UK government urged to establish a national walking strategy

doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7303.7

BMJ 2001;323:7 ( 7 July )

News

UK government urged to establish a national walking strategy

Zosia Kmietowicz, London
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

For more than 50 years Britain's governments and city planners have sidelined the rights of pedestrians in favour of cars,turning walking into an "ever more unpleasant" experience, a reportpublished by a cross party committee of MPs hasclaimed.

Despite the advantages of walking, we are all doing it less, preferring to take the car to an out of town shopping centrethan stroll to the local shops, said the report, from the Commonsselect committee on the environment, transport, and regional affairs.The government has promoted car travel because it is "terrifiedof appearing anti-car."

Between the mid-1980s and the late 1990s the number of trips made on foot fell by 20% and the trend will continue unless actionis taken to encouragewalking.

"Pedestrians have been treated with contempt," concluded the committee. "In a myriad of ways when we walk we are treated withless respect than when . . . [Full text of this article]