Cycling and walking are hard to beat when it comes to improving the well-being of humans and the health of our planet. As physical activities, they can enhance physical and mental health. As modes of transportation, they hold much promise for reducing the use of our gas-guzzling automobiles.

Recently, the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute analyzed the results of a consultation on outdoor activities and the environment. The consultation, conducted in the fall of 1992 by the Active Living and Environments Program, was part of the federal government's Green Plan initiatives. The results show how many people belonging to fitness/environmental organizations use walking and cycling as forms of commuting. Participants also recommend ways for using physically active transportation more often.

We have all watched couriers riding their bicycles through rain, hail or snow. Besides them, others have adopted this mode of transportation. One in five participants in the consultation say they cycle to and from work during spring, summer and fall. In the summer, half of them travel up to 9 kilometers, and one in five cycle 10 to 14 kilometers. In the winter, half the cyclists find it safer to stay away from slippery roads.

Walking, however, maintains its popularity year round. Of the 10 percent who walk to work, most cover less than 5 kilometers. They do so every working day. People who don't commute by bicycle say that the following measures would encourage them to use their bicycles more often:

• street lanes or paved shoulders dedicated to cyclists;
• greater respect for cyclists by motor vehicle drivers;
• bike paths separate from traffic lanes.

For their part, those who don't walk to work would do so more often if:

• they lived closer to work;
• hey had walking paths separate from traffic lanes;
• they had access to shower and changing facilities.

As citizens, we can do our part to protect the environment. Among other things we can:

• request more secure commuting for cyclists and walkers from urban planners;
• ask employers to install secure bicycle racks (indoors or within view of a fellow worker or security guard) and shower facilities;
• walk or cycle to commute and run errands as often as we can.

The late British economist E.F. Schumacher stressed that in a strictly limited environment such as the world, "the objective is to maximize the well-being of humans with a minimum of consumption." Clearly, walking and cycling go a long way toward achieving that objective.