Pedestrian Areas and Routes

Evidence on performance

Effect of Pedestrianisation: Summary of Results from Germany

Pedestrianisation schemes have been implemented in Germany since 1965.  These results for several cities are taken from Hass-Klau (1993).

Impacts on demand

Summary of Changes in Pedestrian Flows (as a result of Pedestrianisation)

The percentage changes in pedestrian flows in a set of cities where data was available, is shown in Table 1. Hass-Klau (1993) concludes that while there is considerable variation, many towns show increases in the region of 20-40%. However, Hass-Klau points to the fact that since we are dealing with percentage changes, and the base numbers are not given, the percentage change itself might be misleading.

Table 1: Impact of Pedestainisation Schemes in Germany

Impacts on Supply

Due to pedestrianisation, it will be the case that the supply of road space is reduced with priority being given to pedestrians. However there is no information on the percentage change in the supply in each of the cities studied.

Other Impacts

The most interesting point of Hass-Klau (1993) was the detailed examination of the impacts of pedestrianisation on firm profitability and turnover.  Based on questionnaires sent to firms within and outside pedestrianised areas, the findings with regard to changes in turnover are summarised in Table 2. Note that this data was collected in 1978 at the time when the Federal Republic of Germany (“West Germany”) was also growing rapidly, and Germany as a whole was not unified. The presence of the control group (i.e. businesses outside the pedestrian areas) helps to strengthen the robustness of the results.  This data suggests that pedestrianisation helps to improve the turnover for businesses in the retailing and food industry but has a much less positive impact for the hotel industry. This analysis is consistent with the expectation that increased pedestrian flows can lead to an increase in passing traffic and businesses that rely on this (such as restaurants and retail shops) would benefit from the pedestrianisation. At the same time, it is also likely that pedestrians prefer to shop in the pedestrian zone and hence the change could be due to shifts (from one business to another) in turnover rather than new turnover (i.e. totally new business).

Table 2: Percentages of businesses indicating different effects on turnover

Contribution to Objectives

Objective	Scale of contribution	Comment
		There will have been some loss of efficiency as a result of traffic being rerouted around the area.
		Pedestrianisation will have contributed to a liveability improvement.
		The removal of cars from the city centres will have contributed to a reduction in environmental impacts. No indication was given on the likely impacts peripheral to the area although it is understood that a comprehensive traffic management plan was in place.
		There was no reported impact on equity and social inclusion.
		Removal of vehicles from pedestrian areas would have improved safety by reducing the probability of accidents.
		The evidence suggests some support of the argument that pedestrianisation leads to increased economic activity and should benefit some sectors of retail.
		The costs of implementing the pedestrianisation schemes are not available.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Carnaby Street, London

The information contained here is taken from Myatt P (1975).

Context

The information in this Section is based primarily on Mott MacDonald (2008c)

Carnaby Street is one of London’s most important tourist attractions, having been touted as the birthplace of “Swinging London” in popular culture due to its reputation as a centre for fashion retailers. The street itself is approximately 700 feet long and runs parallel to Regent Street, another important commercial street in the Soho area of London. In October 1973, the then Greater London Council decided to pedestrianise Carnaby Street (The entire pedestrianised area (shaded area) is shown in Figure 1). Note that the pedestrianisation was only partial i.e. taking place between 11 am and 8 pm daily.

The following measures were put in place

• Raised the level of the roadway
• New drainage more appropriate to a pedestrian precinct
• Resurfaced the area with nylon-based tiles
• Bollards at the northern end (these were manually set up daily when the pedestrian zone was in operation)
• Parking restrictions were introduced

Impacts on demand

Traffic that no longer has access to Carnaby Street was expected to divert to the parallel and surrounding streets.  However analysis of traffic data collected from a combination of automatic and manual count surveys indicate that while traffic had increased along Great Marlborough Street (north of the Pedestrian zone)  by up to 10%, the local roads actually showed a general decrease. Instead the survey found an increase in the number of taxis on parallel streets to the Pedestrian zone (Kingly Street and Newburgh Street).

A comparison of before and after number of pedestrians entering the pedestrianised area indicate a 30% increase in pedestrian flows into Carnaby Street as a result of the pedestrianisation.

Impacts on Supply

There was a reduction in road space for vehicles during the hours of operation of the pedestrianised zone.

Figure 1: Pedestrianisation of Carnaby Street (Source: Myatt, 1975)

 Contribution to Objectives

Objective	Scale of contribution	Comment
		There will have been some loss of efficiency as a result of traffic being rerouted around the area. Concentrating deliveries to shops at times before the pedestrianised zone was in operation may have been an efficiency improvement.
		The reductions in car use will have contributed to a liveability improvement.
		There was a marginal reduction in air pollution. However it must be remembered that the amount of traffic circulating within Carnaby Street was not substantial before the scheme came into operation.
		There was no discernable impact on equity and social inclusion.
		There was some improvement in vehicle-only accidents reducing from 4 in the nine month period before the scheme to 1 in the nine month period after the scheme. The number of pedestrian/vehicle accidents however remained the same during the study period.
		Custom in some shops had decreased but the managers at the shops interviewed had stressed that this was due to changes in fashion trends rather than anything to do with the pedestrianisation.
		The cost of implementing this scheme was not published.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Khao San Road, Bangkok

The information contained within this study comes from Kumar and Ross (2006)

Context

The city of Bangkok, capital of Thailand, is notorious for its traffic jams. Khao San Road is well known throughout the world as a haven for tourists. This is a street located in the Banglampoo district of Bangkok. It is a famous destination for many local and foreign travellers and backpackers. The location is apt for backpackers as it provides cheap lodging and boarding facilities. Apart from the motels, Khao San Road has food stalls, travel agencies, souvenir and music shops.

As a strategy to develop pedestrian areas within Bangkok, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority has initiated pedestrianisation schemes in some commercial areas. One of the target areas chosen for implementation was Khao San Road primarily due to the traffic conditions on the network. The road has been pedestrianised as part of government policy with the help of the local police station and implemented in 2001. However this is only implemented from 6pm to 3am.

 Impacts on demand

There has been a noticeable increase in the percentage of foot traffic along Khao San Road during the period of operation (Kumar and Ross, 2006) but numbers were not given.

 Contribution to Objectives

Objective	Scale of contribution	Comment
		There will have been some loss of efficiency as a result of traffic being rerouted around the area.
		The reductions in car use will have contributed to a liveability improvement.
		The reductions in car use will have contributed to a reduction in environmental impacts. There was a marked improvement in the air quality of the local area and this was noted local retailers.
		There was no discernable impact on equity and social inclusion.
		There was no discernable impact on safety.
		Most retailers were initially opposed to the idea of pedestrianisation. However the majority (85%) of retailers interviewed following the scheme’s introduction were in fact supportive of further pedestrianisation measures.
		The cost of implementing this scheme is not known.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Gaps and Weaknesses

The cost of pedestrianisation was not reported. In particular the high quality paving materials required to transform the layout of carriageway into a pedestrianised area with provision for foot rather than vehicular traffic can be expensive. However in this context, it must be stressed that pedestrianisation is still a relatively cost effective instrument. We could not find any studies on pedestrianised routes and their impacts.