Owen Sound needs more pedestrians and less car traffic

The Sun Times, June 29
Author: Christy Hempel

In Randolf Hester's Design for Ecological Democracy he writes that we need to learn to walk, rather than "slouching toward obesity at car speed". We know of the environmental damage that cars are doing, and health issues are interconnected.

Fewer cars and more walking would reduce risks from everything from asthma and heart disease to insomnia and depression. It is estimated that by 2010 type 2 diabetes will cost the Canadian health care system $15.6 billion per year. "Exercising moderately for 30 minutes a day and losing 5-7% of your body weight is enough to reduce the risk by 58%", according to the Canadian Diabetes Association. Everyone has learned by now that clogged highways at rush hour are making our planet and our bodies sick, yet everyday the traffic reports indicate that people don't give up on commuting. Driving is a hard habit to break.