NYC Health Commissioner says urban design vital for public health

Thomas Farley

Vilas Bhuchar, Dec 13, 10.

New York City’s Health Commissioner Thomas Farley believes urban design is a public health issue, according to Transportation Nation, which quotes him from a keynote address at a November Stop Speeding Summit as saying:

“After quitting smoking, there’s probably no behavior that promotes health more than regular physical activity. Okay, that’s great. So what are we going to do about that? To me, the answer to that is thoughtful urban design and transportation infrastructure.”

Additionally, Farley plans to join NYC’s Department of Transportation and its commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, in promoting the public health benefits of their traffic safety campaign, notes the story:

Though the NYC Health Department last summer released a report saying 25 children’s lives are saved a year because fewer New York City children ride in cars than in other cities, most of New York’s traffic safety campaign has rested on the shoulders of NYC DOT, and its commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan.

It’s Sadik-Khan who’s taken fire from protesters, like Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and more recently, some orthodox Jews in Brooklyn’s Borough Park. But Farley signaled that with a report coming out Monday on traffic injuries and urban design, he’ll join Sadik-Khan in promoting public health benefits of slower driving speeds and more pedestrian-friendly environments.

With the city’s rapid increase of bicycle-dedicated lanes receiving both criticism and praise, Farley said he would send staff to community board meetings to explain the safety benefits of the lanes, concludes the story.

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Photo credit: NY Daily News