Published in Kaleva news paper on 3.4.2025
Physical inactivity costs our society billions of euros each year. We move far too little from a public health perspective.
For a long time, cities have been designed in a way that makes driving a personal car the easiest and fastest way to get from point A to point B. Almost half of the journeys less than three kilometres in Oulu are made by car. This is not sustainable from either a public health or climate perspective. It is time to make a change and invest in an urban environment that encourages taking more steps or cycling. The mobility environment begins as soon as an Oulu resident steps outside their front door.
My dream is that children and young people in Oulu can independently move to their hobbies, adults increasingly make their daily journeys on foot or by bike, and grandmothers with walkers don’t get stuck in the snowdrifts.
The key to increasing mobility lies in pleasant, accessible, and well-maintained walking and cycling routes. A green environment encourages movement, so let’s invest in parks, surrounding nature and in a green city centre. The quality of winter maintenance needs to be improved in the Oulu city centre and outside the main cycling routes, so that it is easier to move around with wheelchairs, walkers, or strollers, regardless of the season.
We can encourage more people to commute by bike by building bike lanes and increasing secure parking options for bicycles.
Public transportation also encourages taking steps, when the start and the end of the journey include walking. A functional city bike system complements public transportation routes and makes everyday journeys easier and faster.
Safety of the urban environment also needs to be improved and car speed limits should be reduced in urban areas. Children should be able to move safely and independently to school and hobbies. We must ensure that there are opportunities for hobbies and leisure activities in different parts of the city. .
Let’s make Oulu a more mobile city together!
Aino-Kaisa Manninen
Master of Science in Engineering, Master of Health Sciences, city counsellor and a candidate in the municipal election (the Greens), Oulu