The Pedestrian Network Guidance (PNG) is going online soon, as an update of the ground-breaking Pedestrian Planning and Design Guide (PPDG) published by Land Transport New Zealand in 2007.
The first introductory section of the new PNG is titled "Walking in New Zealand" and sets the scene for the rest of the guidance. It contains much more information than the PPDG did, in part because the new online-online format permits "rolling up" of detailed content and "hyperlinking" between sections to reduce duplication.
The section starts by showing how the PNG fits within the suite of Waka Kotahi guides. Then, the many changes to the legal framework are highlighted – including aspects which haven’t changed but are little known, like the requirement that when forming or reforming a road councils must ensure safe and easy passage of disabled persons using wheeled devices. The latest New Zealand evidence shows how the seven main benefits of walking strongly support the five elements of the Ministry’s Transport Outcomes Framework. Trends in walking trips highlight how important compact urban design is. After presenting an adaptation of the safe system approach for walking, the section concludes with updated data on the issues of pedestrian injuries from collisions with vehicles and from the three types of falling: slips, trips and stumbles.
This rapid-fire presentation is a graphical summary that will whet your appetite to discover the wealth of new information that has been pulled together in the Walking in New Zealand section of the PNG.
2WALKandCYCLE Conference, Dunedin, 17–19 March 2021