Pedestrian Audit

Pedestrian Audits, sometimes known as Walking Audits, are designed to assess the 'walkability' of a street or network of streets, usually in an urban environment.

Pedestrians are hardy beings; they manage to make their way from A to B despite less-than-friendly city streets which can make their journey lengthier than it needs to be, both in distance and time, uncomfortable, and sometimes even unsafe. Some pedestrians may choose to avoid certain streets because of this; some may even choose to drive rather than walk. People with a sight and/or mobility impairment, or parents pushing young children in buggies, may find it almost impossible to use certain routes due to a lack of flat crossing points or accesses, or due to very narrow pavements.

The purpose of a Pedestrian Audit is to look at streets in detail, to highlight obstacles such as poorly positioned street furniture, including temporary advertising boards, poor, uneven or damaged surfaces, lack of safe crossing points, missing lengths of pavement, poorly lit areas etc. The Audit will also identify main pedestrian routes and 'desire lines', and see how well the street or streets in question cater for pedestrian needs.

The second phase of the Audit is to recommend improvements, such as the removal or resiting of street furniture, renewal of damaged signs and other infrastructure, safe and level crossing points in the right places, widened pavements, introduction of benches or seated areas, improved street lighting.

Where a Pedestrian Audit is followed up by remedial measures, the resulting environment can become far more attractive to pedestrians, both as a thoroughfare, and as a place to congregate. This is an important consideration in town and city centres, where a more attractive pedestrian environment can lead to greater footfall, and the consequent regeneration of depressed commercial areas.

Pedestrian Audits can also be carried out over wider areas, where they will seek to identify strategic walking routes, and recommend improvement, where necessary, to ensure these routes are continuous, and signed if required.