Major inroads could be made into alleviating traffic congestion in Dublin and other cities if funding was provided for a plan designed to get people walking short distances rather than driving their cars or taking taxis, according to the Irish Heart Foundation chief executive, Mr Paddy Murphy.
The plan is an extension of the hugely successful Sli na Slainte or "path to health" project which was established by the IHF in 1996 in an effort to encourage people to take more exercise and beat heart disease in the process. The walking initiative involves the marking of popular walking routes with colourful blue and yellow signs at kilometre intervals.
Announcing his intention to retire from the IHF yesterday to become executive director of Sli na Slainte, Mr Murphy (62) said the next step in the extension of the Sli programme would be the erection of Sli signs at DART stations in Dublin.
Three signs indicating time and distance to a number of key locations are to be erected outside the Lansdowne Road station, for example, showing a walk to Baggot Street Bridge takes 13 minutes; a walk to the RDS approximately eight minutes; while Sandymount Strand is approximately nine minutes away.
Mr Murphy said physical inactivity was one of the major factors in heart disease, and Ireland had double the EU average of premature deaths from heart disease. "The Irish Heart Foundation would recommend that every Irish adult should accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most and preferably every day of the week."
He believes the new signs will encourage people to leave their cars at home and walk short distances. "The Sli is a means to an end. If I can get people leading a sedentary lifestyle to get up and walk, that will be the starting block."