TO: Department of Infrastructure and Transport

DRAFT

DRAFT comments
Walking, Cycling and Access to Public Transport
DRAFT REPORT FOR DISCUSSION – OCTOBER 2012

TO: Department of Infrastructure and Transport

[You must submit your response electronically at by 5pm on 31 January 2013..Unless otherwise requested, all submissions will be treated as public documents and will be posted on the Department’s website.]

Summary

Main points

• Walking represents up to 50% of trips in urban areas. Every trip begins and ends with a walk.
• Walking is worth an estimated $22 billion annually to the Australian economy.
• ACT residents travel an average of 6 km per day on foot, 2.5 km by bus, and 1 km by bicycle. This compares with 35 km by car and 26 km by air.
• Children make almost half of all ACT foot, bicycle and public transport trips.

Recommendations

Living Streets Canberra recommends that the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport:

1. sign the International Charter for Walking and prepare an Australian Charter of Pedestrians' rights

2. establish an Australian Walking Council

3. support the establishment of a national walking organisation

4. develop options for a National Walking Strategy for 2015-2020

5. support all States, Territories and local Governments to develop walking strategies

6. Review the road rules

7. Improve road user education

8. Develop a research strategy and improve knowledge

9. Address bicycle reliability

10. Implement all the recommendations of the “Pedestrian Safety, Urban Space and Health” report.

Contents:

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Summary...... 1

Main points...... 1

Recommendations...... 1

Main points...... 3

Recommendations...... 9

1. sign the International Charter for Walking and prepare an Australian Charter of Pedestrians' rights 9

2. establish an Australian Walking Council...... 11

3. support the establishment of a national walking organisation...... 12

4. develop options for a National Walking Strategy for 2015-2020...... 12

5. support all States, Territories and local Governments to develop walking strategies 12

6. Review the road rules...... 12

7. Improve road user education...... 13

8. Develop a research strategy and improve knowledge...... 14

9. Address bicycle reliability...... 15

10. Implement all the recommendations of the “Pedestrian Safety, Urban Space and Health” report 17

Responses to the six questions posed in the draft report...... 18

1. How can we better plan for comprehensive 20-minute walking and riding networks around central business districts, major activity centres and major education and health campuses? 18

2. How can we improve access to public transport (train stations, bus, tram and ferry stops) through better walking and riding connections? What are the roles of local, state, territory and Commonwealth governments? 18

3. How can the Australian Government, through its various programs, encourage better planning and building of networks for walking and riding? 18

4. How can we ensure that appropriate infrastructure for walking and riding is included when other transport infrastructure is being constructed so that we can avoid costly retrofitting at a future date? 18

5. How can governments, businesses and the community work together to leverage infrastructure investment with other programs and incentives to encourage greater uptake of walking, riding and public transport? 19

6. How can we further achieve consistent standards for facilities, road rules and vehicle design to ensure the safety and convenience of all road users? 19

References...... 20

The cost of cycling ...... 20

Greenhouse emissions from ACT travel (PDF, 800 kB) Updated 25 June 2012...... 20

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Main points

• Walking represents up to 50% of trips in urban areas.[1] Every trip begins and ends with a walk.

• Walking is worth an estimated $22 billion annually to the Australian economy[2].
• ACT residents travel an average of 6 km per day on foot, 2.5 km by bus, and 1 km by bicycle[3]. This compares with 35 km by car and 26 km by air.
• Children make almost half of all ACT foot, bicycle and public transport trips.

[If possible, ACT statistics will be replaced by Australian statistics.]

The November 2012 “Pedestrian Safety, Urban Space and Health” report from the International Transport Forum (ITF), made the following nine conclusions:

1. Walking is the most fundamental form of mobility. It is inexpensive, emission-free,uses human power rather than fossil fuel, offers important health benefits, is equallyaccessible for all – except those with substantially impaired mobility – regardless of income, and for many citizens is a source of great pleasure. Yet walking presentschallenges to society’s least robust individuals.

Almost everyone is a pedestrian. Walking is the original and most natural mode of transport and the most important for maintaining good health.

Physical inactivity is a leading risk factor for health. Walking daily for as little as 30minutes contributes to preventing the onset of numerous diseases linked to a lack of physicalactivity. The World Health Organisation has demonstrated that the overall benefits of walkingoutweigh any disadvantages associated with crash risk and exposure to pollution.

People with impaired mobility, using wheelchairs or mobility scooters, have at leastsimilar requirements to pedestrians for an environment that facilitates accessibility.

The Charter for pedestrians’ rights, adopted by the European Parliament in 1988 --states that pedestrians have the right to live in a healthy environment and to enjoy freely theamenities offered by public areas, under conditions that adequately safeguard their physicaland psychological well-being.

2. The vitality of a city is closely linked to people being out and about on foot for manypurposes. Beyond walking for access to goods and services, these other activities inthe urban space are collectively termed “sojourning”. Walking and sojourning are atthe heart of urban life and contribute to liveable, attractive, prosperous andsustainable cities.

Cities are places to live, connect and socialise. Urban space is for sojourning as well asmoving around. Walking is fundamental to human existence and the quality of life.

Because walking connects people, it has an essential role in the liveability of cities,sociability, learning, and developing one’s own personal independence and identity.

Pedestrians generally make the most efficient use of scarce space in cities. Pedestrian areasand the intermingling of people bring vitality to cities and economic benefits to retailers.

3. Walking is, however, the neglected transport mode and, despite being at the start andend of all trips, is rarely captured in government statistics on mobility and is oftenneglected in planning and policy development.

The simplest, most sustainable and cheapest means of locomotion has been largelytaken for granted – despite the fact that all trips begin or end on foot. Walking is a necessarycomplement of public transport. However, motorised traffic has generally received priority,

exposing pedestrians to crash risks, pollutant emissions and noise. The entire urbanenvironment, including the road transport system, should be designed with greater priorityassigned to the needs of pedestrians.

Traditionally, street and urban design have not focused adequately on the needs ofpedestrians. Fortunately, in an acceleration of a trend that had by the 1960s already been setby some pioneering cities and towns, the past practice of overlooking pedestrians’ needs infavour of the car is now being reversed in many cities.

Decision-makers rely on mobility statistics, including data on personal travel behaviour,to formulate strategic transport policies and to improve the safety and efficiency of transportsystems. However, published data rarely include walking, resulting in its exclusion fromanalysis and policy discourse.

Despite some well known difficulties in measuring walking, it is an important activity,representing as much as 50% of trips in urban areas. Figure 1 illustrates the share of walking inall trips (urban and non-urban areas) and the average length of a walking trip in various OECDcountries. More comprehensive information on pedestrian mobility and safety would help betterunderstand the role of walking in modern life and the causes and consequences of pedestrianinjuries, including falls. Comprehensive data collection and analysis on all modes, includingwalking, are needed to plan and design for optimum mobility. Such analyses should focus onthe efficiency, capacity, safety and flexibility of the transport system, to meet the current andfuture needs of all citizens, including those who are least able.

4. Public institutions representing specifically the interests of pedestrians – includingthe socially disadvantaged members of society who rely heavily on walking – are rare.

A large proportion of the pedestrian population comprises children and people with ageor mobility-related impairments. These groups are not well placed or equipped for making theirneeds known to decision makers, and often lack support from lobby groups active in thetransport sector. As a result, the most vulnerable groups of pedestrians are inadequatelyrepresented in urban policy-making. Indeed, no lead agencies for pedestrians at governmentlevel could be identified in the survey undertaken for this study.

Walking is not simply a local matter. National governments and transport, land use andhealth ministers have a responsibility to support and encourage walking through leadership andby providing the necessary legal, administrative and technical frameworks. Responsibilities foraccommodating the needs of pedestrians and promoting walking are spread across a widerange of organisations and ministries, resulting in no clear institutional responsibility at eitherlocal or national levels for agencies to incorporate walking into their priorities. Centralgovernment needs to address the lack of incentives that results from fragmentation.

5. Walking and public transport are interdependent elements of sustainable urbanmobility. Walking is facilitated by a well-connected network with pedestrian-friendlyinfrastructure and well-designed urban space.

Walking is an integral part of travel on public transport; it is more convenient overshorter distances and highly complementary to other transport modes. By strengthening publictransport services, including accessibility and security, pedestrians are more motivated to usepublic transport in preference to private vehicles, thus contributing to a reduction in the numberof motorised vehicles in city centres.

Pedestrians should be provided with a well-connected network of footways designed tominimise the effects of geographical, topographical, and physical barriers to pedestrianmobility. This network crucially needs to provide easy access to public transport facilities. Bymaking decisions from the beginning that are favourable to walking, infrastructure costs will belower and affordability higher than if costly redesign is needed to rectify basic problems as whattakes ten years to build can take 100 years to replace.

6. Pedestrians are amongst the road users most vulnerable to traffic injury. It hasbecome highly challenging, especially for older and young people, to cope with thecomplex, sometimes hostile, traffic conditions that characterise today’s cities andtowns.

Pedestrians do not pose a significant risk to other road users, yet are exposed to life-threatening risks from them. However, they have been overlooked in the development ofcurrent traffic codes which have been focussed on facilitating the flow of motorised traffic.

Insecurity, whether real or perceived, has a major impact on the decision to walk,especially in relation to children and elderly people. Of particular concern is an observeddecline in walking among children, in part motivated by their parents’ perceptions that walkingis a high-risk activity.

At any given time, around 30% of pedestrians have impaired mobility (because they areoverloaded, or have temporary or permanent health impairments). Because of the ageing of thepopulation in many countries around the world, public authorities must prepare for a futurewhere a growing number of highly vulnerable people will be even more dependent on walking.

7. Pedestrians suffer severe trauma from falls in public spaces and in traffic collisionswhile crossing streets. The magnitude of the consequences of falls is known to beunderestimated. Older people have an elevated risk of severe injury and death fromboth falls and traffic collisions.

It is estimated that more than 20 000 pedestrian fatalities occur annually in OECDmember countries, where pedestrian deaths range from 8 to 37% of all road fatalities. Worldwide, the number of pedestrians killed every year on the road exceeds400 000. In all countries, senior pedestrians (over 65 years of age) are the most at risk. InOECD countries, the 65+ age group represents 13-20% of the population but they comprisemore than 50% of pedestrian fatalities.

A large but under-estimated, and sometimes ignored, share of pedestrian injuriesinvolves pedestrians falling in public spaces, accounting for up to 75% of all pedestrian injuries.

These injuries are partly due to an inadequate environment or poor maintenance of facilities.

This problem will increase with ageing of the population.

8. Lowering motorised traffic speeds reduces the frequency and severity of crashes,especially those involving pedestrians. Reducing speed also contributes to smoothertraffic flow, and enhances in many ways the liveability and sustainability of cities.

Pedestrian safety and the survival rate from collisions with vehicles are directly linked tothe speed of motorised traffic. The risk of deathor serious injury to a pedestrian rises rapidly at impact speeds above 30 km/h. Travel speeds of30 km/h can reduce the risk of fatal injury to a pedestrian by over 80% compared to travelspeeds at 50 km/h. Speeds above 30 km/h are too dangerous in mixed traffic zones and citiesshould not permit speeds of more than 50 km/h on any road designed also to be used bypedestrians.

The large majority of pedestrian injuries or fatalities occur in urban areas and, accordingto police reports, 70-80% of those in traffic collisions occur while crossing the road, includingbetween 33% and 50% at pedestrian crossings. These findings highlight the importance of verycareful planning in the design of pedestrian crossings. Pavements and crossings have to beplanned for optimal functionality, providing a homogenous, predictable and forgivingenvironment, with safe placement of street furniture, signs, lampposts, to allow for a maximumvisibility between pedestrians and drivers.

9. Motorisation has contributed to urban sprawl, and cities have evolved toaccommodate car use, with many negative impacts on life and social cohesion.

Changes are required now to manage the preponderant role of motorised traffic inindustrialised countries. This is also urgent in low- and middle-income countries, which are now moving rapidly towards much higher levels of motorisation.

Cities are becoming increasingly dependent upon motor-vehicle transport as theyexpand in ways that contribute to urban sprawl. Planning and design features are required toreduce motor-vehicle use and promote alternative transport modes.

The needs of pedestrians should be considered when planning urban environments sothat people can easily walk or travel by public transport to and from their chosen destinations.

In addition, city planners should aim to develop pedestrian-friendly environments, includingfootways that are conducive to walking.

Recommendations

Living Streets Canberra recommends that The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport:

1. sign the International Charter for Walkingand prepare an Australian Charter of Pedestrians' rights

This Charter identifies the needs of people on foot and provides a common framework to help authorities refocus their existing policies, activities and relationships to create a culture where people choose to walk.

ACT Chief Mninister Jon Stanhope signed the International Charter for Walking on 1 November 2010.

In 1988 the European Parliament adoptes the following Charter of Pedestrians' Rights:

I. The pedestrian has the right to live in a healthy environment and freely to enjoy the amenities offered by public areas under conditions that adequately safeguard his physical and psychological well-being.

II. The pedestrian has the right to live in urban or village centres tailored to the needs of human beings and not to the needs of the motor car and to have amenities within walking or cycling distance.

III. Children, the elderly and the disabled have the right to expect towns to be places of easy social contact and not places that aggravate their inherent weakness.

IV. The disabled have the right to specify measures to maximise mobility, such as the elimination of architectural obstacles and the adequate equipping of public means of transport.

V. The pedestrian has the right to urban areas which are intended exclusively for his use, are as extensive as possible and are not mere ‘pedestrian precincts’ but in harmony with the overall organisation of the town.

VI. The pedestrian has a particular right to expect;

a) compliance with chemical and noise emission standards for motor vehicles which scientists consider to be tolerable,
b) the introduction into all public transport systems of vehicles that are not a source of either air or noise pollution,
c) the creation of ‘green lungs’, including the planting of trees in urban areas,
d) the control of speed limits by modifying the layout of roads and junctions (e.g. by incorporating safety islands etc.), so that motorists adjust their speed, as a way of effectively safeguarding pedestrian and bicycle traffic,
e) the banning of advertising which encourages an improper and dangerous use of the motor car,
f) an effective system of road signs whose design also takes into account the needs of the blind and the deaf,
g) the adoption of specific measures to ensure that vehicular and pedestrian traffic has ease of access to, and freedom of movement and the possibility of stopping on, roads and pavements respectively (for example: anti-slip pavement surfaces, ramps at kerbs to compensate for the difference in the levels of pavement and roadway, roads made wide enough for the traffic they have to carry, special arrangements while building work is in progress, adaptation of the urban street infrastructure to protect motor car traffic, provision of parking and rest areas and subways and footbridges),
h) the introduction of the system of risk liability so that the person creating the risk bears the financial consequences thereof (as has been the case in France, for example, since 1985).

VII. The pedestrian has the right to complete and unimpeded mobility, which can be achieved through the integrated use of the means of transport. In particular, he has the right to expect;

a) an extensive and well-equipped public transport service which will meet the needs of all citizens, from the physically fit to the disabled,
b) the provision of bicycle lanes throughout the urban areas,
c) the creation of parking lots which affect neither the mobility of pedestrians nor their ability to enjoy areas of architectural distinction.

VIII. Each Member State must ensure that comprehensive information on the rights of pedestrians is disseminated through the most appropriate channels and is made available to children from the beginning of their school career.