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Walk to Work Day 2019!

April 5th 2019 is the return of Walk to Work Day!

If you are lucky enough to live close enough to your office, then walking to work is a great way to commute. However, if you’re not close enough to walk the whole way in, why not park further away and walk the last part of the journey or get off the bus a few stops earlier than normal?

There are a huge number of benefits to walking, so why not energise your commute? Here are some of the benefits of walking:

 It is a great way to keep the doctor away. Just a 20-minute walk per day helps prevent and manage chronic illnesses.

 It can improve your mood as well as boosting your creativity.

 Have a positive effect on your heart, including lowering your blood pressure and reducing the risk of heart disease.

Strengthens your bones and muscles.

Improves your balance and coordination.

Reduces the pollution that would be generated by driving or using public transport.

Walking can help maintain a healthy weight.

Can help get you in the right frame of mind for the busy day ahead!

It’s free! Therefore considerably cheaper than driving.

Gives you the opportunity to appreciate the world around you.

It’s the easiest way of getting exercise into your daily routine.

So why not get involved and Walk to Work even if it is just some of the way into the office? Alternatively, take a lunchtime stroll, you could encourage your colleagues to join in too!

 

Walk to Work Day 2019 | Smarter Travel Ltd

 

 

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The Big Pedal 2019

The Big Pedal returns next week (25th March) for 10 days. Organised by Sustrans; the UK charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle.

The Big Pedal is the UK’s largest inter-school cycling, walking and scooting challenge. The aim is to inspire pupils, staff and parents to choose human power for their journeys to school. Schools across the country are encouraged to sign up and participate to compete with other schools in getting as many students, staff members and parents to join in. There are prizes up for grabs too! More importantly, following on from previous Big Pedal events, 82% of schools surveyed said that pupils continued to cycle or scoot to school after the event which shows that the project is an excellent opportunity to encourage positive behaviour change.

Did you know, the average primary school journey in the UK is just 1.6 miles (which would take approximately half an hour to walk), however, one in four cars on the road in the morning peak, will be doing the school run!

The Benefits of Active Travel to School

Walking to School | Smarter Travel LtdThere are an overwhelming number of benefits in encouraging active travel to and from school. For example, studies show that children who arrive to school by foot, are much more prepared to learn that day as they tend to be more relaxed and alert; generally speaking, their wellbeing is much more enhanced. Overall, physical and mental health can be drastically improved, exercise is an indispensable part of a child’s life and it is advised that children get up to 60 minutes of physical activity per day – active travel to school is an excellent way to work towards this goal and incorporate regular activity into the daily routine (for both parents and children!) Walking, cycling or scooting to school provides the perfect opportunity for children to learn about their local area and gain important independence skills along with forming regular, healthy habits. By travelling to school by one of these modes, children are likely to develop important road awareness skills and it is a good opportunity to reinforce the highway code and road safety skills.

Additionally, by reducing the number of vehicles on the road there can also be a reduction in air pollution and congestion which has overwhelming benefits for the local area and population within it.

Park & Stride

Barriers to active travel to school often include distance, time and safety. For those that may live too far from their local school to walk, there is always the option of ‘Park and Stride’. This concept is heavily promoted by Living Streets. The principle is for those that are unable to enjoy the walk to school due to distance, is to either, get off their bus a few stops earlier and walk the remaining distance or to park further away from school and walk the rest of the journey. Living Streets provides some great advice and resources on how to get started.


If you would like to get involved in The Big Pedal, find out more information and how to sign up here. Additionally, for tips and advice on how to get active on the journey to and from school visit the Living Streets website or Sustrans website.

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Claim your vouchers!

People on a bus | Boyton Place

The first few residents are starting to move into Boyton Place, Haverhill. If you’re one of them, have you claimed your sustainable travel vouchers yet?


Each household within Boyton Place is entitled to either;

4 x one-week bus tickets for services into Cambridge with Stagecoach 

OR

A £50 voucher to be redeemed at Aerocycles in Haverhill


To claim your sustainable travel voucher, all you need to do is complete the short survey at the back of your Travel Information Pack (you should have received this at handover when moving in). If you’ve misplaced your pack, not to worry, complete online here!


Personal Travel Plan

In addition to this incentive, every resident is entitled to claim a free Personal Travel Plan. A ‘PTP’ will identify all the possible ways of travelling from A to B (within reason). To request your free PTP, just complete this short form and your results will be emailed to you within 5-working days. Each Personal Travel Plan will also highlight any cost savings, calories burned and journey durations.


If you’re a resident of Boyton Place and would like specific advice on how to change your travel habits, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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Welcome!

Welcome to the Boyton Place Travel Plan website! We hope you find all the information here useful and informative. If you have any questions about local travel options, please do not hesitate to contact us and we would be more than happy to help.

We will regularly be updating the Travel Plan website with news, information and any discounts available, so don’t forget to keep checking in. Also, please follow the Boyton Place Travel Plan Facebook page.