As a 30-year-old, single,…

As a 30-year-old, single, life-long resident of the town of Whitby I am in favor of any revisions to the official plan which may result in a more walkable community and a community more accessible by public transit.

Excerpt from the introduction to the research paper attached "Walkable communities: Impacts on residents’ physical and social health"

"In terms of physical health, a substantial body of evidence has shown that automobilecentred communities with segregated land uses, low density, disconnected street networks, and insufficient pedestrian and bicyclist infrastructure are associated with reduced physical activity such as walking or exercise in outdoor spaces.1,2 In contrast, walkable communities with mixed land uses, higher density connected street networks, rich physical activity resources, and pedestrian-friendly designs have been linked to increased physical activity in daily routines.1–4 This environment-physical activity relationship is especially important in the context that obesity has become a leading public health problem in many parts of the world, and physical inactivity is a significant contributing factor 5–8 Traditional approaches of promoting physical activity are focused on personal factors and have not been very successful.9"