Walkability in a new urban centre: ideas and inspiration Rodney Tolley Conference Director, WALK21 and Honorary Research Fellow, Staffordshire University, UK Presented to workshop on “ Creating New Urban Centres that Invite Walking” , City of Cockburn, April 2nd 2019
Presentation outline n Benefits of walking – especially economic n What is a good walking environment? n Diversity of walking and walkers n Priority: community design or infrastructure? n Land use principles for more walking n Useful sources
The benefits of walking More than just a mode of transport n Supports inclusive mobility n Encourages community cohesion n Increases personal security n Provides freedom for children n Underpins public transport n Supports more road safety for all users n Health arguments: n Personal n Environmental n Economic
Walking is a pre-condition for an economically healthy city n Robust and consistent evidence in Australia: a good walking environment is a good shopping environment The slower we travel, the more we spend
More space for walking increases city productivity Melbourne Walking Plan 2014 n Reduction of walking connectivity in CBD by 10% (longer light phasing, footpath congestion) n would reduce value of the CBD economy by up to 6.6%, or $2.1 billion Existing CBD through-block connections worth over $600 million to the economy n Auckland CBD studies 2017 n Strong relationship between higher productivity and connectivity on foot n Attractive, walkable streets create a platform for business and the spread of knowledge n A 10 per cent increase in walking connectivity is associated with a 5.3 per cent increase in n productivity, or approximately $42 million
What IS a good walking environment? Well designed and managed spaces and places for people The ‘5Cs’ Connected n Comfortable n Convenient n Convivial n Conspicuous n
Different kinds of walkers and walking Walkers are not homogeneous - and nor is walking Who? n Children n Youth to hang out n Seniors to socialise n Commuters to pass through n Accessibility challenged n Women: need for a gender lens n For what? n Functional? Access to station? n Leisure? For socialising? n With whom? n Alone or together? n How? n Fast or slow? n
What strategies are most successful in spurring levels of walking and/or cycling? n Forsyth and Krizek, 2010: Literature Review of 300 studies n Key conclusions: n Walking and cycling warrant separate consideration n Interventions to promote one do not necessarily promote another n There is no single solution to increasing walking, but there are necessary (but insufficient) pre-conditions n Overall community design matters more than infrastructure: density and accessible destinations Promoting walking and bicycling: assessing the evidence to assist planners, Ann Forsyth and Kevin Krizek, Built environment 36, 4, 429-445
Land use principles What do neighbourhoods need for more people to be walking? n The ‘6 Ds’ n Augmented by the P of Placemaking
The 6 Ds: Diversity n Number of different land uses n Shortens distances between origins and destinations: more walking n Balance between jobs and housing n Links where people work and live: more commuting on foot n Housing choice: apartments/single family homes n Many people can work close to home
The 6 Ds: Design n ‘Design’ = street geometry, i.e. the directness of travel n Street connectivity n Close destinations may not encourage walking if the connections are poor n Grid pattern street networks more connected than curvilinear layouts n Intersection density n Number of intersections in a given area: higher when blocks are small n A grid pattern neighbourhood with small block sizes has more route choices n Intersection density influences walking more than any other variable A doubling of intersection density results in about 44% more walking (Campoli) n
The 6 Ds: Destination accessibility n Destinations give people places to walk to n The main environmental influence on trip length: measures ease of access n Brent Toderian’s ‘Power of nearness’: ‘People walk to get to places when those places are nearby’ n But the more desirable the destination, the further people will walk to it
The 6Ds: Distance to public transport n Distance to public transport n High intersection density and great street connectivity shorten access distances n “Virtuous circle of density and transit: feeding the system with riders by concentrating people and jobs next to public transport, which facilitates service improvements which make public transport more attractive and useful and the city more liveable”
Extending station catchments n We assume maximum 400m (5 min walk) to buses and 800m (10 min) to trains n Improvement of walking routes lengthens the distances that people are prepared to walk n Quality must include: n Walking networks of wide pavements focussed on the station n Raised pavement crossings and priority at side junctions n Priority or longer timings at signalled crossings n Adequate lighting, good design of structures and planting n Wayfinding n Real-time train information on routes to station
Convenient car access makes walking boring and distances seem longer n Hilnhutter, H. Pedestrian access to public transport, University of Stavanger, 2016 n Research focussed on environmental stimulation of emotions n Pedestrians react to stimuli within a radius of only 4-6 m. n Urban areas that provide sufficient space for convenient car access mostly exceed the abilities of pedestrians’ senses, so walking becomes boring and distances appear longer
‘ Pedestrian propulsion’ The corollary: attractive conditions INCREASE acceptable walking distances 1. Additional destinations (eg shops) on walking routes +15 to+25% 2. Time delays crossing trafficked streets -5 to -15% 3. Sensory experience of urban environments up to +30% 4. Inconvenient street layouts and crossings -10 to -20% “Walking environments influence the amount of stimulation pedestrians n receive … walking distances depend not only on convenience but equally on the sensory impression of the urban surroundings” Diverse surroundings subdivide the walking route into shorter sections of n different character: walking becomes more entertaining and apparent distances shrink”
LA Metro “First Last Mile Strategic Plan.” n PT operator paying for street upgrades n Menu of street treatments that can be used by Metro and municipalities to improve walking and biking conditions near transit. n Includes improvements such as: n Improved signage and wayfinding with time-to-station signage n Enhancement of existing crossings and the addition of mid-block crossings n Street furniture, landscaping, lighting and shade n Sidewalk widening and curb extensions & n Signal modifications to prioritize pedestrians
The 6 Ds: Demand management (cost and availability of parking) n Often overlooked factor, as it is routinely seen as a necessity n Cheap and abundant parking encourages driving n Less space for parking ˃ more space for housing, employment and recreation ˃ raises densities ˃ supports public transport ˃ makes more frequent service possible ˃ parking less necessary n Replacing surface lots and street level garages with homes or businesses improves the quality of the street, makes public transport more attractive and encourages trips on foot
Placemaking n The 6 Ds do not necessarily produce great streets n As densities rise, streets become increasingly important as public spaces for social and commercial activity n Transforming the street into a vibrant community place Making streets attractive, human scale public spaces, designed to be destinations n in their own right – places to be somewhere, not just to get somewhere Dramatically increases the time people spend in the street, not travelling, but n sojourning Vibrant streets need people on foot to be there – and this in turn creates more n vibrancy
Placemaking: 10 principles from Project for Public Spaces, 2014 Traffic, transit and the pedestrian n Attractions and destinations n The inner street and the outer street n Identity and image n Flexibility in design – blending of uses and modes n Amenities n Management central to the solution n Serves a range of user groups n Diverse funding and participation n Needs to reach out like an octopus n Above all: LQC – Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper n
Getting people to stay n We can increase the use of the street in two ways n Get more people there n Difficult: policies on route capacity, access issues, parking, marketing, etc n Get the existing users to stay longer n Make the street ‘sticky’
Action to support sticky streets n Streets that are a challenge to get through, not Teflon streets n Enticing opportunities to stop, smile, join in n Interesting and active shops and windows n Lively patios for people-watching n Lots of casual seating and informal food n The right combination of sun, shade, wind protection, water n Things to engage with and look at, such as public art n People! Brent Toderian, 2014
Critical importance of low traffic speeds n Lower speeds reduce danger to people on foot n 30 Km/h limits now spreading Spain planning 30 km/h limits on most city streets n NYC re-engineering 100km streets per year to 20mph n Many 30 km/h zones in NZ, in large and small towns n Yarra (Victoria) now evaluating Australia’s 1 st area-wide 30 km/h zone n n Lower speeds through design, not through limits
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