Latest News

Back to Latest News back

 

Melbourne railway commuters encouraged to ditch the escalator and take the stairs

Melbourne railway commuters encouraged to ditch the escalator and take the stairs
August 24, 2014

The Bourke Street stairs at Melbourne's Southern Cross Station have been transformed into a scenic garden to motivate commuters to ditch the escalator and take the stairs. 

Initiated by the Heart Foundation, the plan for commuters to ‘put a spring in your step’ is part of the 100 Ways to Move it Melbourne campaign.

Introducing the initiative, Victorian Health Minister David Davis said the initiative was delivered through the Victorian Government’s $1.2 million contribution to Healthy Together - Active Cities Melbourne.

Minister Davis stated "the Victorian ... Government is committed to working with the community to help promote healthier lifestyles and tackle preventable diseases such as heart disease.

"Through this partnership between the Victorian Government, the City of Melbourne and VicHealth and now joining with the Heart Foundation Victoria to deliver this initiative, we are continuing to strengthen this work to help get city workers active and healthy.”

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the scenic garden would encourage people to put a spring in their step, explaining “we know that the most effective way to positively change behaviour is to make the transition easy and enjoyable.

“Some people struggle to find time to get to the gym or go for a run or walk, so one of the most effective ways we can look after ourselves is to change our routines to incorporate more incidental exercise.

“Using the stairs instead of the escalator is one way we can integrate exercise into our lives and that’s what this project aims to do.”

Heart Foundation Victoria Chief Executive Diana Heggie said physical inactivity is major risk factor for heart disease, and alarmingly more than 50% of Victorians are insufficiently active.

Heggie added “one of the easiest ways for people to get their recommended 30 minutes of physical activity is to build it into daily routines such as commuting between home and work or home and school.”

When walking up the stairs, people will find many opportunities to put themselves in the picture. Try hugging the caterpillar, flying with the butterfly, or imagine yourself floating up the stairs on a red balloon.

VicHealth Chief Executive Jerril Rechter said that by 2025, the vast majority of Victorians will be overweight or obese, so every effort to get more activity into the working day counts. 

Rechter concluded “obesity is without a doubt one the most significant and complicated public health emergencies we now face as a society. We know that our increasingly sedentary lives are not doing us any good.

“We see the arts a really exciting area to inspire more physical activity. This initiative is about capturing people’s imaginations and finding an unconventional way to make physical activity a more appealing choice.”

Southern Cross Station was chosen because it is an important transport hub for regional and metropolitan travellers with around 114,000 passengers per day with many more just passing through.


Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.

 

supplier directory

The Complete Guide to Leisure Industry Products & Services.

See the directory see all

DAE Global

DAE Global is one of the world’s leading international creative and production practitioners, creating award-winning sport, culture and entertainment experiences for over 30 years.  It was…

read more

Culture / Entertainment / Events / Venues

 
 

Exerp

Exerp is a global IT specialist in member management software for the fitness and leisure industry. By focusing on the needs of large enterprises, where streamlining, control and scalability are…

read more

Fitness / Technology / Wellness

 
 

The Pool Enclosure Company

Now TPEC Pool Enclosures - see www.ausleisure.com.au/suppliers/tpec-pool-enclosures

read more

Aquatics / Design / Recreation / Venues

 
 

Goplay Commercial Playground Equipment

Goplay designs and manufactures specialised playground equipment for indoor play centres, hotels, food chains, clubs and resorts. If our years of experience and dedication have taught us one thing,…

read more

Play

 
 

Augmented Creative

Augmented Creative is an open organization of like-minded and highly dedicated, creative people who conceive, plan and execute visual solutions. We pursue new and innovative visual ideas to help…

read more

Arts / Attractions / Consultants / Design / Tourism

 
 

Active World

Since 2019, Active World's development team has been delivering a comprehensive single solution that caters to the diverse requirements of successfully operated and managed leisure centres. The…

read more

Aquatics / Billing / Fitness / Recreation / Technology

 
 

Smart Connection Consultancy

Smart Connection Consultancy is a boutique sport and recreation consultancy who has become one of Australia’s leading advocates for the use of synthetic sports surfaces as a vehicle to grow…

read more

Consultants / Recreation / Sport / Surfaces

 
 

HRMWEB

At easyemployer we've come up with a software solution that manages one of your most important, and often most costly, business resources - your staff. We are helping 100s of clients to…

read more

Finance / Fitness / Technology

 
 
 
 

get listed with our suppliers directory

Get your business noticed in our targeted directory. Viewed by 10,000 industry professionals per week!

list your business