Roughly four out of every five commutes are done in a car, but research shows car trips of 15 minutes or longer can lead to poorer life satisfaction, poorer family life satisfaction, declining community participation and lower productivity at work.

And the trend is going the wrong way: in New Zealand, car ownership, car usage, and time spent in cars have all risen in the past two decades.

Meanwhile, active modes of transport which were typically associated with better mental health outcomes have actually declined since the 1970s.

the actual report is worth a look, i’m glad they have brought up things like transport poverty, accessibility for disabled people, how some types of transport infrastructure can lead to social severance, and acknowledged how the stresses associated with various different forms of transport can be cumulative in their effects. i also found this interesting, from the report:

As well as the discussion about how increasing traffic noise is making streetscapes more confusing and stressful for people with disability, there was also an interesting discussion with the homeless expert about the restorative effects of a reduction in noise pollution during the COVID lockdown. She noted that while there were significant concerns about an increase in mental health challenges for homeless people during lockdown, in fact the reverse had been the case, and this had in part been identified as due to a decrease in traffic (and construction) noise in the CBD, which had made the environment much calmer. The mental health social worker who participated in this project also echoed these comments, saying that while some of her clients had experienced an increase in anxiety about the virus, others had found lockdown to be a restorative time where they felt more comfortable going outside, in part due to less noise and less traffic stress.

which reflects my experience too, i loved the reduced traffic noise during lockdown and felt happier on my walks because i could hear trees rustling & birds, and wasn’t having to dodge cars when crossing roads. it felt a lot safer & more relaxing without so many vehicles around.