In 2006 Transport for London contracted JMP to develop a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) for new interventions to increase the levels of cycling for children, as part of the Mayor’s London Cycling Action Plan.
In 2004 the Mayor of London published the London Cycling Action Plan (LCAP) with a headline target to increase cycling levels in London by 200% in 10 years from the 2000 baseline. The LCAP’s goals recognised the social imbalance of London cyclists; being predominantly adult males in employment. One of its stated objectives was to target and support groups with a minority share of cycling, including children. As part of the LCAP, four large-scale interventions were proposed specifically to increase children’s cycling in conjunction with the school travel plan programme. In May 2006, TfL engaged JMP to perform a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) on the interventions to increase children’s cycling.
The World Health Organisation concisely defines a HIA as “a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, programme or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population”. For this assessment, a steering group was established to plan and assist the HIA, comprised of local stakeholders and individuals involved in the project. Evidence from a broad range of sources, including academic reasoning, demographic and epidemiological reports on the area, stakeholder views and policy documents were analysed to compile the assessment.
The HIA found that the projects vary in their degree of potential impacts on physical activity levels and health, with some to be more effective. Resident’s views and data surveys showed that increased physical activity was strongly linked with the inclusion of new cycle stands and facilities through the ‘Cycle Stand’ project. The increase in cycling was seen as beneficial by stakeholders, citing improvements in concentration, health and a reduction in accidents. Increased levels of cycling could very well have an effect along the route of ‘Safety in Numbers’, facilitating a drop in road accidents.
