Westerville Spring/Summer 2012 Community Recreation Guide : Page 7erville News 2 BY 2012 -THE BENEFITS OF CYCLING TO WORK: THE T H E CITY CITY GOOD FOR BUSINESS PERSONAL HEALTH According to the U.S. Centers for Disease &RQWURODQG3UHYHQWLRQ�b;&'&�c;�f;WKHUHLVDQ obesity epidemic raging in the U.S. which will cause the failure of the health-care system if we don’t reverse it. According to studies by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 25 percent of the children in Franklin County are clinically obese, and they are seeing increasing incidence of high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes in eight-and nine-year-olds at Children’s. According to the recent benchmarking study commissioned by the Columbus Partnership, the adult obesity rate in central Ohio increased in the last two years from 25.6 percent to 30 percent making us the most obese city of the 16 cities studied. Citizens of European cities DQG86 FLWLHV�b;HJ 1HZ<RUN�c;WKDWXWLOL]H alternate transportation are not nearly as overweight as citizens in Columbus and other cities that rely on the automobile to get everywhere. �b;3RUWODQG KDV DFKLHYHG PRGH VKLIW MXVW VK\ RI   SHUFHQW�f; b; SHUFHQW E\ ELNH�c; Bio-fuels and fuel cells are easier on the environment, but still have impact and are not as “green” as biking and walking. of the Congressional Transportation Committee, aspires to achieve 2 BY 2012-style initiatives across the U.S., which would eliminate the need to import any foreign oil. COMMUNITY HEALTH Alternate transportation better connects citizens to one another and helps build and sustain community relationships. ,W·V GLIÀFXOW IRU FLWL]HQV WR LQWHUDFW ZKHQ everyone is travelling 35-65 mph in their own automobiles. Studies show that employees who bike and walk to work are healthier, miss less work, and are more productive. Companies that accommodate and facilitate alternate transportation by employees have lower health-care costs and are viewed as being progressive and “green,” giving them a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining quality employees. Increasingly, customers are seeking to do business with environmentally conscious companies and service providers. We believe that this can also be an economic development driver for central Ohio. COST SAVINGS A family can save $8,000 to $10,000 per year for each car that they downsize. We recently passed a milestone in the U.S.—we now have more vehicles than we have licensed drivers. In fact, 40% of automobile trips in the U.S. are two miles or less, and 80% are 5 miles or less. Utilizing alternate transportation for many of these short trips should enable families to eliminate one or more automobiles, DFKLHYLQJVLJQLÀFDQWFRVWVDYLQJV5HGXFHG ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DXWRPRELOH WUDIÀF ZRXOG DOVR UHGXFH “People Powered” transportation is wear and tear on highways and bridges the greenest form of transportation. and lead to cost savings on road and Replacing a short automobile trip to bridge repair. work or school with biking or walking eliminates 15 pounds of car exhaust. REDUCED DEPENDENCE ON Reduced driving in Portland, Oregon, FOREIGN OIL Blumauer, chairman saves 400,000 gallons of gasoline per day Congressman :HVWHUYLOOH3DUNVDQG5HFUHDWLRQ'HSDUWPHQW�b;�c;c;   ZZZZHVWHUYLOOHRUJ THURSDAY, MAY 10 NOON COMMUNITY CENTER 350 N. CLEVELAND AVE. The goal of 2 BY 2012 is for each citizen of central Ohio to bike to work two days per month by the Columbus Bicentennial in 2012. Bike in DQGHQMR\DIUHHOXQFKDQG educational session on how to cycle to work. This program is FREE but registration is required. Activity #205199-02 See page 49 for more information. 7 INFORMATIONAL MEETING 2 BY 2012 Publication List Using a screen reader? Click Here |
