Street space for pedestrians

Street space for pedestrians overview

Summary of indicator

Objective

To measure the space within a road corridor that is allocated for pedestrian activities.

Application guidance

Movement can shape how comfortable people feel in places both negatively and positively, and  the design of places can shape demand for movement where an area is more permeable for  people walking, getting around on foot becomes the natural choice for short trips. Safe, direct and  comfortable space should be provided for people walking. Greater space dedicated to people walking along a corridor improves the walkability and connectivity of an area and provides greater comfort levels for pedestrians.

This indicator will support practitioners to understand the experience of people walking within the road corridor, with particular importance in areas of high pedestrian activity. Based on the assessment outcome, practitioners can determine whether road space should be reallocated to people who walk in line with the TfNSW's Road User Space Allocation Policy.

Practitioners can use the proportion of road space allocated for pedestrians metric to measure the amount of space dedicated to pedestrians within the road corridor.

Metric

Proportion of road space allocated for pedestrians

Related indicators

	Access and Connection Walking paths Equitable access Steepness
	Amenity and Use Places to stop and rest
	Comfort and Safety Pedestrian crowding
	Character and Form Permeability Legibility

Recommendation

• Items such as street furniture, trees, power lines, etc, are not included in the analysis, but will impact on the walking space allocated to pedestrians. Effective (i.e. usable) width should form the basis of this calculation as it is more representative of actual walking space as opposed to overall footpath width which does not account for space taken up by obstructions and kerb/property buffers. This could be achieved through manual data collection and/or the methodology outlined in the Walking paths indicator
• To enhance the analysis, data should be collected on actual kerb to kerb road corridor width and/or lane numbers and widths to ensure a more accurate calculation
• Proportion of road space allocated to pedestrian activity should be considered in conjunction with the effective footpath width from Walking paths to ensure an accurate assessment of walking space.

Metric in detail