A Councils Member briefing December 2013

Encouraging Walking in London

Following a number of tragic cycling deaths in London, there has been significant media and political focus on cycling, however there is much less attention given to promoting walking and pedestrian safety in London1. In 2012, there were 69 fatal and 1,054 serious casualties to pedestrians in the capital. Despite this, there are huge benefits to people and places from greater levels of walking. This briefing sets out some of the benefits of walking based on analysis by London Councils and summarises the results of the Step Out in London project.

Overview Key recent transport policy developments in the capital, such as the Mayors’ Cycling Vision and the Roads Task Force report, have the potential to make fundamental and long-term changes that increase sustainable transport mode shares and improve local places. By contrast the promotion of walking has had less publicity and political focus. But there are huge benefits to people and places from greater levels of walking – including improving health (physical and mental), reducing travel costs, greater journey reliability and reducing pollution. Key to delivering these benefits and taking advantage of these opportunities is considering walking and pedestrians at an early stage of scheme design and development. Step Out in London (SOL) is a Living Streets project funded by London Councils. Between 2009 and 2012, the project focussed on three locations in each year (nine in total)2, promoting walking in locations where there have been recent improvements to the pedestrian environment. The key aims of the project were to publicise the value of walking, increase the number of people walking and explore the value the SOL promotional work had. The aim was to reach over 11,000 people across London, with the target that 10 per cent of people would walk more than before the SOL activities.

Analysis According to the National Travel Survey 2012, last year 41 per cent3 of trips under five miles in London were made by cycling or walking, the highest proportion in the country, alongside the north west region. It also shows that Londoners made an average 218 trips4 per year walking, walking an average of 212 miles a year5.

1 TFL Report: Casualties in during 2012 2 Wanstead High Street; The Cut, Waterloo; , Ladywell Fields and Cornmill Gardens; Coulsdon High Street; Tachbrook Street and Warwick Way; Chippenham Gardens; Wimbledon High Street; Leytonstone High Street; Railton Road, Herne Hill 3 NTS Indicator NTS9909 - Proportion of all trips under five miles by English residents living in an urban area where the main mode of transport was walking and cycling or public transport 4 NTS Indicator NTS9903 - Average number of trips by main mode, region and area type: Great Britain, 2011/12 5 NTS Indicator NTS9904 - Average distance travelled by mode, region and area type: Great Britain 2011/12 Proportion of urban trips under 5 miles made by walking/cycling (2012)

London North West East of England East Midlands South West North East Yorkshire and The Humber South East West Midlands

- 10 20 30 40 50

The average Londoner walks for 12.6 minutes per day6. Just doubling this for 7 days a week would exceed the recommended level of physical activity of 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. The World Health Organisation health economic assessment tool (HEAT) for walking estimates the annual benefit in terms of reduced mortality as a result of walking. This estimates, based on current levels of walking in London (compared to persons not walking regularly), 3,644 The“ average deaths are prevented per year. The annual financial benefit of this level of walking, per year, is Londoner walks £4.795 billion. This figure calculates the benefits from preventing premature mortality. There for 12.6 minutes are significant additional benefits in lifestyle and morbidity as well as mortality. per day. Just Research commissioned by London Councils7 has also shown that pedestrians spend more in doubling this for 7 days a town centres than motorists, so improving pedestrian safety and encouraging walking could be week would good for local economies. exceed the

Walking also reduces travel costs and could help reduce overcrowding on public transport. The recommended average tube and bus journey in are 4km and take 27 and 30 minutes respectively8. level of physical“ Based on the average walking speed of about 5 kilometres per hour it would only take an extra activity 15-20 minutes to walk the average journey length, and many journeys would take less time by walking than by tube or bus.

Walking reduces air pollution and CO2 emissions. In London, the average walking trip length is 0.4km and there are approximately 6.2 million daily trips. In a car, one 0.4km trip would release between 0.4 and 1.2 kg of CO2. Based on current usage proportions, the existing level of walking 9 in London is saving over 285,000kg of CO2 emissions from people who would have otherwise been driving cars. Using the same basis this also saves London’s residents £257,000 in car running costs10, which includes £145,000 in fuel costs. Poll of residents In August, London Councils published a report based on a poll of residents regarding walking and cycling in London. The poll showed that pedestrians are primarily concerned about both safety and the condition of roads and pavements. People over the age of 45 in particular would like better pavements. Air and noise pollution also appear to deter people from walking more. Support for various measures to encourage walking is shown on chart 1 below.

6 TFL London Travel Demand Survey Results 2013 7 http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/news/current/pressdetail.htm?pk=1549 8 TFL London Travel Demand Survey Results 2013 9 Emissions data source 10 http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/running_costs/ Boroughs are working with to deliver Safe Streets for London – The Road Safety Action Plan for London 2020 to help promote walking and cycling and further modal shift away from car use.

The Step Out in London (SOL) Project Step Out in London (SOL) is a Living Streets project funded by London Councils. The impact of the SOL activities was recorded by carrying out ‘Before’ and ‘After’ studies involving surveys and discussions with the public, businesses and stakeholders. The results need to be treated with caution as the numbers are small and there may be some bias. The Step Out in London 2010–2012 individual results have been published by Living Streets.

The project was based in areas where boroughs had already carried out improvements to the pedestrian environment. The Before studies showed that these borough initiatives were welcomed by a majority of 63 per cent to 92 per cent before the SOL projects began. They also encouraged more activity, with 21 per cent to 73 per cent saying they walked more as a result of the improvements. The most positively received changes were wider pavements, improved crossings and traffic calming measures. The After studies show that approximately 9,500 people took part in SOL activities over the three year period - of which an estimated 2,000 – 5,000 are walking more, therefore exceeding the 10 per cent target. There are also other noted benefits of the improvements. For all schemes, the changes achieved feedback to different extents of: an improved sense of community; a safer space and more enjoyable environment. Completely negative ratings were less than 15 per cent for all schemes but there were also mixed views and suggestions for further improvements. The SOL projects also achieved successes in support for ‘shop local’ cards and incentives to shop locally. Businesses welcomed the SOL activities with more than 90 per cent saying the changes were worthwhile and an overall improvement, and 39 per cent saying that people spend more money and they have had an increase in footfall, suggesting that the activities and improvements will have a positive impact on the local economies. Living Streets has also recently published a report called the Pedestrian Pound making the case that investment in better roads, streets and places can provide direct benefits to businesses and the local economy.

Commentary The benefits of walking are huge and varied. The SOL project has highlighted how improvements to pedestrian areas have been well received, increased walking and had positive impacts on people, businesses and communities. This shows the value of considering walking and pedestrians in any infrastructure design and development. Living Streets has produced a policy paper setting out six ways to improve high streets across London to help encourage walking, which could help support further improvements of pedestrian areas.

Author: Heather Day, Principal Analyst and Policy Officer (T: 020 7934 9716) Click here to send a comment or query to the author

Links: London Councils - Walking and Cycling in London – What Resident’s Think London Councils - Streets Ahead? Putting high streets at the heart of local economic growth Living Streets - Better High Streets Six Step Proposal Living Streets - Pedestrian Pound Living Streets - Step Out in London Project TfL - Safe Streets for London – The Road Safety Action Plan for London 2020 TfL - The Roads Task Force report

This member briefing has been circulated to: Portfolio holders and those members who requested policy briefings in the following categories: Transport, Environment, Economic Development, Health

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