Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre, Case Studies - Creating Active Rural Communities, Haliburton County, Ontario - Contact: Sue Shikaze, Health Promoter, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, Box 570, 191 Highland St, Unit 301, Haliburton, ON K0M 1S0, susans@haliburton.hkpr.on.ca
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There are many challenges unique to creating active communities in rural places, and yet there is very little literature or research to guide a community that pursues this goal. Some of the obstacles a rural community faces include large distances between destinations (20 km/12 miles or more); a prevalent "car culture"; an extensive road network and a small tax base, so that the focus on transportation is to maintain existing roads for cars, rather than to create or improve walking or cycling infrastructure; and limited capacity or expertise within municipal governments (staff and elected representatives) to make planning for active communities a priority.