Cumbria's Director of Public Health, Professor John Ashton, says a vote for a £50m nationwide cycling scheme is a vote for everyone's long-term health prospects.
Sustrans' Connect2 scheme is going head to head against three other organisations to win a £50m Big Lottery Fund Grant. The Sustrans scheme involves major investment in walking and cycling routes in Maryport and Carlisle as part of a nationwide sustainable transport scheme.
Professor Ashton said:
"You are 300 times more likely to die from lack of exercise than in a cycling accident. Cyclists can expect to live for at least two years longer on average than non cyclists. Cumbrians should vote for this scheme and then get on their bikes - the health consequences of not doing that are there for everyone to see.
"Two-thirds of British adults are now classed as overweight or obese and obesity levels have tripled in the last 20 years. Cycling reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer - the leading preventable causes of premature death. We need to make cycling easier in Cumbria so that people can build it into their everyday routines and make those short journeys using pedal power."
People can register their vote by visiting http://www.thepeoples50million.org.uk/home (external link) and vote for Sustrans' Connect2. Online voting closes at 12 noon on Monday 10 December. The winner will be announced on 12 December. A telephone voting number will be published on http://www.thepeoples50million.org.uk/home (external link) at 9am on Friday December 7th.
Notes
1. Occasional and regular cyclists enjoy a level of fitness equivalent to being between five and ten years younger.
2. The Health Select Committee has said that meeting the Government's cycling target would do more to tackle childhood obesity than any other measure.
3. People who cycle to work experience a 39% lower rate of all-cause mortality compared to those who do not –even after adjustment for other risk factors, including leisure time physical activity.
4. The Sustrans scheme involves the following work in Maryport and Carlisle:
Maryport - The railway divides much of Maryport from its town centre, docks and promenades. The road crossings are relatively few and all heavily trafficked. This scheme comprises a new bridge over the railway at the station. The location is central to the town and will act as a catalyst for a wide range of direct and convenient journeys on foot and bicycle to the town centre and, at the same time, will focus a network of routes on the station itself.
Carlisle - The Eden Bridge concentrates much of the traffic in Carlisle over a single crossing. This Connect2 Scheme will provide a long-sought bridge downstream and a direct route to the city centre. It will shorten all journeys enormously between the north side of the city, the Cumberland Infirmary and other parts to the south west, and also links to the existing Caldew Riverside Path where new ramps to the existing Currock footbridge will make access to the south of the city much easier. The construction of a new Eden Bridge will be a catalyst around which a new framework of travel in Carlisle can come into being.
ENDS
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