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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 19, 2008 - 23 Make your community a safe, more walkable place benefits. These range from economic, health and environmental to social and transportation benefits. And while everyone knows that walking is good for your health, not to mention your wallet, an added benefit is that increasing pedestrian and cycling traffic can discourage street crime. "When there are more people walking around during the day and evening, they keep an eye on their neighbours' homes as well as local shops and parks, which makes these areas less inviting to crime," explains Sarah Rotz, project manager for Walk and Bike for Life. "This is one more benefit of living in a walkable community." Walk and Bike for Life is a non-profit organization that promotes walking and cycling as a recreational activity and as a healthier, more sustainable mode of transportation. The organization works together with walkOn to offer workshops and information sessions on walkability and support interested Community Action Groups. Supporting walkable communities to improve residents' W alkable communities enjoy many, many health, the environment, the economy and safety is also a goal of iCANwalk, a coalition of partners, including walkON, which is funded by Choices4Health. Halton Region is already a very safe community, and was recently named the safest also make it harder for people, esperegion in Canada. The region benefits cially kids, to cross streets safely. There are lots of ways to make your from participation from community a safer, friendlier, more active community members, who work with the police to make sure Halton remains a safe place to live, work and play. Ensuring our communities are walkable can help Halton maintain this standing. Studies show that one of the biggest reasons why more people don't walk is because people feel their neighbourhoods are not safe. "People are not going to walk anywhere if it is not safe, traffic is not slowed, crossings are too wide and the overall experience is unpleasant for the pedestrian," says Rotz. According to Rotz, in the past 50 years, urban planning in some communities has focused more on cars than people. For example, many new roads are built with wider driving, passing and turning lanes, which make it easier for cars to travel at faster speeds. But those changes walkable place. For starters, you could walk or cycle someplace you'd normally drive. On your way, fill out an iCANwalk checklist about where you went, how easy it was and what you saw along the way. You can also sign the International Charter for Walking and pledge to walk more and take steps to make your community safer for walking. For more information about the iCANwalk campaign and tips on how to make your neighbourhood more walkable, visit www.icanwalk.ca. The iCANwalk campaign is part of the walkON program and is funded, in part, by Choices4Health. Choices 4 Health is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion, community partners and the Halton Region Health Department. The Choices 4 Health Network is a community coalition of more than 250 individuals and organizations working together to create a Halton in which people achieve optimum health by choosing opportunities for healthy eating, physical activity, good mental health and smoke-free living. -- Submitted by Choices 4 Health MADNESS!!! ONE-DAY SALE 6am to 8pm Sunday, December 21, 2008 $ $ 999 49 Diamond Watch 9am Door Crasher Limit 3 Mississauga and Keele Location Only Coming soon..... Mississauga 700 Matheson Blvd. at Mavis Vaughan 7733 Keele Street at Highway 7 www.omnijewelcrafters.com