Active travel plan to get city on the move

The 2012/13 Northern Ireland Health Survey shows that 28% of adults do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week. While the Chief Medical Officer recommends that we should be aiming for 150 minutes per week, only around half (53%) of adults in Northern Ireland meet this target.

To help tackle this issue the Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP), which is led by the Public Health Agency (PHA), Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Belfast City Council, is launching the Belfast Active Travel Action Plan which aims to build a healthier city by encouraging people to incorporate walking and/or cycling into their daily travel.

The travel plan aims to try to make Belfast a more vibrant city where people are healthy, fit, well-connected with one another, and use physical activity as part of their everyday lives.

Dr Eddie Rooney, Chief Executive of the PHA and Chair of the Active Travel Plan task group, said: “We want people to think differently about how they travel. In Northern Ireland, 62% of adults and one-in-four children aged 2-10 are overweight or obese. By incorporating physical activity into the daily routine, such as walking or cycling short journeys or integrating these activities with public transport as part of a longer journey, we will improve our health and reduce our dependence on our cars.

“This will help to combat obesity and have the impact of reducing coronary heart disease, stroke, obesity and Type 2 diabetes, as well as improving mental health by reducing anxiety.

“Taking an alternative mode of transport will also reduce air pollution and noise levels in our city, making it a better place to live and work.”

In aiming to boost active travel and reduce the number of car journeys, the action plan sets out a series of actions under four key aims:

• improving the walking and cycling network (for example: two end-to-end cycling demonstration routes)
• building new skills for active travel (for example: support programmes for schools, workplaces and communities)
• promoting opportunities for active travel (for example: improved signage, taster sessions)
• supporting others to prioritise active travel (for example: influencing planning policy)

The Belfast Active Travel Action Plan can be read in full online at the PHA website at http://bit.ly/Active14

Printed copies are also available from Belfast Health Development Unit. Contact andrew.steenson@bhdu.org