Are Pedestrians ‘Pedestrian’ in the world of transport planning? - Lessons learnt from planning and designing for pedestrians in London

Overview

As transport planners, working in the infrastructure and development planning sector, Hannah Atkins and Sarah Chapman have found that discussions regarding active travel (walking and cycling) often focus on the needs of cyclists. And yet, according to the National Travel Survey, for journeys below 1 mile in length, walking is the dominant mode. 

Hannah and Sarah will seek to re-address the balance, highlighting the needs of pedestrians and bringing them out of the shadow of cyclists. They will present their lessons learnt regarding planning for pedestrians and the increasing importance of this following recent changes in policy. 

They will assess how pedestrians are considered in the design of new sites and whether they are the ‘silent party’ in active travel discussions, where attention is often placed more on the needs of cyclists. Using their own experiences, Hannah and Sarah will offer real world insight into how pedestrians could be better accommodated in development planning, giving consideration to projects such as the Thames Tideway and Oxford Street pedestrianisation and how these are shaping the pedestrian environment in London.

Using examples and case studies in London, Hannah and Sarah will look to highlight how we can better design for pedestrians and how even small changes can make a big difference to the pedestrian experience. Consideration will be given to what is best practice and how does this shape the pedestrian environment of London and elsewhere. 

The meeting will be chaired by Paul Perry, a member of the ICE London Region who is Vice Chair for Knowledge. Paul will introduce the speakers and chair a session of questions, answers and discussion at the end of the presentation.

Programme