Walking is an important mode of transport: A quarter of journeys in Great Britain are made entirely on foot. On average, we each make three journeys per day, with one being on foot. Walking accounts for 80% of journeys of less than one mile. Around half of all education journeys, one third of all shopping journeys, a quarter of social/entertainment journeys and one eighth of all commuter journeys are made on foot.

Walking is also an essential part of much car and almost all public transport travel. Bus stops are usually accessed on foot, and about 80% of rail travellers arrive at or leave the station on foot. The provision of good pedestrian links to public transport facilities is therefore an essential element in promoting sustainable, integrated transport.

Walking is more important for certain groups, particularly children and those without ready access to a car, who account for approximately half of the population. The amount of walking has declined. In the 20 years prior to 1995/97, the number of journeys per person on foot fell by one tenth whilst the average distance walked fell by a quarter. The trend has been steepest over the past ten years. This reduction is despite the fact that the average person’s total transport mileage has increased by 38% over this same period. The decline has been particularly notable amongst children. Although there has been a decrease in the distance walked, the average length of a journey has remained constant at about 0.6 miles; this has not changed in the last 20 years.

However, walking is the most sustainable form of transport. It uses less space per person than any other form of travel, produces no harmful emissions, requires an infrastructure that is normally modest in scale and, the more that people do it, the more secure everyone feels.

For most people, walking is an excellent method of physical activity for maintaining and improving fitness and health. It has several health benefits including reduced risk of heart diseases, osteoporosis, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression, as well assisting weight control.

Walking is also part of community life. Towns and cities are places for meeting, communicating and trading. What happens on the pavements in towns and cities is an important part of civic, social, commercial and political life. In smaller towns and villages and in residential areas where friends and neighbours meet and exchange local news, walking helps develop community life and is also part of a surveillance process that aids security.

It is a form of travel available to nearly everybody, regardless of age, gender, education or income. However, it tends to be more important to the socially excluded and those with less transport choice. Providing good conditions for walking and encouraging it throughout the community is important in order to promote social inclusion. Walking provides important freedoms for children. Streets are one of the places where children find out about life and begin to learn to fend for themselves. At play they acquire sensory, motor, emotional and cognitive skills. As they become independent and begin to roam they develop self-esteem, acquire a sense of identity, learn the creative use of their abilities, and take responsibility for themselves.

Children’s needs may be neglected in transport policy and their independent mobility and access are often severely restricted by contemporary urban environments. Limits on children walking affect their physical health and mental development.

Despite the private and public benefits of walking, there are a number of factors, within and outside the control of the individual, which can deter people from walking. These Guidelines describe the barriers to walking in more detail and show practical ways in which they can be reduced and walking promoted.

The IHT Guidelines The main purpose of Guidelines for Providing for Journeys on Foot is to describe best practice in planning and providing for pedestrians within the existing UK legislative framework. It is a technical document to support the policies contained in the 1998 White Paper, A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone. The Guidelines advise on how to plan and implement walking measures as part of a wider integrated transport strategy; they also provide guidance on how to review and update the walking aspects of the strategy.

They are intended for use by transport planners, traffic engineers, design engineers, maintenance engineers, travel awareness officers and architects, in both the public and private sectors. The Guidelines are also intended to assist Councillors, voluntary groups and others who wish to pursue improvements to the pedestrian environment. The emphasis of these Guidelines is on what to do and how to do it. They highlight measures that can make qualitative improvements in the walking environment, put forward new accessibility and evaluation techniques for use and further development. Advice on typical questions is included to assist those unfamiliar with the procedures or techniques involved. They are mainly concerned with the planning, provision, maintenance and promotion of facilities for walking on the public highway, usually adjacent to the carriageway.

Chapter 2 describes the policy and planning framework covering national policies, land–use planning, transport and environmental plans. Planning for pedestrians is dealt with in Chapter 3 where barriers to walking and getting started are described. This chapter also deals with public participation, the origins of pedestrian schemes, new developments, existing pedestrian areas, assessing the quality of the walking environment, pedestrian reviews, planning pedestrian priority and school travel plans.

Design principles are covered in Chapter 4. Issues covered include the “design” pedestrian, functional criteria for good design, integration with other modes, and pedestrian audits. Chapter 5 covers design details: footways including general footway features, pedestrian crossing facilities, surface treatments, surface drainage, trees and landscaping, street furniture and street lighting.

Maintenance and Management are dealt with in Chapter 6. The issues covered include: the maintenance process; winter maintenance; utilities work; personal injury accidents; and how to deal with problems. Chapter 7 gives advice on the promotion of walking, and covers the principles of marketing and additional measures for particular trip purposes. Monitoring and Assessment, including appraisal methods, is covered in Chapter 8. Appendices include case studies, in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, a mobility checklist, legislation and other guidelines, and frequently asked questions.

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