Resources

1. Why a New Zealand pedestrian profile?

Imagine being given the choice between losing your ability to walk or your ability to drive a car — which would you choose?

Walking is our most fundamental transport activity. Since the dawn of mankind, the ability to walk has helped to define us as human. Even now a child's first steps are eagerly anticipated and celebrated as one of life's important milestones.

Yet once our first steps are taken, walking quickly becomes taken for granted. Few of us are aware of the extent of our daily pedestrian activity. Even fewer would define ourselves as ‘pedestrians’.

This Profile aims to make visible the extent and importance of pedestrian activity and injury in New Zealand. Its focus is on walking as a transport mode, and it aims to provide an accessible overview to those who plan our communities, manage our roads, or are concerned about the safety of our transport environment.

The development of a profile is timely. For many years our transport planning has centred on creating road environments that make it quicker, safer, easier to get around - by motor vehicle. Unfortunately this has sometimes been at the expense of access and safety for non-motorised modes such as walking. It is no wonder, then, that we are walking less; and that pedestrian injury rates in our urban communities remain high.

We ignore any decline in walking at our peril. In our towns and cities, each trip no longer taken on foot means another motor vehicle adding to increasing congestion on our roads. Each ride a child must be given to school adds to the loss of our children's independent mobility. It is hoped that the information in this profile will be useful in informing debate, further research and action to ensure a healthy future for this essential transport mode.

Reena Kokotailo
— National Pedestrian Project

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