HEP 452 Module 6 Final Policy Brief

Increasing Cycling Paths to Promote a Healthy Population

Executive Summary:

The increased number of vehicles has made it difficult for the population to adopt other means of transport, including cycling to work or school, as there have not been enough cycling paths. While commuting to work or school using vehicles has been attributed to reduced physical activity, it has played a major role in triggering major lifestyle conditions such as obesity, some types of cancer, and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension Chatterjee et al., 2020). On the other side, cycling has been proven to be beneficial to the health of a population as it is associated with a 45% reduced risk of developing cancer and 46% lower risk of cardiovascular diseases compared to individuals commuting by car or public transport. Besides, cycling increases body activity and thus contributes to burning the excess calories in the body, reducing the risk of obesity and helping in keeping a person physically fit. While cycling has been associated with numerous health benefits, a major problem has continued to hinder the adoption of cycling as the primary mode of transport. Cyclers have been forced to share cycling paths with cars as there have been no set paths primarily to be used by cyclists (Kärmeniemi et al., 2018). The lack of cycling paths has put the lives of cyclers in danger as they risk being knocked out by a running vehicle on the road. More paths need to be built on our roads to reduce cycling accidents and encourage more people to become cyclers.

Scope of Problem:

The reduced number of cycling paths has contributed to the reduced number of people cycling to work or school (Teixeira & Lopes, 2020). As it currently stands, most cyclers have to compete for space with motorists as there have been very few lanes designated to be used specifically, cyclists. As a result of this, the number of cyclers has reduced. On the other hand, the prevalence of lifestyle diseases has increased, including obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular disease such as hypertension. Obesity is a condition that results from an individual being overweight. This can be a result of poor eating habits that increase the number of calories in the body. The prevalence of obesity in the United States was 42% in 2017-2018, rising from 30.5% from the period 1999-2000. In 2021, the prevalence of obesity has not yet reduced but has remained relatively constant, with a prevalence of 41% (Bray, 2020). Exercising can help reduce the number of calories in the body as it burns excess calories, turning them into energy reducing the risk of an individual becoming obese. In the same case, reduced calories in the body reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as blocking the blood vessels with fat resulting in hypertension. Burning calories helps in clearing the vessels, reducing the risk of a person developing high blood pressure. Constructing cycling pathways that are separate from the main roads can help increase the number of cyclers, encouraging more people to adopt cycling as a mode of transport as it is cheap and safer (Arellana et al., 2020). Separate cycling pathways will reduce competition for space between cyclists and other motors, and this will reduce accidents associated with cyclist collisions. As a result, this can help reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and obesity while at the same time keeping the population physically fit.

Policy Alternatives:

Currently, there are laws and policies that guide cycling in the United States, and these laws are applied across all the states. Each state has designed places such as parks set aside for cyclers. Cycling is allowed on the United States roads, with the cyclists being required to obey all traffic signals and travel in the same direction as the flow of traffic (Monsere et al., 2019). In addition, cyclers are required to wear a helmet when cycling on the roads. They are also required to always ride as close as practicable to the far-left edge of the road and allow traffic to overtake them safely. While these policies are meant to make cycling safe on the roads, they do not have measures to keep the cyclist safe from overtaking vehicles, resulting in an increased number of accidents. Based on this, the current policies on cycling are not conducive and are not motivating for more people to engage in cycling, as there is something more that needs to be done to ensure their safety.

A policy alternative that can promote cycling and make it a preferable mode of transport to school or work is creating separate pathways on the far side of roads primarily dedicated to cyclists. As it currently stands, cyclists have to compete with motorists for space, and having to be overtaken by large vehicles may create fear among the cyclists. As a result, people may opt to use public transport rather than cycling. In addition, the set parks that can be used by cyclists can only be used during leisure time, and this means that people who have tight schedules may not be in a position to use bikes. The cost of installing cycling lanes in the United States is approximately 5,000-50,000 dollars per mile, depending on the condition of the pavement, the extent of removing and repainting the lanes, and the need to adjust signalization (Fukushige, Fitch & Handy, 2021). While it may seem rather expensive to implement, the cost-benefits analysis indicates more benefits as the maintenance cost will be significantly low. Setting up cycling lanes is the best alternative to ensuring that many people have adopted cycling as the primary mode of transport, not only because it is cheap, but because they will also feel that their safety is guaranteed (Félix, Cambra & Moura, 2020). There will be no fear of being knocked out by a vehicle while on the road.

Policy Recommendations:

Cycling has been attributed to various health benefits, including reduced risk of hypertension, obesity, and some kinds of cancer. Based on this, encouraging a cycling culture can play a great deal in promoting a healthy population. Based on this evidence on the effectiveness of cycling in reducing lifestyle disease, it is recommended that cycling paths separate from the main roads be constructed, providing enough space for cyclists to use their bikes to cycle to and from work or school.

Policy recommendations include:

• Build cycling paths that are separate from the main roads

• Install signations for cyclists along the cycling lanes

• Broaden the current cycling lanes to accommodate more cyclists

Appendices:

i. Current cycling isn’t safe as cyclists compete with other motorists on the same road.

ii. Constructing separate pathways will ensure cyclists’ safety and thus, will encourage more people into using bikes to commute

References

Arellana, J., Saltarín, M., Larrañaga, A. M., González, V. I., & Henao, C. A. (2020). Developing an urban bikeability index for different types of cyclists as a tool to prioritise bicycle infrastructure investments. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 139, 310-334.

Bray, G. A. (2020). Etiology and prevalence of obesity. In The genetics of obesity (pp. 17-33). CRC Press.

Chatterjee, K., Chng, S., Clark, B., Davis, A., De Vos, J., Ettema, D., … & Reardon, L. (2020). Commuting and wellbeing: a critical overview of the literature with implications for policy and future research. Transport reviews, 40(1), 5-34.

Félix, R., Cambra, P., & Moura, F. (2020). Build it and give ‘em bikes, and they will come: The effects of cycling infrastructure and bike-sharing system in Lisbon. Case studies on transport policy, 8(2), 672-682.

Fukushige, T., Fitch, D. T., & Handy, S. (2021). Factors influencing dock-less E-bike-share mode substitution: Evidence from Sacramento, California. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 99, 102990.

Kärmeniemi, M., Lankila, T., Ikäheimo, T., Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., & Korpelainen, R. (2018). The built environment as a determinant of physical activity: a systematic review of longitudinal studies and natural experiments. Annals of behavioral medicine, 52(3), 239-251.

Monsere, C., Kothuri, S., Hurwitz, D., Cobb, D., Fink, C., Schultheiss, B., … & Boudart, J. (2019). Road User Understanding of Bicycle Signal Faces on Traffic Signals (No. NCHRP Project 20-07/Task 420).

Teixeira, J. F., & Lopes, M. (2020). The link between bike sharing and subway use during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case-study of New York’s Citi Bike. Transportation research interdisciplinary perspectives, 6, 100166.