A recent study (sadly, one you have to pay for to get the full report), suggests that a compact street grid supports greater levels of physical activity and leads to better health outcomes.
Three cheers for 200 foot blocks!
A recent study (sadly, one you have to pay for to get the full report), suggests that a compact street grid supports greater levels of physical activity and leads to better health outcomes.
Three cheers for 200 foot blocks!
Links Between Public Transportation and Physical Activity
Readers of this blog will be aware that OPAL has been a leading voice criticizing TriMet service reductions in recent years.
They’re now latching onto a somewhat obscure air quality regulation to try to put some teeth into that advocacy.
The Portland region is under Federal compliance plans for two pollutants: ozone and carbon monoxide (CO). Arguably there are some much more harmful pollutants in our air (benzene and particulates for starters) but regulatory inertia makes us pay attention to these two.
The region has compliance plans for these two pollutants and the plan for CO includes a requirement to increase transit service 1% per year, measured over a 5-year window (essentially a five year moving average).
TriMet has met this requirement in recent history by relying largely on the big increase in service hours from the opening of the Green Line in 2009. But cuts in service in the last few years mean that on a five-year average basis TriMet no longer meets the average 1% increase as of last month.
The regional transportation bureaucracy proposes to fix this by modifying the compliance plan to call out a 10-year average instead of five-year. The State DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) has to weigh in on this, and OPAL’s comments (PDF, 585K) on the proposed change are interesting reading. They make arguments that the actual ridership benefit of rail service is overestimated in the calculations and more bus service would actually be more effective in reducing CO emissions.
It’s a very wonky club to try to pound TriMet with, but I have to respect OPAL’s tenacity. I hope DEQ at least does a serious evaluation of OPAL’s claims.
My convictions around active transportation aren’t hypothetical, they’re also personal and pragmatic. I make a point to walk 10,000 steps or bike 10 miles every day (or some combination thereof) to help control both my blood pressure and blood sugar – and most days I get closer to 15,000/15.
And because I’m engineer at heart, I measure. Tracking my bicycle miles is simple enough, a small computer with a sensor on my front wheel logs my miles with no action required on my part.
Tracking steps takes a little more intention. I used to where a pedometer, but that meant I had to remember to put it on in the morning, and to take it off (or at least reset it) when I used my bike – pedaling results in meaningless numbers. A hassle.
Recently, I’ve ditched my pedometer in favor of a simpler solution – an app. Moves – an iPhone app (free) sits in my pocket (since I’m never without my phone) and keeps track of my movements. It can tell when I’m walking, cycling or using a vehicle and gives me a running total every day.
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One less device to complicate my life!
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