Stevenson Encourages Walking as Easiest Way to Get Active

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, has encouraged people to use what is readily available to them and get on their feet if they want to become more active.

In a speech on active travel in the Scottish Parliament yesterday (Wednesday) Mr Stevenson said:

“We really have to invest in changing the hearts and minds of the people of Scotland. Almost everybody has the equipment to engage in walking and they have it right now.

“If we were to think about buying shoes that were suitable for walking for a million people in Scotland, how much would that cost? It would cost less than the annual active travel budget.

“One pound that is spent on walking buys a heck of a lot more than a pound that is spent on almost anything else in the area of active travel, and I would like to see us do something about that.”

Mr Stevenson added that it was important to invest in infrastructure and that this should continue but that attitudes of people in Scotland had to change before more people engaged in more active ways of travelling.