Building an evidence base through good data and using an appropriate tool for the scale and complexity of what is being considered are important aspects of best practice planning for walking.

Scales of delivery

Three scales of delivery are helpful to consider in terms of planning for walking. These are:

  • The town/city scale – planning for growth by better integrating transport modes that are linked with walking trips.
  • The neighbourhood and local scale – planning for walking as part of area wide initiatives so that people can access local amenities, town centres and employment areas by walking. New developments should be designed so that active travel is a safe and convenient choice.
  • The street / local place scale – designing high quality pedestrian environments with sufficient space allocated for lingering as well as travelling through, taking into account the street function.

The following table outlines the range of datasets and tools that could be employed across different spatial scales. The table is inspired by the Planning for Walking Toolkit which provides further guidance on planning and design tools for walking.

Planning for Walking Toolkit (Transport for London, 2020)(external link)

Table: Datasets and tools that can inform planning for walking at different scales 

Information that may be useful to collect or analyse

Suggested datasets and tools that may assist

Town/city-scale analysis

Identify walking potential of an area (ie trips that could feasibly be walked that are being made by other modes)

  • Household travel survey data
  • Census data

Example: Transport for London, 2016, Analysis of Walking Potential(external link)

Identify where some pedestrian groups are under-represented due to a lack of walking access

Effect of traffic volumes and speeds on walking prevalence in an area

  • Traffic volumes (including percentage of heavy vehicles)
  • Vehicle operating speeds

Areas where public transport uptake could be improved

Understand the function of corridors in relation to both movement and place

Pedestrian safety and security statistics

  • Crash analysis system (CAS)
  • Ministry of Health or ACC injury datasets

Level of service of the walking network

Still under development

Neighbourhood and local scale analysis

Understand walking catchments

  • Map the area covered by a certain walking time (eg 5 minutes) from a destination. Also known as a ‘pedshed’.
  • Accessibility modelling

Understand neighbourhood character, land uses, destinations and attractors, walkable routes and connections, severance and barriers

Understand existing and forecast future pedestrian demand

Understand how pedestrians are using a space / place

  • Pedestrian count / survey
  • Place audit
  • Public Life Tools

Identify locations with poor walking connectivity and legibility

  • Walk time analysis
  • Identify intersections with missing crossing legs

Pedestrian safety / security information

  • Crash analysis system (CAS), hospital or ACC data may provide city or regional information
  • CPTED Audit
  • Community engagement

Street scale analysis

Audit of the quality of the street for people walking

Understand where pedestrians are using the street or an area

  • Pedestrian flows and demographic surveys
  • Attitudinal surveys
  • Community engagement
  • Map pedestrian desire lines
  • Compliance with traffic signals
  • Pedestrian crossing delay analysis
  • Measuring pedestrian activity

Pedestrian crowding / comfort levels

No NZ guidance currently

Notes:

  • Injury data from the Ministry of Health or ACC may be more representative of all pedestrian incidents occuring on the transport network (compared with CAS data), however it is likely to lack detail on where the incidents occurred. Hence, this data is helpful at an aggregate level over a large area (ie town/city scale analysis). ACC datasets can be searched or requested from the Government’s data website.
    See ACC Datasets(external link)
  • Neighbourhood scale mapping and analysis means mapping land uses and trip attractors within a walkable catchment of a centre. Locating cycle routes and bus stops/railway stations can be useful for identifying where walking trips are likely to start and finish as well as identifying opportunities and constraints. Severance and barriers to walking such as rail routes, topography, lack of crossing facilities should also be identified.
  • Walk time analysis means comparing the actual walking route length with the straight line distance between two key destinations. The difference in walking time can then be calculated using a walking speed (eg 1.1m/s).One Network Framework.

One Network Framework

The One Network Framework (ONF), an evolution of the One Network Road Classification (ONRC) is a core element of the land transport management system used to provide a consistent classification system for a wide range of planning processes.  The ONF is based on Street categories within Movement and Place matrices. Further information on the ONF is available.

One Network Framework

Walking mode classification

As well as street categories, mode classifications have been developed. This allows each modal network to be considered on its own, as well as part of the overall movement function of the corridor. ONF will consider both the current and future modal networks. Refer to the Mode classification section of the One Network Framework classification guidance for information on the current walking mode classifications. In due course the ‘future network planning process’ will support the classification of the future modal layers, including that of walking. Details of the future network planning process can be found on the ONF future network planning information page.

ONF Classification Guidance [PDF, 4.7 MB]

ONF Future network planning