TRANSPORT AND PUBLIC HEALTH:

CASE STUDIES

Robert Ravelli Contemporary Transport™"Planning for our Future"

Where Transport Affects HealthInfrastructure

• The built facilities and modes that allow people to achieve health benefits through greater access or availability of health improvement enablers.

• Access to Recreation Facilities (gyms, parks, pools, cycling clubs etc)

• Access to Quality Food Outlets that are nearby and fresh • Access to Healthy Transport Options direct health

improvements achieved through enabling people to use healthier options for transport such as cycling and walking

Where Transport Affects HealthBehaviour• Options to improve health by educating, informing and incentivising

transport users and local communities to use mobility alternatives. Using social marketing to change behaviours.

• Encouraging individuals to switch to alternative travel modes such as active travel other than travelling alone in cars

• Changing individual travel patterns to reduce the need to travel or to reduce peak demand

How Transport Can Harm Health• Past policy and practice has often given priority to physically inactive modes of transport. The

design and layout of towns and cities can discourage travel and access by public transport, on foot or by bicycle.

Psychological Effects – can be caused by community severance, noise and visual impacts. Negative psychological effects may also arise due to a negative traveller experience due to overcrowded or unsafe transport systems

Air pollution from vehicles affects respiratory health.

Noise pollution has potential to affect hearing at high levels. Traffic noise is an important cause of annoyance, as shown by differences in house prices related to noise. There are possible links to increased blood pressure, and therefore heart disease, but this is not yet properly established.

• Road injuries. In Britain, there are over 3000 deaths and 60,000 severe – often long-term – injuries each year. Road injuries are caused by vehicle drivers, but the majority of injured are pedestrians, passengers and cyclists. Rail and train transport have much fewer injuries per journey.

• Transportation, particularly new roads and rail systems usually require the clearing of land, which can affect natural areas of high ecological value. Once constructed, the system can create a permanent impact on the landscape, resulting in long term visual and ecological impacts

How Transport Benefits Health• Active Travel systems can reduce physical inactivity, through promotion of

walking and cycling

• Commuters can also gain health benefits by walking and cycling to mass transit stations.

• mproved transport infrastructure can promote economic development to an area and provide access for local residents to employment and educational opportunities resulting in improved psychological effects to a population

• Mass transit systems can improve air quality through the reducedconsumption of fossil fuels.

• Active travel can also provide significant air quality benefits as this form of transit does not require consumption of fossil fuels or other external energy sources.

• The substitution of roads with cars and trucks with biking and walking facilities can provide benefits in terms of noise reduction as active travel modes generally result in lower noise emissions than other forms

Future Car Commuting?

• Meals That Fit into Your Cup Holder

• Touch Screen Meal Orders at the Bowser

• Refrigerated Glove Box

• Satellite Navigation Around Gridlock

• Jobs Move Out to the Suburbs to Be Near Skilled Workers Which Enables People to Move Even Further Out

Active Living by Design

• Current trends indicate a strong association between land use, automobile dependency, the level of routine physical activity among Americans, and their health.

• Land use planning that reduces distances between destinations can help improve public health by promoting active living, a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines.

• Active Living by Design promotes environments that offer choices for integrating physical activity into daily life. www.activelivingbydesign.org

Active Living by Design

• Opportunities for land use reform to encourage physical activity have never been greater. In order to realize change in the daily lives of citizens development must become more compact and mixed so that trips, especially to routine destinations, can be shorter and alternatives such as walking, bicycling and public transit can be more accessible, safe, convenient, affordable and practical.

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Obesity Walk, Cycle, Public Transit

Medieval cities were based on walking and hence were compact by necessity

Sprawl Impacts Health: Where do you walk?

Poundbury, Dorchester

Transport and Land Use Responses

• A more compact and mixed land use pattern that offers shorter distances to interesting destinations with pedestrian-friendly design would encourage walking and biking, remove barriers to activity for everyone; and make healthy levels of physical activity attainable for large numbers of people during their daily routine.

Suggested Policies

• Establish a close and consistent link between land use and transportation plans and priorities.

• Approve local policies that are consistent with these plans and with broader community values.

• Update zoning ordinances, building codes, and approval processes to encourage compact community design and a tighter mixture of activities.

• Enact ordinances, codes and other policies that encourage owners to build on vacant lots and revitalize vacant properties.

• Update road policies and standards and parking requirements and fees to improve connectivity, safety, street design and incentives for transit and nonmotorized transportation.

• Focus on convenient siting and safe multimodal access to important destinations such as public schools and civic buildings.

• Ensure funding for pedestrian and cycling-oriented capital improvements and public transit.

Physical Projects

• Mix land uses close together and include civic uses in the mix.• Place higher density housing near commercial centers, transit lines and

parks.• Create commercial centers or districts, rather than strip malls, to

encourage walking.• Build accessible parks, trails and other recreational spaces.• Revive the downtown as a community gathering place and add housing to

help create a safe, 24-hour-a-day walking environment. • Renovate vacant, upperstory apartments in downtowns.• Locate schools, parks, work sites and shopping areas near residential

areas to encourage routine walking and biking.

Physical Projects

• Design neighborhoods to be self-policing to lessen the cost of law enforcement.

• Build shared courtyards to encourage neighbors to watch out for each other. Enhance lighting and windows on the street for security.

• Create community gardens to bring people together, encourage physical activity and good nutrition and decrease crime.

• Develop parking lots that provide for a continuous, attractive streetscape, safe pedestrian and bicycle access to buildings, and opportunities for shared use.

• Design pedestrian-scale buildings and signs.

Well-Designed Density

Urban-Advantage.com

Transit-Oriented Areas

Urban-Advantage.com

Charlotte South Corridor

Tyvola Road Station Area

Barriers to Pedestrians

Sea of ParkingFormer K-Mart Store

Study Area

The Olympic Legacy

• Combating climate change

• Reducing waste

• Enhancing biodiversity

• Promoting inclusion

• Improving healthy living

The Olympic Legacy: Healthy Living

• The aquatic centre will be made available for local use

• The polyclinic will be transformed into a primary care centre for the local community

• New park space will encourage sports, walking, cycling etc. Park will be the size of Hyde Park

• Improved transport connections

Methods of Travel to Work

Car or Van Ownership Per Household

Health of ResidentsPercentage of Under 15’s not in Good Health

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Life Expectancy Profile

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Low Income Areas- Barriers to Physical Activity

• Long distances to important daily destinations

• Lack of meaningful transportation choice

• Unsafe neighbourhood and traffic conditions

• Poor access to parks and recreational facilities

• Air pollution, lack of time

• Poor general health

• Lack of social support for exercise.

• Unaffordable fees for recreation facilities, child care

Research suggests that neighborhood residents who have better access to supermarkets and limited access to convenience stores tend to have healthier diets and lower levels of obesity. National and local studies across the U.S. suggest that residents of low-income, minority, and rural neighborhoods are most often affected by poor access to supermarkets and healthful food. In contrast, the availability of fast-food restaurants and energy-dense foods has been found to be greater in lower-income and minority neighborhoods.

American Journal of Preventive Medicine Article Nov. 08

Access to Food• Lack of supermarkets and quality food outlets

• The provision of food within buildings

• Providing space and organizing farmers markets

• Subsidizing construction of supermarkets that are incorporated into developments that are accessible by walking and public transport

• In Philadelphia the number of supermarkets in the lowest-income neighbourhoods was 156 percent less than in the highest-income neighbourhoods

• Newham Food Access Partnership, Community Food Enterprise.

Community Food Enterprise

• Community Food Enterprise (CFE) runs a number of food projects within and also outside Newham, including 12 social food outlets and a Mobile Food Store.

• They are also developing a local food hub, to enable an expansion of their fruit and vegetable distribution activities, and an innovative mobile juice bar project.

• www.community-food-enterprise.org.uk

What Can the Host Boroughs Do?• Education programs that promote behaviour change in the ways

residents and visitors travel• Connectivity improvements that link the surrounding community

with the Olympic Park• Designing mixed use transit oriented development that promotes

active living, public health and mobility alternatives • Increasing outlets for food choices • Incorporating recreation facilities in new development

and regeneration schemes• Creating a physical environment that less dominated by the car

given the low car ownership in the area

Mayor’s Health Inequalities Strategy

• Ensure that all major planning applications and Local Development Frameworks take full account of the need to provide more good quality affordable housing, and seek to optimise positive impacts on physical and mental health

• Further develop social infrastructure planning models to ensure that new developments make a proper contribution to the provision of health related services

Mayor’s Health Inequalities Strategy

• Ensure that new residential developments have accessible transport links, including high quality walking and cycling opportunities.

• Ensure the regeneration opportunities associated with the 2012 Olympics support the delivery of improved infrastructure for sport and physical activity across London.

Olympic Delivery Authority Initiatives

The London 2012 Sustainability Plan “Towards a One Planet 2012” areas for action to maximise the health benefits of the Games coming to London

• Active Spectator Program• Provision of low emission vehicles • LOCOG One Planet Education Program • Enabling construction workers to access the site

without increasing congestion• Travel planning for ticketed spectators

Summary results of epidemiological assessment

Environmental Factor (WHO Guidance)

Environmental Measurement

General Health Effects

Environmental Statement Reported Impact

Estimated Epidemiological Impact

Air Nitrogen Oxides NOx

episodes of acute respiratory illness

not reduced existing harm unchanged

Particulate Matter PM10

premature deaths not reduced existing harm unchanged

Noise Decibels at sensitive points

annoyance, (possibly) heart disease, child school concentration

not reduced existing harm increased

Energy/Climate Change

Carbon Dioxide CO2

emissions

global health effects minimal increase existing harm remains the same

Transport Injuries Vehicle journeys injuries and deaths unchanged existing harm unchanged subject to further study

Physical Inactivity Exercise longer life through physical and mental health

not specified existing harm reduced. Benefits occur during Games time through Active Spectator Programme. Legacy impacts not clear

OTP Ref Project Title Brief Description

Transport Strategy for The Games

4.1.3 and Chapter 6

Demand Management Demand management programmes aim to reduce commuter and non games travel on key routes, reducing congestion on trains and at stations. Demand management also promotes walking and cycling as an alternative to public transport, particularly at transport pressure points (eg Covent Garden).

Olympic Family Transport

5.23 – 5.61 Olympic and Paralympic Route Networks

A network of roads linking all competition and key non competition venues to move the Olympic and Paralympic family safely, quickly and reliably between key competition and non-competition venues. The ORN includes a number of junction improvements, kerbside controls, dedicated lanes and traffic management measures.

Major Rail Schemes for the Olympic Park

6.66-6.73 Stratford Regional Station The station is subject to a programme of enhancement works to treble the capacity of the station and make it fully accessible. Works include new staircases, lifts, platforms (extensions) and widenings and other optimisation works.

6.74-6.79 West Ham Station The proposals for West Ham Station include the provision of new public transport links to allow spectators to access to the Greenway and Olympic Park. Improvements include new accessibility arrangements to the greenway and signalling enhancements to increase the number of passengers who can board and alight at West Ham station during peak hours.

Mode Specific Schemes

6.102-6.104 Docklands Light Railway Infrastructure works to allow for three car trains on most of the existing DLR network. The scheme will involve platform extensions at 12 Docklands Light railway stations, modification of four stations and the relocation of South Quay station.

Walking and Cycling

6.241-6.247 Olympic Park Greenways A number of potential new routes focusing on off road routes and quiet roads to be used for walking and cycling before, during and after The Games.

6.249-6.251 Active Spectator Programme An umbrella concept that includes a number of promotional initiatives designed to promote and encourage walking and cycling to games venues

Other ODA Programmes

N/A Orient Way Sidings Redevelopment The Orient Way sidings redevelopment involves dismantling old railway sidings, clearing the site and constructing new sidings with an amenity building housing the shunters control.

Qualitative Assessment-OTP Projects Assessed

Legacy PhaseTransportation Issues

• Predicted Traffic Increases: 10% by 2012, 14% by 2014, 60% by +2021 includes surrounding development

• Enhanced Accessibility to Public Transport: high PTAL levels resulting from redevelopment of Olympic Park

• Surrounding Development Impacts: Stratford City Centre

Results of Qualitative Assessment

• During games time, lasting for approximately 7 weeks, there will be some unavoidable health impacts largely due to increased usage of transport networks servicing the Olympic Park. There is potential for increased risk of injury due to the operation of the Olympic Road Network and potential for increased greenhouse gas emissions due to spectators travelling to The Games by car from other UK regions, outside London. There will be some improvement in physical activity levels, primarily due to the Active Spectator Programme and the provision of infrastructure that promotes walking and cycling (eg the Greenway).

Results of Qualitative Assessment

• The legacy phase will extend from 2012 for an undefined period. Benefits could gained from increased ‘’Active Travel Modes’’, although this will depend upon the degree of utilisation of new active travel infrastructure. There could also be a number of health benefits arising from improved transportation infrastructure, generally resulting from improved access to employment, education and health facilities

Results of Qualitative Assessment

• The games time phase will result in relatively short term and unavoidable impacts to health.

• The legacy phase will last for a considerably longer period and long term health benefits arising from the OTP could be realised if managed properly.

• The legacy phase has potentially the greatest returns for health in relation to investment.

Findings

• Olympic Transport Plan will not have an negative impact on public health that would lead to an increase in harm.

Transport and Health: Some Next Steps

• Change Zoning to Allow Mixed Use• Shift Investment to Transit Oriented Development

to Redirect Growth to Existing Centres• Crossrail- station area plans to create TOD’s• High Speed 2- development around stations to

help fund project • Sustrans Connect2 Project and Active Travel

Program• Princes Foundation for the Built Environment

Waitrose Cycle Trailer SchemeFree Rentals of Cycle Trailers in 24 of Its Stores (in London- East Sheen,

West Ealing and Holloway Road)