Residents eager to see walking, cycling opportunities increase: survey

SIMCOE MUSKOKA – People in Simcoe and Muskoka may not be familiar with the term “walkable community” but they certainly want more chances to walk to meet their daily needs.

A survey conducted by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit reveals that more than 70 per cent of respondents felt it was either very important or somewhat important that sidewalks and pathways connect to their homes, their schools, and to stores and other places in their community.

Among other findings, the respondents felt desirable communities were those that had:

• parks and amenities within a five to 10-minute walk from their homes,

• well-lit streets and sidewalks at night,

• sidewalks and streets in good condition.

“These are all conditions that make walkable communities; places that feature a mix of housing, stores, businesses, schools, and destinations interconnected by paths, trails and sidewalks that make it easy to walk,” said Brenda Marshall a public health promoter with the healthy lifestyle team at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit. “If the infrastructure is there to make it possible to walk to work, school, shopping or to run errands on a daily basis, people will become more physically active and healthier as a result.”

Among the many benefits, daily physical activity helps to maintain a healthy body weight and reduces the risk for illnesses like heart disease, colon cancer and Type 2 Diabetes.

There are environmental benefits as well, in reducing air pollutants caused by vehicle exhaust.

Findings from this survey will provide direction for the health unit programs.

“The survey results show clearly that a well designed community encourages people to use their cars less and to choose walking or cycling more often,” Marshall said. “The next step is for community partners and citizens to take action and speak out for change that will make our communities more walkable.”

For more information to assess how walkable your community is, and how you can add more physical activity into your day, visit the health unit’s website at www.simcoemuskokahealth.org or call Health Connection at 721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 4:30.