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A WALKING STRATEGY FOR SCOTLAND

2. THE BENEFITS OF WALKING

2.1 Walking can contribute not only to the health and well-being of individuals but also to many aspects of community life

2.2 The Revitalisation of Communities. The path network fulfils a number of different roles in addition to transport and recreation. With a better environment for walking, residential areas will be safer, better places for everybody. There will be more room for children to play safely and the pavement can become a place to meet as well as a place to walk. Likewise, town centres and shopping areas can become more attractive places which will often assist the local economy by encouraging more visitors and tourism. Re-focusing our efforts on meeting the needs of people as well as the requirements of traffic is a necessary step towards renewing and revitalising urban areas. Increasing numbers of people regularly walking in an area can help to deter crime and vandalism and encourage public confidence. Improving the walking environment can help to foster a sense of community and concern for other people that is important in building a better society.

2.3 Enhancing Rural Life. There is greater reliance on the private car in rural areas. Access on foot becomes even more important where public transport services are likely to be less frequent. Settlement sizes are smaller and improving the walking environment and creating local links can assist in providing alternatives to the car for local journeys.

2.4 Scotland provides an attractive rural setting for recreational pursuits such as walking and cycling. The attractiveness of rural settlements to visitors can benefit the local economy and help maintain the viability of rural communities.

2.5 Improving Health. Walking has been described as ‘the nearest activity to perfect exercise.’³ It requires no special skills, equipment or facilities and shows little variation by age or gender. Walking can help improve health: it can decrease the risk of heart disease, help prevent high blood pressure, assist in weight control, reduce stress and bring real improvements to physical and mental well-being.^{4, 5.} The Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) recommends that everyone should aim to accumulate 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week and includes walking as one of the recommended activities.⁶

2.6 However, general levels of physical activity in the Scottish population are falling. Around two thirds of the Scottish population do not participate in enough physical activity to meet current recommendations and over half of Scottish men and women are now overweight.⁷ Levels of physical activity in children are also falling with children and young people also becoming increasingly overweight.^8,9,10 There is great concern regarding these trends because of the clear links between obesity and serious illnesses including heart disease and diabetes.¹¹ Walking more would build up general stamina, energy and alertness and reduce susceptibility to disease. It would also increase independence, self-reliance and awareness of personal safety amongst the young.

2.7 Regular walking can help elderly people keep flexible and co-ordinated. It can reduce the risk of falls by maintaining balance and strength in the postural muscles. By increasing mobility, it also helps people to stay independent which is important in maintaining quality of life.

2.8 Walking Reduces Congestion which plagues our cities in peak periods and causes problems around schools and other community facilities.

2.9 Walking is Non-polluting. Road transport is one of the major sources of air pollution in our towns and cities. More people walking could therefore have a positive effect on levels of localised urban air pollution. Studies have also shown that levels of pollutants can actually be higher inside the car than walking in the street. Road users travel in a ‘tunnel’ of pollution with those at the centre of the tunnel tending to be exposed to higher levels of pollutants than those on the road side. For this reason exposure levels tend to be highest for those travelling in cars and lower for pedestrians and cyclists. Choosing to walk instead of taking the car reduces emissions of the harmful greenhouse gases believed to be contributing to climate change. Road transport is also a source of noise pollution — a greater number of people walking should therefore reduce noise levels in urban areas.

2.10 Community Benefits. An increase in the attractiveness of walking as an option for local journeys can benefit all in society. In particular the elderly, those with mobility difficulties and those who do not have access to a car may be able to play a greater role in community life. An improved walking environment can assist in providing access to jobs, to local facilities and to public transport for longer trips. Improved standard of surfacing on paths and pavements, the provision of seating at suitable stages and at bus stops, the provision of new or shorter links within the urban area or between towns and villages may enable new journeys to be made. Enhanced safety and security may encourage people to make journeys on foot that they previously had not considered possible. The ability to make independent visits to the shops or to visit friends can contribute to a sense of belonging to the community and to personal esteem. It can reduce feelings of social exclusion and reliance on others thus creating a more inclusive community.

2.11 Recreational Walking. Walking is the most popular leisure pursuit and has shown a steady increase in the last decade with 627 million walks being taken by Scottish residents in 2000. This has been helped by the efforts of many organisations, local authorities and land managers to provide routes, signage and information and to increase access to the off-road network of paths and tracks. It is often thought of as a purely rural activity, but people walk for pleasure in urban areas too, for instance around local parks, alongside waterways, or in attractive town centres and other local settings.

2.12 The vast majority of leisure walks start from people’s homes and are less than 5 miles. About half are taken at a weekend. The main reason to choose a particular walk is its safety and being away from traffic. The main reason given for not walking for leisure is poor health or disability¹².

2.13 Recreational walking benefits individuals, and helps build up a culture in which people walk from choice. Renewal programmes and efforts to reduce the impact of traffic on people (particularly in rural areas) should take this into account. We can also learn from the groups involved in promoting recreational walking and apply their experience to wider promotional campaigns.

2.14 Walking by Choice. Fewer vehicles on potential walking routes or the partial segregation of pedestrians from vehicles on walking routes will encourage more people to undertake journeys on foot. Research in Glasgow, aimed at encouraging people to use healthier modes of travelling to work, achieved a significant increase in numbers walking to work through the use of an interactive "self help pack". The intervention was not successful in increasing cycling and the researchers concluded that the environment for cycling needs to be improved substantially for cycling to increase.

2.15 Walking is for Everyone. When walking routes are planned it is essential to provide access for all wherever possible. Improvements in walking networks, be they urban pavements or rural paths, for recreational or utility purposes, or for accessing public transport, need to bear in mind the full range of people who will use them. This includes:

• small children.
• people of all levels of fitness and ability.
• those using wheelchairs and walking aids.
• pedestrians with sight or hearing impairments.
• people with prams and pushchairs.

Making walking routes accessible to all will make them easier to use by all, whether the constraints upon mobility are temporary or longer term.

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