Health and Safety

Peel Health and Safety Facts

Communities relying on cars for transportation have more obesity
Communities that walk, cycle and use public transportation have less obesity
In Peel Region, walking and cycling are about 7% of transportation trips while communities in Western Europe are closer to 40%
Peel Region has an obesity rate approaching 50%
Each day Peel Region residents use cars 987,000 times to travel 7 kilometres or less. That’s like travelling to the moon and back five times every day!
Every hour of moderate cycling burns 300 calories and adds more than an hour to expected healthy lifetime, that is, lifetime without a major disability
People often say they don’t cycle more for transportation because they perceive cycling on the roads as dangerous.
Yet the health benefits of cycling exceed traffic risk by a 5 to 1 ratio or more
More cycling leads to safer roads with fewer accidents and lower rates of serious injury

[“Evidence on Why Bike-Friendly Cities Are Safer for All Road Users”, Wesley E. Marshall, Norman W. Garrick, Environmental Practice 13 (1) March 2011]
[“Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling”, P.L.Jacobsen, Journal of Injury Prevention, 2003;9:3 205-209]
[Professor John Pucher, “City Cycling”, MIT Press]
[2008 Ontario Health Study]
[2009-2012 Peel Long-range Transportation Study]

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