Make Walking Safe And Comfortable, Pedestrian Advocate Urges Cities At Transit Summit
'Despite many years' worth of road safety campaigns, it hasn't got safer to be a pedestrian or cyclist anywhere in the world in the last 15 years,' says Jim Walker, founder of Walk21, an internationally-focussed pedestrian advocacy group. 'We have to do something more than just talk about telling people to get out there and walk or cycle; we have to make it safe, make it comfortable, and make it enjoyable.'
Walker—yes, a neat bit of nominative determinism there—was speaking at the UITP Summit in Hamburg, Germany, an exhibition organized by the International Association of Public Transport, or Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP).
Most passengers on public transport tend to be also pedestrians, he stresses. 'There are many trip stages in most public transport trips, and between 90 to 98% of them are walked. If public transport operators want to improve satisfaction as well as system efficiencies, then they have to think about the total journey experience.'
Widening sidewalks, planting street trees, and adding attractive places to sit might not be as appealing—to politicians and planners—as driverless cars, autonomous buses, and the latest electrified scooters. However, improving the urban realm for pedestrians can boost transit ridership, and this, in turn, reduces climate emissions, says Walker.
'Cities too often get hoodwinked into adding micromobility options, becoming 'smarter,' and autonomous, but only a small number of people will benefit from those changes, potentially alienating the great majority and worsening the inequity that already exists. Too many technologies are sold with the promise that in the future, you won't have to walk anymore—that won't make for attractive cities.
'We should assume, instead, that every trip will be walked. And if it's not, then it ought to be cycled. And if it can't be cycled, then it should be by public transport. The private car should always be last in the hierarchy of urban transport.'
Walk says that too many transport reports focus on main travel modes, with surveys largely ignoring walking to stations and bus stops.
'When people arrive at a train station, how did they get there? They likely walked 700 meters or more, yet that element of the journey isn't always measured. Walking is too often the invisible mode of transport; [local and national authorities] undercount and undervalue walking.
'The modeling that gets taught to transport planners all over the world is for the facilities provided to pedestrians should be 'adequate.' But adequate should not be okay.
'Eight years ago, the European Commission had only one indicator for active mobility, and that was the number of kilometers of bike lanes. But the quality of those bike lanes is rarely measured. And, similarly, the number of kilometers of [sidewalks]
Maria Neira, Director of the Environment, Climate Change, and Health Department at the World Health Organization, emphasized the close link between public transit and public health. She noted the health benefits of using transit were enormous. Transit operators, she added, had 'an incredible potential to create environments where health is protected' and encouraged the sector to work with medical professionals on making the case for public transport.
The UITP Summit runs through Wednesday and will attract over 10,000 delegates across three days, with more than 400 exhibitors occupying 30,000 square meters of floor space at the Hamburg Messe. Next year's show will be staged in Dubai—a scale model on Dubai's booth shows elevated and air-conditioned walkways linking to transit stations.
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