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New cycle lanes and walkways encourage people to ditch their cars and cut carbon emissions in a surprisingly short amount of time, a new study shows.

Researchers from the University of Otago’s Wellington campus and Victoria University studied the effect of new cycling and walking paths built in New Plymouth and Hastings.

What they found was a reduction in the distance travelled by motor vehicles and a drop in carbon emissions after the cycle lanes were built in 2011.

Overall, the study found there was about  a 1% reduction in carbon emissions and a 1.6% reduction in the distance travelled by vehicles.

Wellington-based senior lecturer and the study’s co-author Dr Caroline Shaw said it was likely there would be a larger effect in cities such as Dunedin, where councils and the NZ Transport Agency were installing more extensive networks of cycle lanes and walking paths.

The research clearly showed people were prepared to substitute cycling and walking for car journeys in a relatively short amount of time, she said.

It was the first time a study had demonstrated investing in cycle paths and walkways led to a reduction in emissions.

‘‘What this particular bit of work showed was the number of kilometres travelled does decrease, so it looks like people are changing their mode of transport.’’

Car ownership also declined and there was a 30% increase in the number of people walking and cycling, she said.

Researchers used a variety of methods to collect information on car usage: conducting face-to-face interviews, analysing odometer readings and reviewing details on car ownership from the New Zealand Household Travel Survey.

Information from New Plymouth and Hastings was compared with information from Whanganui and Masterton, two cities that received no additional government funding for cycleways or walking paths.

tim.miller@odt.co.nz