Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany
by Prof. John Pucherand Ralph BuehlerRutgers University
(http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher.htm)
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Public health problems of auto-dependence
•Lack of exercise
•Social isolation
•Mental and physical diseases
•Traffic dangers
•Environmental pollution
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Comparisons with Europe
•Americans (and probably Canadians as well) get much less exercise than most Europeans
• Main difference between Americans and Europeans in their overall physical exercise levels is much higher rates of walking and cycling in Europe
•Americans have much higher rates of obesity, hypertension and diabetes
•Europeans have longer healthy life expectancies although they spend less than half as much as Americans for health care
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Cycling and walking for public health
•Best way to increase physical exercise among Americans and Canadians is to promote safe and convenient walking and cycling for daily urban travel
•Europeans have developed extremely effective policies that could be easily adapted in American and Canadian cities
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Obesity Trends* Among U.S. AdultsBRFSS, 1991 compared to 2002
(*BMI ≥30, or ~ 30 lbs overweight for 5’ 4” woman)
Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, CDC
No Data <10% 10%–14% 15%–19% 20%–24% ≥25%
1991 2002
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public HealthSource: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Eurostat, Public Health
Statistics (from Eurobarometer 44-3).
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0
USA
Canada
EU-15
Denmark
Germany
France
Italy
The Netherlands
Austria
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom
Men
Wom en
Obesity rate by Country
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Percentage of Urban Trips by Walking, Cycling, and Public Transport in the USA, Canada and Europe, 1995
1 2 4 4 49
28
10
20
610
12
24 24
22 29 28
18
24
21
12 10
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50U
SA
Can
ada
Engl
and
&W
ales
Fran
ce
Italy
Ger
man
y
Swed
en
Aus
tria
Net
herla
nds
Switz
erla
nd
Den
mar
k
Perc
ent
Walk
Bicycle
Source: Pucher and Dijkstra, “Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany,”American Journal of Public Health, September 2003, Vol. 93, No. 9, pp. 1509-1516.
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
7% 5% 6%
17%12% 14%
19%0.5% 0.3%
0.2%
9%
11%
7%
30%
24%
48%
23%
39%
4%
13%
1.0%
10%19%
22%
25%
24%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
16-24
25-39
40-64
65+
18-44
45-64
65-74
75+
18-24
25-39
40-64
65-74
75+Age
BicycleWalking
The Netherlands
Germany
USA
Source: Pucher and Dijkstra, “Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany,”American Journal of Public Health, September 2003, Vol. 93, No. 9, pp. 1509-1516.
Walking and Bicycling Shares of Urban Travel by Age Group in the USA, Germany and The Netherlands, 1995
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
382725103,400Berlin (2003)
5715275627Essen (1990)4323286599Stuttgart (1990)4519287192Kassel (1994)4218309578Dusseldorf (1990)45212410500Nuremberg (1995)
41173011961Cologne (1992)382523151,257Munich (1995) 39222316524Hannover (1990)42182119179Freiburg (1992)39172122554Bremen (1991)37102232270Muenster (1994)
AutoPublicTransport
WalkingBicycle
Percent of Trips by Travel Mode(all trip purposes)
Population(000)
City (year)(ranked by bicycle use)
Modal Split Distributions for Selected German Cities
Sources: Werner Broeg and Erhard Erl, "Can Daily Mobility Be Reduced or Transfered to Other Modes," European Conference of the Ministers of Transport, Paris, France, Round Table 102, March 1996; and U.S. Department of Transportation, Nationwide National Transportation Survey, Washington, D.C., 1992.
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Increases in bike share of urban trips from mid-1970sto mid-1990s in selected German cities
+50%8% to 12%1972 to 1995Average for all urban areas in Western Germany
+10%29% to 32%1976 to 1994Muenster+38%16% to 22%1976 to 1994Bremen+67%3% to 5%1976 to 1990Essen+58%12% to 19%1976 to 1992Freiburg+83%6% to 11%1976 to 1992Cologne+150%4% to 10%1976 to 1995Nuremberg+150%6% to 15%1976 to 1992Munich
Percentage Increase in Bicycle
ShareChange in Bicycle Modal Split Share
Time PeriodCity
Sources: Werner Broeg and Erhard Erl,"Can Daily Mobility Be Reduced or Transfered to OtherModes," European Conference of the Ministers of Transport, OECD, Paris, France, Round Table 102,March 1996; and supplemental data collected from individual cities by the author.
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
USA
Can
ada
Uni
ted
Kin
gdom
Fran
ce
Italy
Ger
man
y
Swed
en
Aus
tria
Net
herla
nds
Den
mar
k
Perc
ent o
f Obe
sity
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Perc
ent o
f Wal
k, C
ycle
and
Pub
lic T
rans
it
Obesity Walk, Cycle, Public Transit
Does auto-dependency make us fat? Obesity falls sharply with increased walking, cycling, and transit use.
Source: Pucher and Dijkstra, “Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health, Am Journal of Public Health, September 2003.
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
17
5.2
1.1
21
8.2
1.6
14
4.4
2.5
7.2
3.22.02.1
0.7 0.31.6
0.4
25
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Pedestrian Fatality Rates per 100 Mln Trips
Bicyclist Fatality Rates per 100 Mln Trips
Pedestrian Fatality Rates per 100 Mln Km Traveled
Bicyclist Fatality Rates per 100 Mln Km Traveled
Pedestrian Injury Rates per 500 000 Km Travelled
Bicyclist Injury Rates per 500 000 Km Travelled
USA
Germany
The Netherlands
Source: Pucher and Dijkstra, “Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany,”American Journal of Public Health, September 2003, Vol. 93, No. 9, pp. 1509-1516.
Fatality Rates and Non-Fatal Injury Rates in the USA, Germany and The Netherlands, 2000
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Pedestrians USAPedestrians GermanyPedestrians NetherlandsBicyclist USABicyclist GermanyBicyclist Netherlands
Source: Pucher and Dijkstra, “Promoting Safe Walking and Cycling to Improve Public Health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany,”American Journal of Public Health, September 2003, Vol. 93, No. 9, pp. 1509-1516.
Trends in Pedestrian and Bicycling Fatalities in the USA, Germany, and The Netherlands, 1975-2001 (1975=100%)
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
SAFETY IN NUMBERS
•As levels of cycling and walking increase, injury and fatality rates per trip and per km traveled fall dramatically
•Fatality rates per trip and per km are much lower for countries and cities with high bicycling and walking shares of total travel, and fatality rates fall for any given country or city as cycling and walking levels rise
•THUS, it is quite likely that increased walking and cycling in the USA and Canada would be safer than they are today.Jacobsen, “Safety in Numbers,” Injury Prevention, 2003, 9: 205-209
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
MOREOVER,
there are many policies, already used in Europe--and some American and Canadian cities--that simultaneously make walking and cycling BOTH safer AND more convenient, faster, most pleasant, and more attractive, as shown in the following slides:
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Recommended Measures for Making Walking and Cycling Safer
•Better facilities for walking and cycling
•Traffic calming of residential neighborhoods
•Mixed-use zoning and improved urban design
•Restrictions on motor vehicle use
•Traffic education
•Traffic regulations and enforcement
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Better facilities for walking and cycling
•Auto-free zones covering much of city center
•Wide, well-lit sidewalks with benches and plants
•Median islands for crossing wide streets
•Clearly marked, well-lit crosswalks, often with pedestrian- activated traffic signals
•Bike paths and lanes with exclusive rights of way
•Intersection modifications that minimize dangers for pedestrians and cyclists to cross streams of traffic
•Advance green lights for cyclists and pedestrians (to cross intersections before motor vehicles)
•All-red phase for motorists from all directions at especially dangerous intersections (to eliminate dangers from turning vehicles)
•No turn on red!
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Traffic Calming of Residential Neighborhoods
•Speed limited by law to 30km per hour (19mph) or less
•Physical measures to limit speeds:
•Traffic circles
•Road narrowing, zigzag routing
•Raised intersections
•Speed humps
•Mid-block closures and artificial dead-ends
•Bulb-outs at intersections and crosswalks, with sidewalk widening
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Restrictions on Motor Vehicle Use
•Lower overall urban speed limit (31mph in most German and Dutch cities)
•Restricted parking, especially in city center and residential areas
•Prohibition of truck traffic and thru traffic in residential areas
•Extensive motor vehicle turn restrictions at dangerous intersections, and complete ban of turns on red
•Complete ban of cars in certain central city areas
•“Walking speed” requirement for cars in certain residential areas designated as “woonerfs”
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Traffic Education
•Improved motorist training, with much more emphasis on how to avoid endangering pedestrians and cyclists
•Compulsory traffic safety lessons for all school children by the age of 10, with testing by traffic police on actual traffic test courses, to ensure safe and defensive walking and cycling by an early age (as in the Netherlands and Germany)
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Mixed-Use Zoning and Better Urban Design
•Inclusion of sidewalks and bikeways or bike lanes in all new suburban developments and retrofitting of existing developments, where possible
•Mixed land use zoning so that residential units are within easy walking or cycling distance of cultural facilities, shopping, and service establishments
•Encouragement of compact, mixed-use developmentaround transit stops to facilitate walking/bicycling communities (transit-oriented development) through subsidies, mortgage bonuses, and zoning.
•Restrict parking lots to locations behind buildings rather than between buildings and the street (as with most strip mall development in USA).
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
Traffic Regulations and Enforcement
•Revise traffic laws to place burden of proof on motorists, with the assumption that motorist is guilty unless it can be shown otherwise, especially when children or elderly are involved in crashes (forcing motorists to be extra careful to avoid crashes with pedestrians and cyclists)
•Enforce existing legal rights of pedestrians and cyclists, with strict penalties and fines for motorist violations of ped/bike rights of way in crosswalks, bike lanes, intersection crossings.
•Traffic cameras at intersections to photograph motorists failing to stop or yield when required to do so, with automatic ticketing for violations
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
CONCLUSIONS:
•Crucial to increase walking and cycling in American and Canadian cities for many reasons
•Many ways to achieve this goal, with manifold benefits that would far outweigh the costs
•All the necessary measures have already been successfully implemented in many European cities and some North American cities
•The same policies that would make walking and cycling safer also increase overall walking and cycling levels
•Increased walking and cycling, in turn, would encourage greater safety for non-motorists
Pucher: Walking and Cycling for Public Health
For any questions or further information, please feel free to contact:
Prof. John Pucher and Ralph BuehlerRutgers University
Email:[email protected]
http://policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher.htm
For free PDF and Word downloads of publications, see either of the two Rutgers University websites:http://policy.rutgers.edu/tpi/articles.htmlorhttp://policy.rutgers.edu/papers