Pedestrian access is a city planning movement promoting walking and cycling over cars. Poor pedestrian access leads to urban sprawl, traffic, obesity, and lower quality of life. Strategies include adding sidewalks, mixed-use zoning, public transit, and pedestrian areas.
Pedestrian access is a movement to enable people to walk or cycle through a city rather than relying on automobiles. It is part of city planning and can include not only walking and jogging, but also skateboarding, scootering, and other non-automotive means of transportation. Pedestrian access planning has grown as a reaction to zoning laws, which separate buildings and homes based on use. With traditional zoning, residential structures are far removed from commercial districts and industrial parks, forcing citizens to use cars to reach their destinations.
Urban sprawl is a common result of poor pedestrian access systems. As fewer people are able to travel on foot, both traffic and obesity levels increase. Heavy traffic and lack of walking paths are often linked to stress and lower quality of life, as well as shortening the lifespan of roads by increasing wear and tear.
Urban planning advocates support many different strategies aimed at improving pedestrian access in cities and towns. Some focus on adding sidewalk requirements in new communities, which are often arranged to improve automobile traffic rather than pedestrian traffic. Roadside sidewalks, footpaths, cycleways and traffic reduction strategies can make it safer and easier for pedestrians to travel freely.
Another method to improve pedestrian access involves changing zoning requirements. Rather than separating different types of structures from one another, planning advocates support mixed-use zoning that more closely resembles a traditional neighborhood. This type of zoning would allow children to walk to school, while leaving all citizens to walk or bike to work or shops. Part of this strategy involves a return to independent shops and “buying local” rather than spending money in department stores and malls.
A key to better pedestrian access in most areas is to improve public transit options. Across Europe, where public transport is widely available, pedestrian access levels are generally much higher than in other parts of the world. In the United States, where public transportation is lacking in many cities, cars have replaced walking as the primary mode of transportation, even for short trips. Some urban planning advocates also suggest adding high parking fees or congestion fees to ease congestion and encourage walking in downtown areas.
In many areas, walking is encouraged through the use of pedestrian areas or city centers closed to traffic. Some examples include the world’s longest pedestrian shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark, or the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. In 2009, New York City also banned vehicular traffic in parts of Times Square to improve safety and pedestrian access.
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