Two of the most frequently discussed concepts in transport and land use planning in recent years are 'transit-oriented development' and 'walkable catchments' (or 'ped sheds'). In suburban areas, 400-metre and 800-metre 'ped sheds' have been incorporated in many planning documents as a basis for enhancing the 'livability' and sustainability of proposed (usually greenfields) residential development. These roughly equate to 5 and 10 minute walking times. The emphasis is usually on the 400-metre catchment with respect to access to local activity centres. In practice, people are willing to walk significantly further than this, and data for Perth, Western Australia, demonstrate that the use of 400 metres or even 800 metres to define the walkable catchment for train stations is at best simplistic and can be highly misleading, with many people walking significantly further than 800 metres in suburban, regional centre and central-city environments. The paper analyses data on actual walking distances, for the Perth suburban rail system, and draws conclusions for the planning and development of transit systems. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E208431.
Samenvatting