Dated 15 April 2002

Cycling Advocates Network of NZ Inc

Submission on
Healthy Action - Healthy Eating

About CAN
The Cycling Advocates' Network of NZ Inc (CAN) is this country's national network of cycling advocates. It is a voice for all cyclists who use their bikes as a means of transport - recreational, commuter and touring. We have individual members, affiliated groups and supporting organisations throughout the country, and links with overseas cycling organisations. We work with central government and local authorities, on behalf of cyclists, for a better cycling environment. 
Vision
We are pleased to note the focus on enabling people to make healthy choices and the breadth of measures discussed in this document. We strongly support the vision statement for this reason. In our experience, many people would like to cycle or to allow their children to cycle, but feel that the roading environment is too unsafe. In addition, there is an unfortunately low status associated with more active means of transport such as cycling and walking, due to decades of emphasis given to private car travel by both politicians and transport planners.

Goals and Guiding Principles
We support the three goals identified, and the integration of the three in the strategy. It seems to be common sense that an overweight or poorly nourished person will not be in a position to undertake increased physical activity at the required level, and conversely that encouraging people to increase their activity levels will help to achieve the other two goals.
We also support the guiding principles, particularly those of 'collaboration and co-ordination' and 'life-course approach'. It is vital to have inter-sectoral co-operation in order to encourage people to make fundamental life-style changes.

As an example of how the government sector has not been working well in this regard, we have been constantly frustrated by the messages that have come from transport agencies (LTSA in particular) that cycling is 'dangerous' and should be discouraged. This is in direct contrast to the 'more active more often' message, and ignores the considerable benefits (health, economic, environmental and social) which can come from encouraging the use of active modes of transport on a regular basis.

Because these transport agencies are working towards their own goals, they have had a tendency to set up the transport system in a way which actually discourages people from using more 'vulnerable' modes, and thus they have been working against the health goals. Road safety funding mechanisms are a particular problem as they only address existing crash sites rather than roading environments that are so unsafe (either in a real or perceived way) that people will not bike or walk there.

CAN is a member of ECO (Environment & Conservation Organisations of NZ) & of Cycling Support NZ

Tel/Fax: 04-385 2557 
PO Box 6491, Auckland, NZ 
secretary@can.org.nz 
www.can.org.nz

CAN strongly supports the health sector encouraging and supporting action in other sectors. However, we believe that support should include financial support (which may be staff time devoted to projects or money allocated to promotion or education).

We support the life-course approach as a guiding principle. We believe that establishing appropriate patterns of behaviour in a person's childhood (e.g. biking or walking to school) will affect their behaviour later in life (e.g. biking or walking to work). Normalising the use of active transport for young adults is also likely to change behaviours in later life.

Approaches for action
CAN supports the six approaches for action.
- Build health public policy - see above for comments on negative effects of current safety policy.
- Create supportive environments - transport infrastructure needs to be developed in a way that will 'normalise' cycling and walking. "Share the Road" campaigns would help to create a roading environment that would encourage people to choose active transport modes.
- Strengthen community action - Safe Routes to School projects, Kidsafe Week coalitions, and Walking School Bus projects demonstrate that there is strong community interest in joint action and that such a way of working can bring good results. We would encourage the health sector to continue to be involved in such projects. We note that surveys undertaken by Christchurch City Council as part of their Safe Routes to School programme (see www.ccc.govt.nz/saferoutes) show strong interest amongst parents and children in the promotion of active means of transport to school.
- Develop personal skills - we note that programmes such as "TravelSmart" developed in Perth have been successful in using an individual marketing approach to provide people with the skills, information and physical resources to change to more active travel modes. We also believe that cycling skills programmes for both children and adults need to be widely available to counter concerns about cyclists' ability to safely negotiate our roads.
- Reorient services and programmes - health sector investment in promoting active transport will reduce costs in treating some preventable diseases (including mental illness). The health sector should also be setting an example in the use of active transport modes by encouraging staff to bike or walk to work or for recreation.

Key Priorities for Action
CAN particularly supports the key priorities "Children, young people..." , "Environments" and "Workforce" for the reasons stated above.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft strategy. We would be happy to take part in further work in this area.

Jane Dawson
Chairperson
Cycling Advocates Network of NZ Inc.
15 April 2002