Current levels and trends in walking and cycling are examined and problems identified. Despite one in three journeys being made on foot walking is not taken seriously as a form of transport and facilities are either absent or neglected. Most impediments to the free flow of people are there to facilitate the free flow of traffic. Social consequences are also identified with a shrinking network of acquaintances, restricted sense of territory and diminution of privacy. Cycling also suffers from the dominance of the car and is seen as a 'problem' in traffic management. Details are given of accident figures which for cyclists and pedestrians have doubled since the 1950s and replies to surveys carried out among pedestrians and cyclists. The success of traffic restraint in other parts of Europe is briefly considered and it is stressed that schemes must be area wide. Five strands of policy to achieve environmental traffic management are identified: the encouragement of pedestrian and bicycle traffic, the promotion of public transport, the 'domestication' of the car and traffic reducing town planning. The author outlines the advantages to society as a whole of a greener city in health, environmental and economic terms. A thorough commitment is needed to seize streets from the dominance of 'canned' humans and give it back to the 'fresh' ones.
Abstract