Council urges people to walk to work
Wednesday, 21st April 2010.
Next week is national Walk To Work Week, and Suffolk County Council is urging townspeople to take up the challenge and improve their health.
With the latest national figures showing that 61 pert cent of the population are currently overweight or obese, commuters are being urged to walk their way to a healthier lifestyle.
Government figures show that people jump in the car for over a fifth of journeys shorter than one mile. In Ipswich alone, over 14,000 trips made daily are less than 5kms in length, so the benefits to people’s pockets is just as beneficial as walking, for health and the environmental reasons.
Plotting your walking routes in Suffolk has become easier than ever before thanks to the launch of www.walkit.com. Simply input your starting point and end destination and a walking route is calculated for you. The website also provides information on the exact distance, travel time, calories burned and CO2 saved.
Walkit forms part of the county council’s transport strategy by making it easier for people to choose to walk to work for short journeys within towns, helping to reduce congestion, promote healthier lifestyles and reduce transport impacts on the environment.
Walk to Work Week is an annual reminder that walking all or part of the commute is fun, green and healthy and can be slotted into even the busiest lives.
Walking for just 30 minutes a day during the working week, whether that’s on the way to, from or during work, means meeting the recommended level of daily activity to transform your health. In addition to the known health benefits, regular exercise such as walking is known to boost performance at work and counter lethargy, stress and depression.
Mike Motteram, Suffolk County Council's road safety and travel plan manager, said; “Incorporating walking into our daily journeys brings great benefits for individuals and for Suffolk as a whole.
"Walking all or part of your commute is an excellent way to get some activity into your day, doing wonders for both your mental and physical health.
"Even if it’s not practical to walk the whole way, by getting off the bus earlier or jumping off the train a couple of stops in advance, we can all walk more in our daily lives and reap the benefits.”
With the latest national figures showing that 61 pert cent of the population are currently overweight or obese, commuters are being urged to walk their way to a healthier lifestyle.
Government figures show that people jump in the car for over a fifth of journeys shorter than one mile. In Ipswich alone, over 14,000 trips made daily are less than 5kms in length, so the benefits to people’s pockets is just as beneficial as walking, for health and the environmental reasons.
Plotting your walking routes in Suffolk has become easier than ever before thanks to the launch of www.walkit.com. Simply input your starting point and end destination and a walking route is calculated for you. The website also provides information on the exact distance, travel time, calories burned and CO2 saved.
Walkit forms part of the county council’s transport strategy by making it easier for people to choose to walk to work for short journeys within towns, helping to reduce congestion, promote healthier lifestyles and reduce transport impacts on the environment.
Walk to Work Week is an annual reminder that walking all or part of the commute is fun, green and healthy and can be slotted into even the busiest lives.
Walking for just 30 minutes a day during the working week, whether that’s on the way to, from or during work, means meeting the recommended level of daily activity to transform your health. In addition to the known health benefits, regular exercise such as walking is known to boost performance at work and counter lethargy, stress and depression.
Mike Motteram, Suffolk County Council's road safety and travel plan manager, said; “Incorporating walking into our daily journeys brings great benefits for individuals and for Suffolk as a whole.
"Walking all or part of your commute is an excellent way to get some activity into your day, doing wonders for both your mental and physical health.
"Even if it’s not practical to walk the whole way, by getting off the bus earlier or jumping off the train a couple of stops in advance, we can all walk more in our daily lives and reap the benefits.”
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