What is Active Transportation

What is Active Transportation?

Active transportation is any way of travelling using your own power to get from one place to another. Walking and cycling are the most common, but running, scootering, skateboarding, in-line skating, using a wheelchair, paddling, skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding and using electric bicycles or scooters are all types of active transportation to varying degrees.

What are the Benefits of Active Transportation?

Making it safer and easier to travel by active transportation enables more people to travel this way which has numerous benefits both individually at at the community level:

• People that get around actively benefit from the physical and mental health benefits it provides. Furthermore, as more individuals adopt active transportation healthcare costs can be reduced as can the costs of collisions between people travelling actively and motor vehicles.
• If more people choose active transportation for more trips, this reduces both theirs and the community's carbon footprint and local air quality.
• While congestion might not be a significant issue in the study area, getting more people to make short trips on foot or by bicycle can reduce strain on existing roadways and free up parking for those that really need it.
• Reducing reliance on the automobile can reduce individual transportation costs, whether simply saving a small amount on gas, going from two cars to one, or completely car free. Every penny saved is a penny available to spend in the local community.
• Providing options other than the automobile also makes the transportation system more equitable. Currently it primarily accommodates those that can afford to drive, while those that cannot afford it, make do with limited space on the shoulders. By providing safer active transportation infrastructure, those without the means to drive, can get around the community more safely whether that's walking, safer access to transit, or rolling by various means.