Car-Free Zones To Combat Chub?
A European think-tank has come up with a novel suggestion to reduce childhood obesity and, perhaps, help out adults fighting the battle of the bulge as well.
Car exclusion zones should be set up around schools to force children to walk to lessons, an environmental think-tank said yesterday.
It said parents should be banned from driving within a half-mile radius of a school to help tackle the dramatic decline in childhood activity levels.
Car-free areas should also be established next to shopping centres to prevent motorists making unnecessary short journeys, it added.
In addition to increasing the amount of physical activity for parents and children, the study also notes that such a plan would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, thus benefiting the economy.
Unfortunately, like many “think tank” ideas, this one’s not terribly well thought out. Parents driving their cars to within the half-mile zone near schools, for instance, would still need a place to park while they walk their kids the rest of the way. The result: fewer trees and more parking lots, pretty much undoing the benefit of the reduced emissions.
As for shopping malls, one can easily imagine store owners protesting such a move. Lazy consumers would merely wind up patronizing those malls and stores that didn’t require a half-mile walk or opting for an online clothing store. Even those energetic folk willing to deal with the half-mile car-free zone would find themselves hesitant to purchase larger, more bulky items they’d then have to schlep a half-mile to their car.
I’m all in favor of reducing car travel, and very much a fan of a return to pedestrian shopping. “Car-free zones” aren’t the way to accomplish it, however. Give us back old-fashioned neighborhoods with Mom & Pop stores on the corner, a cafe the family can walk to, and a church just down the street and I’ve little doubt America would begin slimming down once again.
5 Responses to “Car-Free Zones To Combat Chub?”
I’m not sure how I feel about the car-free zones. I believe your opinion is correct — even if it didn’t deter people from walking TO the stores, the likelihood of them purchasing let’s say… a big screen TV… are slim to none. I think business would be affected for stores.
I do think that children need to be encouraged to exercise more. Too many kids sit at home after school and during the summer playing on the computer and watching TV. I remember when I was growing up, I wasn’t allowed to stay indoors unless it was raining or unbearably hot. I was outside playing every single day – on the swing set, riding bikes, taking hikes in the woods (even though I wasn’t allowed to really). Sure… I was probably exposed to harmful UV rays *gag* but I was healthier and happier. I just signed my twins up for kindergarden, and was surprised that they only have gym once a week. I remember going twice. Plus we had recess everyday. These kids have ONE gym/health class per week… yet they have computer class 3 TIMES.
Yeah, that just doesn’t work in the suburbs or rural areas. Maybe if you lived in the big city. Even then, in this day and age, I would be afraid to let my children walk by themselves and extended distance.
We are lucky that we live in a small town, and most of the kids who live in town and go to the local elementary school can ride their bikes to school. Many, many of them do. My kids did it every day that the weather was nice enough. On the days I had to drop my kids off at school, there were lots of times I dropped them off at the end of the bike path (a separate path away from the traffic just for the kids) instead of taking them right to the school door. So they still got some exercise, and I didn’t have to deal with all the crazy parents who couldn’t follow any kind of order when it came to driving through and dropping their kids off. I was never one of those parents who had to walk my kids the entire way to the school door.
One plus to a shopping mall – once the car is parked, there is quite a bit of walking inside the mall.
Ok, Anna, your town sounds like paradise to me. Where do you live? What are property taxes like? And, would you like a neighbor?