Greenway promotes exercise, reduces automobile use: study

Downtown Vancouver’s two-kilometre Comox-Helmcken Greenway was well worth the $5-million cost, according to a University of B.C. study that examined nearby residents’ behaviour and health before and after the project was built.

“We found significant increases in active transportation — cycling and walking — and a significant decline in driving,” said lead author Larry Frank, a professor in the UBC school of population and public health, and school of community and regional planning.

“The number of daily bike trips went up by 32 per cent, and the number of daily automobile trips went down by 23 per cent,” added Frank, who studied 524 residents living within 500 metres of the Greenway, and who will present his findings at this week’s Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place Conference in Vancouver.

“Study participants living along the corridor greenway spent about a third less time in cars after the greenway was constructed and reported a 16 per cent increase in the number of days engaged in moderate physical activity,” said Frank in a news release. “Residents reported a 10-per-cent decrease in the number of days in poor physical or mental health, and an eight-per-cent decline in time spent sedentary.”

Frank said their study justifies the investment in the greenway (which was approved by the city in 2012), noting that links to transit will be provided along the corridor in the future.

He noted that while many blocks of the greenway allow cars, anyone going any distance by vehicle should avoid the route. According to the City of Vancouver, the greenway is an important east-west connection through downtown from False Creek to Stanley Park for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities.

As well, the city said, it connects parks, schools, community centres, neighbourhoods and retail areas, and encourages people to explore their city by foot, bicycle, wheelchair and stroller.

In May, the city said that two separate studies of the greenway concluded that there was a 49 per cent increase in cycling trips and a 35 per cent decrease in auto trips.