Active Travel Guidance from Healthy Stadia

Active Travel Guidance from Healthy Stadia

Sports clubs have a lot to gain from promoting walking and cycling routes and installing suitable assets such as cycle locking facilities, in particular a healthier fan-base and more active workforce, plus decreased noise pollution and improved air quality around sports venues.

Healthy Stadia’s Active Travel Guidance document will help representatives from sports stadia involved in facilities management, operations, and communications to work with local partners to develop and promote and active travel plan as part of an overall travel strategy’.

The document contains step-by-step support, including numerous examples of ‘good practice’ relating to active travel, a template active travel plan, and a host of links to expert resources for further information.

The Active Travel Guidance is supported by key organisations from sport, health and sustainable travel, including European Cyclists’ Federation, Living Streets, Sustrans, World Heart Federation, and UEFA.

Key issues covered in the document include:

• Operational and health benefits for sports venues in developing an active travel plan
• Developing and communicating walking and cycling routes to sports stadia
• Installing cycle locking facilities and signposting their location
• Promotion of active travel through club communications channels
• Encouraging walking and cycling amongst fans, local communities and staff

Speaking about the Guidance, Peter Gillieron (Chairman of the UEFA Fair Play and Social Responsibility Committee), commented: “As part of its commitment to promoting healthy and active lifestyles, UEFA is pleased to see the publication of new guidance helping sports stadia to promote walking and cycling to fans, visitors and staff, and hopes that active travel plans will be adopted by many more football clubs as a result of this document.”

Active Travel Pledge Certificate

To help clubs/stadia profile their current practice promoting active travel, we invite organisations to apply for an ‘Active Travel Pledge Certificate’ – please see example for reference. The certificate highlights commitment to promoting active travel, and provides clubs/stadia with a useful document for tender applications, social responsibility awards, and sustainability standards such as ISO 14001 and ISO 20121. To apply for the Certificate, please download a current practice template to structure examples of your current practice, and submit to us using the details provided.

Case Studies

In addition to working towards an Active Travel Pledge Certificate, a number of clubs and stadium operators have also developed examples of good practice in the form of case studies which have been shared amongst Healthy Stadia’s European network. Current case studies can be downloaded below, and we would be very happy to work with clubs/stadia to develop future case studies of good practice in this area.

For further details on our active travel work and how we can help to support your organisation, please contact Matthew Philpott: matthew.philpott@healthystadia.eu (+44 (0)151 237 2686 / +44 (0)7826533013).