ABSTRACT
Walking provides one of the main means by which transport interconnection is achieved, yet walking is often overlooked by transport providers and their designers. In the UK, 80 per cent of journeys under one mile are made on foot, although only 3 per cent of total travel distance is achieved by walking. Journeys on foot are the dominant travel mode for short journeys and these often entail movement between transport systems (Tolley, 2003: 72-3). Walking is not, however, undertaken at an even speed. Different people have different levels of mobility and fitness – hence at interchanges the emphasis has to be upon level surfaces, smooth pavements and seating areas for the less mobile. Encouraging journeys to be undertaken on foot means fewer car and taxi journeys, and hence less pollution and also a healthier population. Unfortunately, walking is the least considered of the journey modes by those involved in infrastructure planning, yet feet are what binds together the typical interchange.
