A national strategy
109. The RAC stated in its memorandum:
'Without the implementation
of an integrated approach to personal mobility, the benefits of
the car will be increasingly minimised and the car will begin
to be seen as a liability rather than an asset ..."; and
"we do believe that the Government should publish
a national walking strategy in the near future".[175]
The RAC's view was echoed by nearly every one of
the many witnesses who commented on the subject.
110. The main argument for a national strategy was
that it would galvanise local authorities and others into action.
Local Transport Plans would give a higher priority to walking
and the initiatives begun by health organisations and the safe
routes projects would become more central to the objectives of
their sponsoring organisations. The Institute of Logistics and
Transport told us:
"The setting of national
targets and the publication of a National Walking Strategy are
still considered essential. From experience, many local authorities
awaited the trigger of original draft NWS to start to develop
their own policies and plans in the same way as the National Cycling
Strategy."[176]
Oxford Brookes University concluded:
"it is striking how
few local authorities have a Strategy for Walking, and how many
local authorities are waiting for the publication of the National
Walking Strategy. This in part reflects the lack of importance
accorded to walking in the past and the lack of officer skill
to develop such strategies, but principally the lack of national
guidance. Subsequent to the research, the Government issued "Encouraging
Walking" (March 2000), combining useful advice, but falling
short of a strategy."[177]
Oxford Brookes' examination of a sample of 24 provisional
transport plans, submitted in July 1999, found only 3 local authorities
had adopted a separate walking strategy (Oxford, Warwick and York)
and only three others had provisional walking strategies (Plymouth,
Hampshire and West Berkshire). Twelve local authorities made a
commitment to develop one, eight of which mentioned that they
would do so after the publication of the National Walking Strategy.[178]
111. A strategy would also have an effect on professionals,
government departments and agencies. The Institute of Logistics
and Transport claimed that the establishment of a clear national
policy would assist in keeping the walking issue high on the "professional
and technical agenda".[179]
The Pedestrians Association argued that the absence of a strategy
underplayed the wider social and economic benefits of creating
more walkable environments. If the creation of walkable environments
were a national policy goal, it would inform policies in all relevant
departments and agencies including "DETR, the Home Office,
the Treasury, DfEE, the DoE, DCMS, the Highways Agency and the
RDAs".[180]
112. In addition a national strategy would assist
the diffusion of best practice. The National TravelWise Association
warned that in the absence of a strategy there was
"a danger of uncoordinated
action across the country, with individual local authorities developing
poorly conceived strategies containing incompatible monitoring
methodologies".
This would make monitoring the success of local authorities
difficult or impossible.[181]
113. Most witnesses thought that since there was
a National Cycling Strategy (which was published in 1996), there
ought to be a National Walking Strategy. It was illogical to publish
one without the other. The Ramblers Association contrasted:
"the enthusiasm with
which the Government launched the National Cycling Strategy and
Target, the millions of lottery funds ploughed into the national
cycle network and the willingness of local authorities to create
cycle paths (often on pedestrian walkways rather than through
the reallocation of road space) to see how walking is seen as
the poor relation of other forms of transport."[182]
114. Several witnesses feared that the main reason
the Government had not produced a national walking strategy, was
its fear of "Ministry of Silly Walks Headlines".[183]
They thought that the Government was terrified of being seen as
anti-car. In response to questions about why there was no walking
strategy but a cycling strategy, the Minister said:
"I think because it
is such a matter of fact business it would seem to me, perhaps,
to be overblown to say that we must have a national walking strategy".[184]
However he added
"a cycling strategy,
I believe, is a mode of transport; you get on a machine, you need
rules of the road and you need green lanes painted in the road
at some considerable cost. It is quite different from (walking)".[185]
115. Many of the elements of what might be contained
in the strategy are listed in Appendix C of Encouraging Walking
which contains the recommendations of the Advisory Group. Indeed
this group seems to have assumed that its recommendations would
form the basis of a national strategy. The main recommendations
were:
To give greater focus to the needs of pedestrians
by:
- setting national and local targets;
- reallocating road space;
- promoting walking through national and local
campaigns.
To integrate walking into transport and land use
planning by:
- ensuring local authorities adopt appropriate
land use and development planning policies;
- professional training and promotion;
- partnership, ie integration of planning and provision
for walking, with a large number of organisations.
To create better conditions for walking by improving:
- pedestrian infrastructure;
- road safety;
- personal security;
- specific journey times;
- funding (including suggestions for a variety
of sources of funding).[186]
Such proposals would be similar to those of the National
Cycling Strategy.[187]
Other matters suggested for inclusion in the strategy were commissioning
research and development, monitoring local strategies and revising
existing guidance.
116. A national strategy needs to be complemented
by local strategies. The current position, set out in the Government's
Guidance on Full Local Transport Plans invites local authorities
to include strategies in their LTPs. This is inadequate. Strategies
should be mandatory, not discretionary. The allocation of funding
should be dependent on them.
117. In turn, in analysing the local walking strategies
in Local Transport Plans the Government Offices in the Regions
need to ensure that they are co-ordinated with the local development
plan. We were surprised to learn from Beverley Hughes MP that
was not done. She told us:
"...we are trying to
work in an integrated way. If you are asking me if in each UDP
for each individual local authority somebody sits down with that
and for several days and checks that against the local transport
strategy, then, clearly, that would not be a feasible job for
this Department to do."[188]
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