reduce your personal fossil
fuel footprint through some of the following
1.
Set a budget for vehicle-kilometers travelled,
and develop a plan for a reduction of 10-25% to begin with.
2.
Make the switch to car pooling, public transit
or active transportation. Even if just for one day a week
3.
Analyze how you could to manage the household on
one less car
4.
Explore options for long distance travel
(vacation or work) that are more fuel efficient per traveller
5.
Build active transportation into your daily
routine
6.
Be an advocate as an individual citizen within
your neighbourhood and your local community for active and public transit.
As this is a forum to stimulate discussion, your ideas are
welcomed. Please leave a comment or write to drphealth@gmail.com
. The list can be updated with more great ideas.
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