UK government urged to establish a national walking strategy

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 report published by a cross party committee of MPs has claimed.

Despite the advantages of walking, we are all doing it less, preferring to take the car to an out of town shopping centre than stroll to the local shops, said the report, from the Commons select committee on the environment, transport, and regional affairs. The government has promoted car travel because it is “terrified of 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 action is taken to encourage walking.

“Pedestrians have been treated with contempt,” concluded the committee. “In a myriad of ways when we walk we are treated with less respect than when we drive. We are carolled behind long lengths of guard railing, forced into dark and dangerous subways, and made to endure long waits at pedestrian crossings.”

Local authority policies to reduce road accidents have also made walking less appealing by allowing traffic to speed through residential areas while keeping pavements narrow and cluttered.

“Walking is an important mode of transport. Only the car is more significant. Twenty seven per cent of all trips are made on foot—and 80% of short trips under a mile. [Walking] is particularly important for the 30% of households without a car,” said Mr Andrew Bennett MP, chairman of the committee.

The report criticised the government for failing to promote walking in its Ten Year Plan for Transport, published last July, and for giving pedestrians such a low priority. It called on the government to give local authorities and planners a lead by establishing a national walking strategy, which would help spur them into action.

Walking in Towns and Cities can be purchased from the Parliamentary bookshop (tel 020 7873 9090) for £11 or accessed at www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/etrahome.htm

(Credit: INSIGHT)

UK report warns that pedestrians have been sidelined