MobilityWalkingWalking: The Key to Multi-Modal Success

Walking: The Key to Multi-Modal Success

Karl Dickinson
Karl Dickinson
Change matters. It takes courage. As a writer - and citizen - I am inspired by stories of those who challenge the 'we've always done it this way' attitude. We can do better - it's time to listen to those who go against the grain.

Twentieth-century urban sprawl caused a shift in how we move around and between cities. Where walking was once the norm, private motors now claim the crown. But with recent focus on alternative transport, walking is surging once again – and combining walking with other modes of transport should be the main feature of a city’s transport strategy.

Until recently, transit was widely considered the not-so-secret weapon against car dependency. With the advent of new mobility tech, fresh approaches to city design, and a shift in perceptions, a patchwork of transport has become the trend and is proving to level accessibility with equity. Yet one theme binds it all: walking. In this article, we explore why this is, and how a good mix benefits our cities and citizens.

Limitations of Walking

Walking is free and green. It would be wonderful if everyone could walk everywhere. But cities are big places, and we get tired.

Mário Alves, Secretary-General of the International Federation of Pedestrians, is realistic: “We have to recognise that walking does have limitations of speed and distance that [can be covered] in a reasonable time span.” So, we need options that suit our needs.

Cities that adopt multi-modality into their sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) frequently see changes in movement patterns. We start trip chaining: the action of those – especially caregivers and home-makers, so mainly women – who hop from bus to bike to tram, from work to shops to school to services like banks, cafés, and leisure facilities.

It’s all so… messy! City planners prefer cars. Cars are linear: they drive to their destination and back again. Die-hard drivers like them, too. Cars are quick, cover vast distances, and provide independence. Despite the strong case for car-free, we still cater for growing cities by building more roads.

But a revolution is underway. There is a way that cities can cater for the needs of communities over cars. Mário continues: “Multi-modality is the answer to move in larger urban areas for long trips – especially when combining walking with public transport.”

Walking is the Glue

Speaking at Walk21 Seoul, Helge Hillnhütter of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology identified that 94% of people access public transport (PT) on foot.

Effective transit intersects pedestrian routes, or is at least in proximity. Start and end stations are seldom the commencement and conclusion points of our journey. In fact, a trip on PT has four stages:

  • Walking to the transit stop.
  • Waiting for it to arrive.
  • Riding to the desired stop.
  • Walking to the destination.

The first and final legs of our trip – the last-mile connectivity – need to be comfortably pedestrianised.

The Magic Combination – Why Walking is Key to Multi-Modal Success

Walking can be at the heart of any transport strategy, but success is built on genuine interconnectivity, modern city design concepts, and embracing alternative transport means. Let’s look at some of the options:

Transit

Metro systems, Light Rail Transit (LRT), and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) speed up the flow of people by dedicating space (segregated lanes, under- or overground tracks, a right of way), a frequent service, and affordable integrated, off-board ticketing. No queuing, no traffic jams. Just hop on and away you go.

These tried-and-tested greener, more efficient modes alleviate busy car routes and improve equity by providing low-income households with city-wide access. See our article on the BRT in Bogotá in Columbia for inspiration.

Authorities that monitor traffic density locate best-placed transit lines. Commuters converge on this provision because it’s an attractive alternative. It frees up space formerly clogged by private vehicles, which can be returned to pedestrians, businesses, and nature.

Image credit: 21st Century City

Good practice sees cities do the same along walking passages thronging with people: think of the extra space created by trams shipping shoppers along the street.

In turn, Mário told us, “walkable spaces increase the patronage of public transport (people will walk longer distances to access the transit network); it makes the city streets safer for all public transport users”.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)

Let’s flip it: TOD puts walking at the apex of transit and city design. Dubbed ‘complete neighbourhoods’, a blend of services, residences, and amenities are built around centralised transport hubs, reachable on foot within 1020 minutes.

It works. Of Portland’s population, 45% already called TOD communities home in 2012 (this will rise to 80% by 2035). As a result, in 2016 the number of trips by transit had leapt by 800,000. Walking accounted for a further 10.4% of the city’s overall trips with a considerable margin for modal crossover.

In Addis Ababa, a city where up to 80% of people walk or take PT through necessity, efficiency is the challenge, not getting people out of their cars.

Carly Gilbert-Patrick, global lead for UN Environment’s Share the Road programme, has helped develop Addis’ long-term mobility strategy. Dense residential and commercial hotspots are designed into the city’s emerging transit corridors. “When you’re designing bus rapid transit systems, you’re designing it for pedestrians, you want to shorten their journeys by enabling them to use the bus”, Carly told us, adding “If they can walk for 20 minutes and hop on the bus rapid transit, and then get to work within 30–40 minutes, that’s what you’re looking for.”

Get On Your Bike: Micromobility

Where last mile connectivity is unfathomable on foot, innovative intermodal connectivity can provide some real relief. We’re experiencing a micro-vehicle boom:

Cycles, skates, scooters, (motorised) skateboards, segways, and hoverboards: small-scale light personal mobility transport – whether electric or human-powered – goes further, faster, complementing walking where distance or personal mobility constrains it as a choice. Apps enable spontaneous booking and easy payment. It’s a pretty decent backup when loaded down with shopping bags, the kids are screaming for dinner, and it looks like rain.

Image credit: The Institute for Transportation Development & Policy (ITDP)

Safety concerns are rife. But the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported a total of 41 deaths from e-bikes, hoverboards, and e-scooters between 2017 and 2019, compared to “an estimated 38,800 people [who] lost their lives to car crashes” in the USA just in 2019.

Nevertheless, Mário is keen to point out that “e-scooter operators like to present them as an alternative to the car. However, in Brussels 59% of users use scooters to replace walking, 16% public transport and 15% bike. Only 3% substituted a car trip.” That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, just that the landscape of personal mobility is changing, and walking is a victim. Well-informed mobility strategies and awareness campaigns could still do more to get drivers on two feet rather than converting walkers to micro-riders. He added:

“We need to be extremely careful with the deployment and regulation of micromobility in city centres. Additionally, unregulated micromobility creates more difficulties and danger to pedestrians on sidewalks.”

Waiting at crossings, where cycle lanes cut across paths, slows down pedestrian journeys. Actions that allocate ample space and safety measures, such as separate lanes and speed controls, are key to harmonious co-existing.

Just Stay Put

Mindset has altered in recent years. Thrown into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home became the norm. Lockdown hit public transport hard: not build for social distancing, patronage dropped as much as 90%. Walking rushed in to fill the void (the quick-thinking measures adopted in Dublin being the perfect example). While asked to stay indoors as much as possible, we were encouraged to get out and walk for daily exercise.

This proves one thing: while walking complements a multi-modal city, it’s also the most resilient form of mobility.

The concept of ‘Avoid-Shift-Improve’ favours walking above all else:

  1. Avoid – synergy between transport demand management and land-use planning removes the need to travel.
  2. Shift – when we need to go further, environmentally-sound public transport provision replaces high-energy-consuming personal vehicles.
  3. Improve – clean and renewable energy sources reduce environmental harm and improve efficiency to make motorised transport more sustainable.

So, can we build city transport infrastructure so that transit is an enabler for improved walkability? Yes. Yes, we can.

Notable Pedestrian Innovations

Walkability works best when it’s tailored to the locality. Here are some creative examples of how localities are looking beyond the norm to help pedestrians traverse their cityscapes:

  • The outdoor Central–Mid-Levels Escalator in Hong Kong carries 85,000 pedestrians up 800 m of the conurbation’s steep hillside. For free.
  • In a city where 54% of trips mix transit and active means (27% by walking alone), Vancouver’s SeaBus ferries foot passengers between the city’s waterside boroughs.
  • The mountain-straddling cable car construct in Medellín, Columbia, serves 45,000 daily commuters. It’s “the only way to go to downtown and to the industrial side of the city”, said Santiago Uribe Rocha, Chief Resilience Officer. Mário Alves added that the cable car serves “the poorest but also most walkable neighbourhoods in the outskirts”. Walking and equity go hand-in-hand.

A Question of Choice

Walking is not always possible. Children and sick, elderly, and individuals with disabilities or limited mobility all might struggle with distance. “These vulnerable groups have poor mobility overall, which influences their access to health-care, education and other economic opportunities.” They need options. We must tailor cities to meet everyone’s walkability needs. This means looking at the broader picture – combining walking with other transport.

However, it’s about the right choice. More choice doesn’t always equal success.

App-based taxi services were until a few years ago heralded as a revolution in quick and convenient spontaneous pedestrian connectivity. However, bad press, city-specific restrictions, safety concerns, and unreliability have led to usership decline. Maybe not a bad thing. While they enable a degree of freedom, 42% of these car-based trips would otherwise have been taken via transit or, better still, not at all. Instead, it’s created traffic and carbon emissions we don’t need.

Bike shares are a good idea. But what if they’re all being used? No good for the commuter whose train was lateand was relying on a zippy city BMX to make that meeting in time.

We need to get smarter. We need to look at the data, people’s needs, and the city’s unique topography. And we need to ask: Can we walk this? Is it the best option?

Combining Transport Modes in a Nutshell

If we want people to walk, we need to make it available and attractive, convenient, affordable, enjoyable, clean, safe, and possible to connect different modes of transport.

True sustainability isn’t about restricting movement, it’s about improving how we move. An availability of mixed modes enhances access and opportunities; it gives us the flexibility to spontaneously swap to suit our needs and whims. By building policy and infrastructure from the ground up – drawing on innovation and reacting to the trends of citizen movement – we ensure cities are future-proofed and the entire transport network meets our needs. Policy needs to revolve around an all-encompassing outlook, starting with feet as the driving force.

Now that we’ve made the case for a combined approach to transport, how do we shift attitudes towards embracing it? Check out this article to find out. And while you’re at it, read here for guidance on putting together an impactful walking strategy.

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