Bicycle Rack Initiative: Background

The Public Health Agency of Canada defines active transportation as "... any form of human powered transportation" (2). Active transportation activities are used to get individuals from one destination to another using some form of self-propelled movement, such as walking, cycling, in- line skating, and rollerblading.  Twenty-five years ago, approximately 80% of Canadian children and youth used active transportation to get to school (3). Today, fewer than half of Canadian children use active transportation to travel to school (4). The 2004 National Transportation Survey reported that approximately 50% of children never walk to school and 80% of children never cycle to school; while 88% of children reported owning a bicycle (5).

Over the past twenty years, both childhood obesity and physical inactivity have increased {Tremblay, 2010 67 /id}, and active transportation may be one aspect of a solution that can address these concerns (7). In addition, active transportation has the potential to reduce energy consumption and to decrease pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions (8).

In an examination of active travel among children and youth, drawing from research in adult populations is problematic because the factors influencing child and adolescent behaviours are likely different from those affecting adults (9). There is limited research examining associations between child and adolescent travel and environmental factors, such as the provision of appropriate facilitates at destinations (9). One proposed environmental barrier to cycling to school is the lack of safe areas to lock bicycles up during the school day (10). Abbey Park Secondary School in Oakville, Ontario addressed this concern by providing bicycle racks in a highly visible area of the school yard. In July 2008, Regan Heffernan, the Principal at Abbey Park Secondary, reported that there was an increase in the number of students and staff cycling to school after the installation of the bicycle racks.  The impact of the provision of appropriate bicycle storage at schools, and the associated school policies, on active travel in the child and youth population needs investigation (9).

PROJECT GOAL

The goal of this pilot project was to provide KFL&A secondary schools with bicycle racks located in a highly visible and safe area of the school yard, thus promoting active transportation by encouraging cycling to school.

The project was led by KFL&A Public Health's School Health Team.  A secondary school teacher who participated in the needs assessment offered the services of his welding class to design and manufacture the bicycle racks, with support from KFL&A Public Health.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

• Provide bicycle racks at pilot schools to promote cycling to school.
• Encourage cycling to school at participating pilot schools through awareness-raising and community promotion.
• Increase the number of students regularly cycling to school on a regular basis.