The impacts of national and local government actions on active travel

Abstract

Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to witness the weekly 'Ciclovia' in Bogota, Colombia. Main roads are open to people and closed to traffic for several kilometres on one side of the dual carriageway [main road with a central barrier] every Sunday and public holidays from 07:00 until 14.00; motor vehicles are replaced by people walking, jogging, cycling, skateboarding, or rollerblading in a two-way stream. People of all ages take part in the weekly event, travelling at a wide range of speeds but with no apparent friction or conflicts. Currently more than 300 cities in the Americas have implemented similar programmes but the one in Bogota is the largest (Sarmiento et al., 2010). Since it started in 1974, the route has gradually expanded to 121 km (76 miles), with about 600,000 to 1,400,000 people taking part each week (Diaz-del-Castillo et al., 2011). It has been supported by successive Mayors, who have also supported Cicloruta, a network of bicycle paths (Torres et al., 2013). Government policies on planning and transport infrastructure have major impacts on travel modes (Bhalla, 2013). This is important not only for health reasons but also for sustainability and climate change mitigation - or exacerbation (Frank et al., 2010). High income countries range from those with an embedded cycling culture that has been actively encouraged, such as the Netherlands and Denmark (Pucher and Buehler, 2008 and Wardlaw, 2014) to those with low cycling rates, such as the UK and the USA (McKenzie, 2014, Pucher and Buehler, 2008 and Wardlaw, 2014). Walking and cycling rates also vary substantially within countries (e.g. the USA (McKenzie, 2014)), dependent not only on distances but by regional and local government policies and actions.... Language: en