This is the first
conference on walking I have opened as Transport Minister, but I can assure
you I come to this particular mode of transport from an enthusiastic
background in the health portfolio.
When I was Health Minister, I greatly enjoyed joining parents and pupils on
walking school buses, and as Transport Minister that’s a concept I would
dearly love to see flourish even more, especially in Auckland.
There is certainly plenty of room for improvement. I have been amazed to
learn that today over half of New Zealand primary school children are driven
to and from school. That’s nearly double the figure from 10 years ago.
Auckland regional travel surveys show that 40 percent of peak time car
journeys are now education-related, and the potential impact of walking
school buses can perhaps be better understood when it is realised that the
Government is currently spending $1500 million on large state highway
projects that are under construction in that region.
I want to acknowledge my old Parliamentary colleague Sir Kerry Burke, now
chair of Environment Canterbury, and to thank Living Streets Aotearoa
president Celia Wade-Brown and your executive director Liz Thomas for their
invitation to open this conference.
I understand the vision for Living Streets is “more people walking more
often and enjoying public places --- young and old, fast and slow”.
That’s a vision I endorse wholeheartedly. It is sometimes difficult, in the
often-crowded schedule of a cabinet minister, to find time for walking, but
I walk as often as I possibly can, and I think I have probably worn out more
pedometers than most people.
I think I am like a lot of Wellingtonians in that respect. It is one of the
great walking cities of New Zealand. I know Christchurch is too, and if we
can just persuade Auckland to walk more often as well, there could be quite
startling health and environmental benefits for the country as a whole.
There can be no better week to advance that message, I am sure you will
agree, than this one in which Sir Nicholas Stern’s report, warning of the
devastating cost of failing to address climate change, has been released.
Hippocrates, born in 460 BC, and known as the father of modern medicine,
recognised and prescribed walking as the best medicine for many ailments.
However, no matter all the scientific advances since his days, or perhaps
because of them, we often seem in danger of engineering walking out of our
lives completely.
As I said, the benefits of walking --- for individuals and for the country
--- are very clear. The economics alone make great sense, in terms of our
health system, as walking is the cheapest way to beat obesity. But to get
this country walking, we need to start by setting an example to its youngest
citizens, and to encourage them by walking with them, wherever we can.
School walking buses are part of that equation.
How times have changed. Walking used to be the mode of getting to school.
The convenience of cars is one reason for the change, but also many parents
are worried about their kids walking alone on the streets. Walking school
buses provide a safe, as well as healthy environment.
Walking makes health sense, it makes economic sense, and it makes
environmental sense.
The churlish might say that walking is not particularly efficient, in that
it lacks speed, but those of you who have lived in big cities will know that
you can often get to your destination quicker on foot than by any other
mode. In fact, the churlish are those you often see sitting behind the
wheels of gridlocked cars.
Walking is also the best mode of transport for engaging our senses. They
come alive: smell, hearing, sight, taste and even touch – out in the fresh
air everything is enhanced. Add in those feel-good endorphins that physical
activity generates. No wonder I am an enthusiast!
Walking is, in fact, the most common leisure activity among New Zealand
adults. We walk for fun, for health and for recreation, but, as I have
suggested, we could certainly walk far more in the name of transport as
well, either by walking entire trips or walking to access other means of
transport.
It’s actually difficult to measure the overall impact of walking in national
or regional terms, as most people don’t give information on walking when
transport statistics are being gathered. When they think about transport
they tend to focus on motorised journeys.
We do know, however, that at least one billion trips, around 20 percent of
household travel trips per annum, are made on foot. Young people, aged five
to 24, and those aged over 80 are those who depend most heavily on walking
as a primary mode of transport. Estimates suggest that younger and older
people make approximately one out of every four trips on foot.
This is a great aid to independence. Walking is an “independent” mode of
transport. Most of us need only willpower to get started.
As we all know, however, travel patterns, land-use and transport policies
have become more oriented worldwide toward motor vehicles at the expense of
walking and cycling. New Zealand is no exception. One survey has shown New
Zealanders undertook 400,000 fewer daily journeys on foot in 1998 than in
1990.
The orientation toward motor vehicles has also resulted in inequities in
terms of provision for walking and cycling, and this Government recognises
action is needed to halt the decline or reverse the trend.
In 2005 the Government developed the Getting there – on foot, by cycle
strategy, which recognises that more concerted and collective action is
required to ensure that walking and cycling can flourish as modes of
transport and that our transport systems support and encourage their use.
The Getting There strategy sits under the umbrella of the New Zealand
Transport Strategy of 2002, where the Government made a commitment to a
national strategy for walking and cycling, and recognised the importance of
both these modes of transport within the New Zealand transport mix.
While we acknowledge that walking and cycling face similar issues, we also
recognise that we need to support each mode independently to strengthen them
as unique modes of transport. We need to keep doing more to capitalise more
fully on the potential of both walking and cycling to contribute to the
country’s economic, social and environmental objectives.
Getting There articulates the Government’s vision of a New Zealand where
people from all sectors of the community walk and cycle for transport and
fun. As I said, this is especially critical in urban areas, where walking
can most contribute toward the aims of the New Zealand Transport Strategy
for a more affordable, integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable
transport system.
Getting There is underpinned by a national implementation plan, released a
few months ago, that builds on the range of existing activities nationally,
regionally and locally. The plan identifies ten new national initiatives.
Examples include developing an Information Centre to disseminate research
and best practice; setting up a benchmarking programme to support
territorial authorities with high levels of service for cyclists and
pedestrians; developing a programme to encourage champions of walking; and
investing in model community partnerships with local government and other
central government partners.
Land Transport New Zealand has already begun work on implementing aspects of
the plan, and it is interesting to note that while in 2002, LTNZ spent about
$1million on walking and cycling programmes, that figure today is now $11
million.
These model community partnerships will combine social and physical
infrastructure to make walking a far more attractive mode of transport. My
hope is that the Getting There Implementation Plan should boost walking as a
mode for transport and recreation and contribute to an increase in the
number of trips made on foot.
However, as we increase participation we also need to focus on making
walking safer. Our top priorities in this area are to improve road safety
for pedestrians and cyclists, to address crimes like bike theft, and to take
action to minimise personal security concerns for pedestrians.
Generally, in fact, I believe an important next step in road safety in New
Zealand needs to be developing our road safety culture for all road users.
Something I am very keen to see happen as soon as possible is a reduction in
speed tolerance around schools, kindergartens and play centres. I hope to
announce measures on this aspect before Christmas.
I’m pleased, in this respect, that the Ministry of Transport has just
published the Pedestrian and Cycle Safety Framework, which outlines a
comprehensive approach for effectively reducing risks to, and improving
safety for, pedestrians and cyclists.
Previously, the safest thing for walkers and cyclists may have been to not
walk and not cycle. This framework provides guidance to national and local
agencies on how to approach safety across all modes.
Some of you will be aware of work done overseas, now being replicated here,
as a result of research that shows that having more people walking around in
urban areas contributes to a decrease in crime, but for this to happen we
need more pedestrian areas in the first place.
We also need to recognise that tourism -– and the economy –- can benefit
from environments that are more attractive to walk in. Pleasant and safe
environments not only encourage tourists to visit, but also to stay here
longer, and to spend more as a consequence.
Before I finish today, I want to emphasise the inter-connectedness of all
transport modes. Walking, cycling, public transport and our own vehicles can
work together in a complementary way to get us to our destinations safely.
And no matter what mode we choose, walking is always likely to be a vital
link in the transport chain. Walking can be the perfect support to other
modes of transport. It will always be easy to find an excuse to drive short
distances, but how much more fun it can be to make excuses to walk instead.
I want to congratulate Living Streets Aotearoa for your work in promoting
walking as a viable and safe mode of transport, often in partnership with
public transport.
Walking makes our New Zealand streets more vibrant and safer, and happier
places in which to live. Walking makes for livelier and more connected
communities.
Quite simply, walking makes life better. Thank you again very much for
inviting me to walk the talk with you again today.
Annette King signed the Walk21 charter
at the conference.