Estonia: Pärnu uses the HEAT to secure funds for a new bike path
Pärnu is a city in south-west Estonia with a total population of 42 677. The city was part of the joint WHO/EC project on promoting networking and action on healthy and equitable environments for physical activity (PHAN) which ran from February 2010 to January 2013. As part of this project, the Pärnu City Government used HEAT to estimate the value of:
- future projected levels of cycling
- measured increases in cycling
- existing levels of cycling.
A manual count of cyclists as well as questionnaires were used to estimate the number of people currently cycling, cycling duration and distance cycled. This data was then used to estimate the future number of cyclists that would result following infrastructure improvements.
Based on the counts, it was estimated that 230 cyclists per day would use the new bicycle path, and that 50% of these would be additional new cyclists. This led to the following estimated benefits:
- 0.17 lives saved per year; and
- using a country-specific value of statistical life of €1 430 000, this led to a current value of the average annual benefit, averaged across six years, of €112 000 per year.
The results of the HEAT became one of the tools used to secure funding to build a
new 4 km bike path. The path will link to an existing path to create a complete circular route around the riverbank, connecting downtown and residential areas. The results are also being used to support the development of a master plan for Pärnu.
