The Mean Streets 2004 report from the Surface Transportation Policy Projects paints a grim picture of walking in the USA.
- Fewer trips of under a mile are being made on foot - in favor of driving. This is a decrease of 42% in the past 20 years.
- The decrease in walking as a part of daily life is contributing to the epidemic of obesity - over half of the adults in the US are overweight or obese. Obesity is a measure of inactivity, and inactivity dramatically raises the risks of diabetes and other diseases.
- Nationwide, 5.4 percent of all trips are made on foot, and 13 percent of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians. Yet the states spent less than one percent of their federal funds on pedestrian safety.
- Children are walking far less, often due to pedestrian hazards around their schools. Childhood obesity is climbing, almost tripling in the past 20 years to 13.6%
- Walking regularly for 30 minutes to an hour a day has been shown to reduce risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes among other ailments. In previous decades many adults walked as part of getting from one place to another.
- Newer cities are the worst for pedestrian facilities, being designed for car traffic with pedestrian paths as a frill or afterthought.
Next >> Get On Your Feet- What you can do to walk more.
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