Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Does Your Hospital Make Accommodations for Smoking But Not Bicycling?

11:40 AM PDT on September 14, 2015

Recognizing their responsibility to address the chronic health problems plaguing the nation, a lot of hospitals are making internal changes to avoid contributing to unhealthy choices. The Cleveland Clinic, for example, recently banished McDonald's from its food court. But even that hospital, like many, many others, has been slow to consider how its physical layout abets sedentary lifestyles.

This aerial photo shows Southcoast Health Hospital in Fairhaven, Massachusetts -- a massive sea of car parking, but not a single bike rack. Image: Miles Grant
Southcoast Health Hospital in Fairhaven, Massachusetts -- a massive sea of car parking, but not a single bike rack. Image via Miles Grant

With enormous parking garages and unwalkable, single-use campuses, hospitals too often typify the kind of unhealthy design condemned by the Surgeon General last week.

Miles Grant at Network blog The Green Miles points out a great example in a town on the south coast of Massachusetts:

The other day I rode my bike to my local medical facility, Southcoast Health in Fairhaven, to get blood drawn for my annual physical. While it has a massive parking lot for somewhere around 500 vehicles, Southcoast Health in Fairhaven doesn't have even one bicycle rack.

But it does have a picnic table outside of its back door for smoke breaks.

It's a small thing, but you'd think a health care facility with a massive parking lot could at least set up some racks for people to lock their bikes too.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater City Providence ponders how car dependence affects social connections in smaller cities. Vibrant Bay Area explores how school choice affects transportation costs. And Bike Portland reports on a new app that will crowdsource street conditions reported by cyclists into a master map.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Commentary: Let’s Talk About the Real “Fatal Flaw” on Valencia

How many people have to die before professional advocates stop endorsing the Valencia Street "experiment" on people?

September 28, 2023

Transit Month Event: Disability Access is for Everyone

BART was the first accessible transit system in the country. Advocates want Bay Area transit agencies to do better at keeping buses and trains accessible for all

September 27, 2023
See all posts