Dear Subscriber

Welcome to the PCAL monthly bulletin.

This bulletin reports up-to-date news and research of interest to people who want to promote active living choices in NSW. Previous monthly bulletins are archived on the PCAL website.

PCAL does not endorse or recommend any commercial products, processes or services that may be displayed through bulletin hyperlinks.

The NSW Government has released two reports completed during ongoing work on the PCAL NSW BikePlan. The 'Provision and use of bicycle parking at Sydney region public transport interchanges' and  the report of the 'PCAL NSW BikePlan Community Comments Review' are both available on the PCAL NSW BikePlan webpage.

NSW Bike Week is a statewide NSW Government initiative which provides an opportunity for local communities to participate in organised bicycle events in a safe and supported environment. Seed funding to assist event co-ordinators in the promotion of their local events is available through the RTA. NSW Bike Week events will be held across the state between 26 Sep and 4 Oct 2009.

Warringah Council has recently voted to adopt a 'sustainable transport strategy', part of which involves allocating 10% of the council's road budget to the construction and upgrading of bike paths. A quarter of NSW council's have also allocated all or part of their recent Federal Government Community Infrastructure Program (CIP) funding to cycling projects as summarised by the Cycling Promotion Fund. 

Healthy Spaces and Places is a national guide for planning, designing and creating sustainable communities that encourage active living. The guide contains case studies from around the country, resources grouped by development types and guidelines.

A recent US study has demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of building footpaths due to the combined positive effects of increased physical activity and reduced vehicle emissions. The study builds on previous US and Australian research demonstrating the cost-effectivenss of a range of strategies to promote active living.

 

The National Preventative Health Taskforce has recently released its final report including a comprehensive strategy to address obesity. Recommendations include the establishment of a multi-sector Prime Minister's Council for Active Living, a number of food supply and marketing activities and suggested resources to help implement healthy planning initiatives within local government.

 

The Exercise, Recreation and Sport Survey (ERASS) 2008 NSW results show that 49.3% of people aged over 15 years participated in physical activity or sport at least three times a week in NSW in that year. This represented a 16% increase from 2007 levels of 42.5%. The most popular NSW activities in order were: walking (other than bushwalking), aerobics/fitness, swimming, running and cycling. See here for a calender of upcoming sport and recreation events in your area.