TRANSPOREG

TOWARDS A WALKING
CULTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Jabulani Mzaliya
Disclaimer:

This is a discussion paper developed for the transport family. It does not have any bearing on
the policy intentions of the Department of Transport or of government but is used as a
stimulus to promote walking as a healthy lifestyle and a human reality

First published in 2018 by

Jabulani Mzaliya
DIRECTOR
TRANSPOREG
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©2018 Jabulani Mzaliya

ISBN 978-0-6399754-3-6

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
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without written permission from the copyright holder.

ii
“The rhythm of walking generates a kind of rhythm of thinking, and the passage through
a landscape echoes or stimulates the passage through a series of thoughts. This creates
an odd consonance between internal and external passage, one that suggests that the mind
is also a landscape of sorts and that walking is one way to traverse it. A new thought
often seems like a feature of the landscape that was there all along, as though thinking
were travelling rather than making."

- Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking, p. 5.

Quote

“To stroll is a science, it is the gastronomy of the eye. To walk is to vegetate, to stroll is to
live.... To stroll is to enjoy, it is to assume a mindset, it is to admire the sublime pictures of
unhappiness, of love, of joy, of graceful or grotesque portraits; it is to plunge one’s vision to
the depths of a thousand existences: young, it is to desire everything; old, it is to live the life
of the young, to marry their passions”

Balzac, Honoré De

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................................. vi
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................ viii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... ix
A: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
A.1 NMT Policies ........................................................................................................... 1
A.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 2
A.3 Key Meanings .......................................................................................................... 3
A.4 Supportive Documents ............................................................................................. 5
B: BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................... 6
C: AIMS OF THIS DOCUMENT .................................................................................. 9
D: THE GOALS OF THIS CULTURE ....................................................................... 11
E: POINTS OF DEPARTURE OF THE DOCUMENT ............................................ 12
F: PROBLEMS STATEMENTS ................................................................................. 14
G: INTEGRATED TRANSPORT POLICY MAKING ............................................. 16
H: ASSISTANCE OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS ..................................................... 18
I: POLICIES AND LEGISLATIVE ISSUES ............................................................ 18
J: TYPES OF WALKING ........................................................................................... 20
L: SAFETY OF WALKERS ........................................................................................ 23
L.1 The Shortage of Data for Walkers and Pedestrians ...................................................... 23
L.2 Data of Road Accident Fund (RAF) of Claims. ........................................................... 24
L.3 Is There A Need For A Rail Accident Fund? ......................................................... 25
M: SECURITY OF WALKERS ................................................................................... 25
M.1 Public Walking Spaces........................................................................................... 25
M.2 Traffic Calming ...................................................................................................... 26
N: PLANNING............................................................................................................... 27
O: SCHOOLS................................................................................................................. 30
O.1 The Vulnerability of Children ................................................................................ 30
O.2 Walking To School ................................................................................................ 31
O.3 Continuing The Current Projects ........................................................................... 31
P: BENEFITS OF WALKING..................................................................................... 32
P.1 Health ..................................................................................................................... 32
P.2 Community and Quality of life .............................................................................. 34
P.3 Promotion of Social Inclusion................................................................................ 34
P.4 Economic Benefits ................................................................................................. 35
P.5 Transportation Benefits .......................................................................................... 36
P.6 Environmental Benefits.......................................................................................... 36
P.7 Parallel Responsibilities to Enhance Walking ....................................................... 37
Q: DETERRENTS TO WALKING ............................................................................. 38
R: TYPES OF CROSSING FACILITIES ................................................................... 40
R.1 Uncontrolled Crossings .......................................................................................... 40
R.2 Crossings ................................................................................................................ 40
S: FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST WALKING .............................................. 41
T: SUSTAINING A WALKING CULTURE.............................................................. 43
U: GENERAL COMPLAINTS BY WALKERS ........................................................ 43
V: PERFORMANCE INDICATORS .......................................................................... 45
V.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Issues ........................................................................ 45
V.2 Sustainability.......................................................................................................... 45
V.3 Other Indicators...................................................................................................... 47
W: CONSULTATION.................................................................................................... 47
X: CONSCIENTIZATION OF DRIVERS ................................................................. 48
Z: PROMOTION OF WALKING ............................................................................... 50
Z.1 A Captive Market ................................................................................................... 50

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 Z.2 Charity Walks As A Trigger .................................................................................. 51
Z.3 Choosing Days To Promote Walking .................................................................... 51
Z.4 Promotion of Trails ................................................................................................ 51
Z.5 Communications And Marketing of Walking ........................................................ 52
AA: RESPONSIBILITIES OF NMT USERS ................................................................ 53
AB: THE ROLE OF DOT AGENCIES ......................................................................... 54
AB 1: Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) .......................................................... 54
AB 2: The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) .......................... 55
AB 3: The Road Accident Fund (RAF). ........................................................................... 55
AB 4: The South African Railway Commuter Corporation (SARCC) ............................. 55
AB 5: The Road Transport Management Corporation (RTMC) ...................................... 55
AB 6: The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) .................................................................... 56
AC: TECHNOLOGIES ................................................................................................... 56
AC 1: IT Hardware and Software ..................................................................................... 56
AC2: Intelligent Transport Systems ................................................................................ 56
AD: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS .............................................................. 57
AD 1: Integration of Walking Into Transport Data........................................................... 57
AD2: Travel Demand Management (TDM) .................................................................... 58
AD3: Rural Statistics ....................................................................................................... 58
AE: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT .......................................................................... 59
AF: THE WAY FORWARD ........................................................................................... 59
AG: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 60
A CASE STUDY: WALKING TO UNISA LIBRARY. ..................................................... 62
BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................. 65
APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 68
APPENDIX 2: RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 74

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ABBREVIATIONS
ACSA Airports Company of South Africa
ASGISA Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BMI Body Mass Index
BS Black Smoke
CCTV Closed Circuit Television
CHD Coronary Heart Diseases
COTO Committee of Transport Officials
CPFs Community Policing Forums
CSIR Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research
DAC Department of Arts and Culture
DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
DLC Drivers Licensing Centres
DOE Department of Education
DOH Department of Health
DOJ &CS Department of Justice and Correctional Services
DOL Department of Labour
DOT Department of Transport
DSR Department of Sports and Recreation
EEA Employment Equity Act
FHWA Federal Highway Administration.
GHG Greenhouse Gas (Emissions)
GLC Greater London City
GVM Gross Vehicle Mass
HOV High Occupancy Vehicle
HSRC Human Sciences Research Council
ILO International Labour Organization
IPEC International Programme On The Elimination of Child Labour
IPIC Integrated Planning and Intersperse Co-ordination
ITP Integrated Transport Plans
ITS Intelligent Transport Systems
LED- Light Emitting Diodes
MEC Member of the Executive Council
MINMEC Ministers and MECs (of Transport)
MRC Medical Research Council
MSA Moving South Africa
NATMAP National Transport Master Plan
NHTS National Household Travel Survey
NIMSS National Injury Mortality Surveillance System
NLTTA National Land Transport Transitional Act
NMT Non-Motorized Transport
NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide
NRTA National Roads Transport Act
O2 Ozone
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OPC Off-Premise Canvassing
PDSA People’s Dispensary For Sick Animals
PELICAN Pedestrian Light Controlled (crossings)
PM Particulate Matter
RAF Road Accident Fund
RCB Road Coordinating Body
RCB Roads Co-ordinating Body

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RIFSA Road Infrastructure Framework for South Africa
RTMC Road Transport Management Corporation
SADHS South African Demographic and Health Survey
SAHA South Africa Historical Agency
SAICE South African Institution of Civil Engineering
SARCC South African Railway Commuter Corporation
SARF South African Roads Federation
SASITS South African Society for Intelligent Transport Systems
SMME Small Medium Enterprises
SO2 Sulphur Dioxide
StatsSa Statistics South Africa
SUV Sports Utility Vehicle
TDM Travel Demand Management
TRP Taxi Recapitalization Programme
TSP Totally Suspended Particles
UNCRDP United Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People

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FOREWORD

Even when statistics indicate that most South Africans walk to their places of work or school,
or leisure, or social amenities such as hospitals, walking as a reliable mode of transport
continues to be grossly underrated. Its health, economic, transport, environmental and social
benefits have not been adequately marketed. The provision of facilities that enhance walking
has been slow.
Of course, there are many of our people who walk because they have no choice. There is
still a need for Government to provide reliable public transport to address this urgent need.
For short distances, walking should still be the preferred option.
Our delay in understanding walking in its entirety has led to a situation where walkers are
not socially integrated. An elite class of car-owners has been granted an unfair advantage to
determine the direction of transport planning and policy towards a culture of car-owning. The
delay immediately touches on the constitutional imperative of equality. We in the
transportation sector should be the first to accept responsibility for the delays.
This document is part of three documents that I instructed my department to produce to
adequately understand the challenges and opportunities to then develop appropriate policies,
around non-motorized transport (NMT). The other two documents in this collection, namely
cycling and animal-drawn transportation discussion documents were released.
There is an urgent need to protect all road users, particularly the vulnerable ones, such as
scholars who walk to school, the elderly who collect their pensions, women and children who
walk to collect wood and water and the pedestrians whose fatalities and injury figures
continue to be a challenge for Government.
I particularly call on all walkers; professional, sports, trail, amateurs and those who walk
because they have no other choice, to make comments that will strengthen this document
towards a voluntary South African habit and culture. I also call on transportation planners and
traffic management officers and officials to contribute to the document, so that we can have a
reasonable expectation of what can, and cannot be achieved, by trying to make our roads,
pathways and pavements a safer place for all.
For a long time, we have been talking about walking as a mode of transport. Now is the
moment for comments that will now make us walk the talk.

viii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Using different research methodologies, the discussion document responds to the surveys
which show that most South Africans walk. Current transport policies and pieces of
legislation are silent on walking.
The meanings which may cause confusions and misunderstanding are clarified. The main
documents of Government from which statistics and positions were sought are listed. Most
types of walking are briefly discussed.
Some observations about walking and pedestrians, the use of motor vehicle, the residential
and spatial disparities are discussed. Suggestions to use what is currently working and to
reverse what is not to promote walking, have also been included in the document.
The aims of the document are clarified: to reverse the car usage and to provide for
infrastructure for walkers in such a manner that walking is integrated into the road network.
These aims are based on a vision of seeing our children and the elderly feeling safe on our
roads again. The necessary crossing facilities should be provided for them. Design, security,
legislation, enforcement and education are all ingredients of a walking community
Some advantages and benefits of walking are cited as a point of departure for this
document, among which are walking’s inclusivity, its cheapness and its “naturality” to human
transportation.
Programmes that have been started to promote safety education in schools, the document
argues, should be continued, because of the social cohesion, environmental and economic
benefits of walking. There is a need for an audit and the evaluation of all existing walking
facilities. There should be a continuous monitoring process for safety, the frequency of use
and condition of facilities are suggested.
The Department needs to market walking and to communicate correct messages, draw in
more people into this mode. It will also create a healthy community. The objective of this
discussion document will be optimally achieved if we supplement the walking culture with
other non-walking solutions such as the involvement of industry in the workplace facilities
provision and improving public transport.
There are many deterrents for people to take up walking, but those who have no choice to
ignore these to reach their destinations. One of the deterrents are the speeds which drivers
drive. The document calls for a conscientization of drivers to the needs of walkers and
pedestrians, unsafe walkways, criminal threats and incompatible street furniture.
It also calls for municipalities to cater for walkers in the provision of infrastructure, and for
the requirements of walker-friendly malls before the approval of plans.
Walkers too should bear some of the responsibilities when they are walking.
Finally, technologies and transportation data should be provided to support walking as an
acceptable mode of transport.
The document has 33 recommendations. Some text has been emboldened for emphasis and
other underlined as recommended future policy considerations. At the back of the document is
a summary. There is also a case study of walking.

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A: INTRODUCTION
A.1 NMT Policies

A.1.1 This document is a daughter document to a Non-Motorized Transport (NMT)

compendium which also includes cycling and animal-drawn transport. While each one of
them can be read in isolation, the documents are conjoined by the modes they compete on the
same space, but all three of them suffer the indignity of being neglected as efficient, cheap,
reliable and equally important modes of transportation by most South Africans.

A.1.2 The DOT has not adequately engaged in policy and implementation of NMT even when
it was obvious that our cities face the same problems of the cities that have walker-friendly
policies. The trial run of the introduction of the High Occupancy Vehicles during the
October Transport Month in 2006 was a sea change of responding to the issue of
congestion. It is reasonable to think that this HOV policy will be supplemented by NMT
policies.

A.1.3 The advocacy for Non-Motorized Transport does not seek to displace the need for
motorized vehicles. There are instances where the availability of motorized transport will
solve the availability of motorized transport will solve distances from amenities. People still
travel long distances to work as a result of past spatial development policies. Subsidies
are paid to bus companies. There is an argument that it would be cheaper to pay people
to stay at home than to subsidize buses. This discussion document will not immediately
replace motorized transport.

A.1.4 The policies of NMT advocated in this discussion document, and the compendium,
are also referred to as Active Transportation. Although Active Transportation is a health
phrase, it still defines a section of the physical activity related to transportation. It removes the
recreation aspects of walking discussed in the Types of Walking (Chapter J) in this paper but
falls within the broader category of the NMT approach.

A.1.5 In the DOT approach, this document is also related to a sister document, Transport,
Environment and Health (TEH) Charter. The health and the environmental benefits of this
document should be seen within the context of this Work-in-Progress Charter.

A.1.6 The task of developing policy around what people consider natural, and therefore
needing little or no government intervention, becomes easy. Government’s entry point into
walking should be to respond to the absence or low levels of facilities for walking people.

A.1.7 The document accepts the role Government must play in the provision of walking
facilities. It also accepts the level to which the State has to bear the costs of pedestrians killed
on our road systems (within the Department of National Transport). Both these entities
require a capital outlay from the national fiscus on the supply sides.

A.1.8 The supply side does not exclude the demand side, even if this is articulated or not. The
articulation may not be verbalized by those who are disadvantaged by the inequitable
transport network, but Government must read the silence before demands, gradually
becoming violent, are made.

A.1.9 As the walking culture is being suggested, there is a competing growth of technologies
leading to the interaction between human beings and technology. Artificial intelligence,
robotics the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), electric vehicles etc., are all new words and
terms easing the struggle of life of the 21st-century population. These may impact the
suggestions made in this document.
A.2 Methodology

A.2.1 To achieve this task we have physically observed the experiences of walkers and
pedestrians on some South African roads and held personal interviews with them.

A.2.2 We have conducted telephone interviews with certain officials of the Department
around walker safety and of policy programs and plans that promote walking within the DOT
as opposed to the prevailing occupation with the motor-vehicle mode of transport.

A.2.3 We have also sent a questionnaire to a few DOT officials about the understanding of
this issue of walking. In the low response that we experienced, we concluded that there is a
need for a discussion on walking. It may well be true that even DOT has succumbed to
external pressures of neglecting walking as a mode of transport.

A.2.4 We have studied other policy documents within the DOT that either corroborates our
evidence, or that can assist the development of a walking culture in South Africa.

A.2.5 Our task was also assisted by our study of new social cultures, such as mall walking,
growing dog walking among the middle class. We arrived at a conclusion that in South
Africa we all walk - it is only a matter of degrees.

A.2.6 We have also personally experimented by walking ourselves, marking time and
distances in one of the facilities of the agencies administered by DOT.

A.2.7 We have scanned the legislative landscape of South Africa and found that there is not
much legislation on walking. Where it does exist, it is under the rubric of pedestrians who are
described as “people walking, especially on the road.”1.

A.2.8 There is also a vast reservoir of walking policies in many cities and countries which
we have analysed. We have tried to adapt them to the needs of South Africa. We have tried to
extricate walking from these programmes and policies from its partner: cycling, even when
the other cities combine these two

A.2.9 Our analysis of the reservoir of walking policies in other countries was done through a
literature study. The documents were limited by their age with some dating back to the
1970s. This emphasized our earlier observations that walking has not been studied at great
length.

A.2.10 Some of the biases against pedestrians are visible in the articulation of these sources.
Most information gleaned from the DOT Library pertained to pedestrians rather than walkers.
If they did refer to walkers, they meant before the growth of the motorized vehicles and
referred to walking in the state of nature.

A.2.11 Some references were still written in Dutch. This reflected the absence of South
African historical literature. Current rethinking about environmental issues, personal and
human freedoms, the use of public space, equitable access, are taking shape well after the
positions advocated in these outdated references.

A.2.12 The absence of research products in South Africa has made us rely on research
results of other countries, in the hope that if there are differences with the South African
condition, these will be minor to alter the real import of what this document intends to

1
Wikipedia.com

2
achieve. The Greater London City Council undertook a study tour of Europe and the United
States on pedestrianization and concluded that

“although the cities studied varied in size, the problems of central areas were similar.
Cities of a half million population and more, begin to incur the same acute problems in
the city centre. The problems derive from the incompatibility of the physical patterns
with functions and activities which cities develop as they become the focal point of
regions with populations calling for a distinctive kind of high-quality service.”2

A.2.13 We also conducted Internet searches for international best practice. Most of these
were found in the United States Federal Highways Administration sources. The Internet has
also assisted the projects with the sourcing of images and photographs that give support to
statements and the findings that have been made in the document. The images and
photographs were not included in the document but were used to inform the ideas and
thoughts in this document.

A.2.14 We have included an experimental walking by the writer of the document from
Pretoria Central Station to the Library at the University of South Africa. In this walk, we
made observations about some of the attributes of a walking environment. We indicate where
there are mistakes and where things could be improved. This experiment is included as an
Annexure.

A.3 Key Meanings

A.3.1 The word “pedestrian” is in vogue in South Africa’s transport legislative and regulatory
documents. To the extent that a pedestrian is defined as someone travelling on foot, especially
in the street, the word pedestrian is limited in describing walking. The latter pertains to a
multi-meaning of sports (race or speed walking), leisure, transport etc. When walking is
discussed, its meaning goes beyond the understanding of the “pedestrian nuisance on our
roads.”

A.3.2 To the extent that there are semantical inconsistencies between walkers and pedestrians,
walkers will be referring to walkers irrespective of whether they are on and off the road.
Pedestrians will be referring to people who walk on the road.

A.3.3 The vast array of pedestrian literature available, will not be used extensively as the
discussion document is about walking in a broader sense. At any rate, walkers eschew roads,
take shortcuts, wherever possible and are found on the road if there are no other options,
Pedestrians, by their definition, are walkers who are found on the road.

A.3.4 Walking assumes a greater import than its pedestrian counterpart. It will also be calling
for a legitimate transport infrastructure usage which needs access guarantees and to have
the financial support for the construction of facilities that will encourage and facilitate
walking.

A.3.5 Walking refers to a form of transportation without a vehicle or animal. The

average walking speed is about 5km/h, but height, weight and age determine the actual
speed.3

2
GLC Study Tour of Europe and America: Pedestrianized Streets. Greater London City Council. 1973.
3
www.wikipedia.org./wiki/walkingr

3
A.3.6 There are competitive walkers, for example in sports, who may extend this speed
because the gait they use is different from the one used by ordinary walkers. There may be
walkers who walk slowly, or with the assistance of walking equipment or walking sticks.

A.3.7 In relation to speed and space for walking, Black argued that

“the adequacy of facilities is measured by whether people can walk at unrestrained

speeds. In most western countries, average walking speeds on flat or on grades of up to
5% are 80 metres per minute (4.8 km/h).” 4

A.3.8 The equivalent average (horizontal time mean) speed walking upstairs is about half that
of the walking on the flat. The speed required for locomotion is largely dependent on the
length of strides that people take and on reaction time to avoid colliding with other
pedestrians. Above 2.3m squared per person, normal walking speeds are possible, but as
space is reduced, average walking speed drops until a jam occurs with 0.23m squared per
person.5

A.3.9 Unterman stated that there is a reduction of speed in stairs to about a third the speed of
level conditions and constrict traffic flows. His advice is that stairs should be avoided where
large volumes of foot traffic must be accommodated.6

A.3.10 In the context of this document, walking will include all subforms of walking, such
as bushwalking, race walking, hill walking, “volksmarching,” church marches, awareness
walks, beach walking, charity walks, treks, fun walks/pretloop, hiking, long-distance walking
and rambling (British term).

A.3.11 Walking is a rhythmic, aerobic activity of large muscles that confers many benefits to
the body and by extension, to the health of the walker. Walking is the nearest to perfect
exercise, perhaps surpassed only by swimming. It involves all three important elements of
fitness, namely stretching, cardiovascular and strengthening exercises. It is a biomechanics
system that self-generates.

A.3.12 Unless explicitly stated, the DOT shall be referring to all sections, agencies,
spheres and organs of the Department. The explicit statement of the responsible organ will
be occasioned by the need for limiting the “grey area” responsibilities which may lead to long
inertia about who should do what – and in the current under-development of walking-friendly
environments - of passing the buck.

A.3.13 Where the term government will be used, it will be meaning the whole Government,
but will not be reducing the role of the DOT as a government department to take leadership in
bringing this issue to the attention of other departments.

A.3.14 When public spaces are mentioned, it will mean the inclusion all forms of public
spaces, the external public space such as the pieces of land between the private ad owners’
properties, public squares, streets, roads, parks, parking lots, coastline stretches, forests, lakes,
rivers, libraries, atria, museums, town hall, bus stops, train stations; taxi ranks, airports, malls
university campuses, sports grounds, restaurants, cinemas and shops. Sarkin refers to the last
five as “pseudo-public spaces.”7

4
Black, J.1981. Urban Transport Planning. Theory and Practice. Croom Helm. London.
5
Ibid.
6
Unterman, R.K. 1984. Accommodating The Pedestrian: Adapting Towns And Neighbourhoods for
Walking and Bicycling. Von Nostrand Reihold Company. New York.
7
Sarkin, M. (Ed) 1992. Various On A Theme Park: The New American City And The End of the
Public Space. Hill and Wang New York.

4
A.3.15 When reference to shopping malls is made, it will be referring to the whole list of
commercial places to include arcades and gallerias, urban shopping centres, festival
marketplaces and multi-use centres.

A.3.16 When walking facilities are mentioned, they will be including sidewalks,
pavements, walkways but also to include the new forms of skywalks and concourses and
further advise that in cities where there is a combination of both old walking infrastructure
and new facilities such as skywalks. Use should be determined by either the weather or the
functional needs of people at a time such as the case in the City of Calgary.8

A.3.17 The document puts a lot of emphasis on walking facilities. In a broader economic
sense, the phrase would be limited in that it excludes walking services, such as the walking-
ice cream vendor, the walking post delivery man, the work-seekers in suburbia gardens etc.

A.3.18 The use of the word “services” is deliberate, because walking cannot only be seen as
the lack of infrastructure but could also have economic benefits on the demand and supply
side. One example of this “economic benefit” is the walking done by vendors within trains.
To sell their wares, vendors have to move from coach to coach enticing passengers to buy the
(their wares).

A.4 Supportive Documents

A.4.1 Some documents have been extensively used to bring together the statistical
information that underpins this document.

A.4.1.1 The instructive document for all policy and legislative issues in South Africa are
encompassed in the Constitution of the Republic of South, Act 108 of 1996. The Bill of
Rights, which is Chapter 2 of the Constitution mentioned above, gives effect to some of the
rights mentioned in this document.

A.4.1.2 In walking, many of the rights are evident, such as the right to equality, the right to
human dignity, the right to privacy, assembly, demonstration and picket, association, freedom
of movement, right to clean environment, rights of children, right to education. Walking has
all these elements of the Bill Of Rights. Walking should be seen in that context.

A.4.1.3 The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), the first one released in South
Africa, was released in 2005 (but covered the period up to 2003) as

“one of the most important ways of obtaining critical information needed for
transportation planning and decision making in the new millennium.”9

A.4.1.4 The Medical Research Council (MRC) has a National Injury Morality Survey
System (NIMSS). This system is critical in understanding the residual effects of injuries to
pedestrians neglected as non-statistics in the prevalence of fatalities. Injuries now can become
fatalities later. Post-injury treatment is a cost to the state.

A.4.1.5 The document has also referred to the Road Accident Fund Commission Report,
commonly known as the Satchwell Report, to arrive at fatalities and injury figures. There is
an acknowledgement that these figures may not present a whole picture as not all people who

8
Bedmal,M.J. 1989. Interior Pedestrian Spaces. B.T. Batsford London.
9
Griffiths, R; Richardson, A,J. and Lee-Gosselin. Travel Surveys. Transportation Research Board.

5
are killed or injured on our roads report, lodge claims and that not all who claim are
successful.

A.4.1.6 Some Statistics South Africa (StasSA) documents have also been used to bolster the
claims of the arguments contained in this discussion document. Other documents that have
been used are indicated in the footnotes in the relevant pages. These have also been
rudimentarily referenced in the Bibliography Section of the Paper.

A.4.1.7 The Department of Health also released the first South African Demographic and
Health Survey (SADHS), which has been very instructive in the analysis of youth risks such
as lack of physical exercise, smoking, obesity and sedentary lifestyles.

A.4.1.8 The DOT released the National Road Safety Strategy 2006 Onwards. Cabinet
approved this document. It now forms an important part of the Transport Indabas. The section
about Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety is aligned on some of the issues raised in this document.

A.4.1.9 The Arrive Alive website has provided useful statistics on some transport-related
issues articulated in this discussion document.

A.4.1.10 The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) published a Road Traffic
Reports. It is a treasure trove of statistics of registered, unroadworthy and unlicensed
vehicles, driving licenses, traffic volumes, speed, distance travelled and fatal crashes.

A.4.1.11 Another document that has been used in the development of this discussion
document has been Moving South Africa – A Transport Strategy For 2020 (MSA) but the
information gleaned from this document cannot be verified as the document was not officially
released as a DOT document, although Cabinet approved it in September 1996. The document
still is a valuable resource for reference purposes.

A.4.1.12 The locomotive document for the policy developments in the DOT is the 1996
White Paper On National Transport Policy. Noble statements have been made in this
paper. There is promise for the development of further policies not succinctly elaborated in
the White Paper.

A.4.1.13 The discussion document is aimed at expanding on the policy positions that have
been articulated in this White Paper. Some Provincial Governments developed their
provincial White papers which did not deviate from the “National” White paper. Their
articulation of Non-Motorized Transport policies is also catered for in this document.

B: BACKGROUND
B.1 The statistical basis for this background is the National Household Travel Survey
(NHTS). From a survey, we extrapolated some of the conclusions we arrive at. These
postulations further informed to the recommendations that we make. The findings of the
NHTS were unequivocal: most South Africans walk. Even drivers will have to get out of
their cars sometime and walk. Walking is natural. The problems of statistical interpretation, in
so far as they are presented in this paper, will not be dealt with.

B.2 The challenges of statistical interpretation and the freshness of statistics will be ignored
not so much because they are irrelevant, but because they do not change the need for a
discussion on walking.

B.3 Statistics indicate the patterns of change in the mode of general transport over the past
three years. Among the 31% who walk or used to walk, 15% currently use taxis and 4% use

6
cars or bakkies. Among the 36% of people who walk as their main mode, some 32% would
prefer to use taxis, buses and cars in that order.10 Walking is losing the fight against the
other modes of transportation.

B.4 Walking is declining in South Africa. The number of motor-vehicle on or roads, the
fashionability of motor-vehicle among the highest growing market segment, i.e. young and
upwardly moving Blacks and middle class, the growing purchase of second cars, the growing
number of students who are transported to their schools by their parents, all indicate that
walking is losing out.

B.5 According to the NHTS, 37% of people who use trains take more than 15 minutes’ walk
to get to the station. 15% of people who walk to taxis take more than 15 minutes to get to the
mini-taxi when 59 % of taxi riders walk to the taxis or taxi rank in less than 5 minutes.11 The
figure means that even when people do walk to their next mode, the preferred mode is a taxi.

B.6 In relation to the efficiencies of those modes of transport, these walk times are long, but
within the context of walking and the advantages advocated in this paper, even if
inadvertently. We argue that those people who walk to the trains for more than 15 minutes,
albeit inadvertently, get involved in the “brisk” walking suggested per day.

B.7 The “brisk” aspects of walking provide many health benefits. The “brisk” walking should
be as brisk as possible, as a deviation from brisk, whatever the measurement of this, will have
negative effects on the people involved.

B.8 By a journey it is meant a single course of travel with a single main purpose. Some
modes can be used in a single journey. The mode mostly used is considered to be the mode by
which the journey is known. If the bus part of the journey is the longest, the other modes such
as walking to the bus stop take second place to the bus journey.

B.9 Litman noted that the reason is that “most surveys classify” “auto-walk” or “walk-transit-
walk” trips simply as auto or “transit.” Walk links are often ignored even if they take place on
public rights-of-way and involve as much time as motorized links. If instead of asking,” what
portion of trips involves walking,’ we ask, “What portion of trips involves some walking,”
walking would be recognized as a common and important mode.”12

B.10 The relevance of walking is enhanced by it beginning and ending every journey. We
have highlighted the times and the distances people walk to their preferred public transport
mode. At the end of the public transport mode, there is also a need to walk to the place of
convenience (work, school etc.) walking from the last public mode to a place of work, for
instance, has 24,9% people walking for less than 5 minutes from a train, 52,4% walking from
a bus and 59.7% walking from a taxi within the same period of time.13

B.11 People who walk on foot, still account for the largest number of passengers that
end up being on public transport systems such as buses and trains. Walking time to any
mode of transport in South Africa is split as 52.9% reaching their mode within 5 minutes;
22.4% reaching their mode between 6 and 10 minutes, 13.2% reaching their mode within 11
to 15 minutes and 11.6% reaching it in more than 15 minutes.14

10
http://www.transport.gov.za/library/docs/stats/2001/indicatiors.html
11
NHTS, Table13.3 Page 124.
12
Litman, T. 2004. Economic Value of Walkability. Victoria Transport Policy Institute
13
NHTS. Table 13.7
14
NHTS. Table 13.2

7
B.12 In walking to another mode, new policy approaches aimed at decongestion such as car-
sharing, car-pooling, ride-sharing, car rentals, metered taxis etc. should be included as served
by short distance walking. The DOT should seriously consider the regularization of metered
taxis to the extent that the redressing of their plight will benefit walking and supplement the
implementation of this document.

B.13 The “walking corps” is informed by walking being sustainable if it is an option of

choice. It is more advisable to have a pool of people who long to walk and who want to
migrate from other modes than to have a captive clientele that wants to get out of walking but
cannot do so because of the circumstances beyond their control.

B.14 About, 5% of people in South Africa can walk to their nearest station in between 1 and
15 minutes; 9.1% can do so in between 16-30 minutes, and 5,6% can do so in more than 30
minutes. 15 There are 2% of people who though they have access to train; their important
reason for not taking a train is that they can walk.16 Together with others who walk out of
choice, this 20% is a base from which a “walking corps” can be expanded.

B.15 An even higher number of people walk to bus stops. 47% of people in the country
walk for between 1 and 15 minutes to their nearest bus stop; 8.4% have to walk between 16
and 30 minutes, and 6.9% have to walk over 30 minutes to their nearest bus stop.

B. 16In metro areas, the highest number of people, 61% can have access to their bus stops
between 1 and 15 minutes.17 4% prefer to walk even when there are buses available.18 It is
from this 4% that a walking corps who walk by choice can also be expanded. Marketing
strategies should highlight how healthy these people are compared to their non-walking
counterparts.

B.17 The education and awareness around child rapes and kidnapping have increased walkers,
particularly schoolchildren who walk long distances, but who also refuse lifts offered by
strangers. The intentions of the strangers who offer lifts could be altruistic, but the awareness,
generated by safety considerations, indicates that walkers and pedestrian numbers are unlikely
to be decreased by lifts offered

B.18 Taxi services are the most accessible of all modes, with about 74.2% of South
Africans can walk to a taxi within 15 minutes; 13,2% can do so within 30 minutes while only
4% can do so in more than 30 minutes. The lowest number of people with no service is also
recorded in access to the taxi where only 8.6 % claim not to have a service.19 7% of people do
have access to taxis, but they prefer to walk than take a taxi.20

B.19 The biggest challenge is not in the number of people who have access to the train
stations and bus stops, but those who have no service at all. There are a 75.7% of people
who do not have any train service and 37,7% who have no service to the bus stop. These
numbers should be seen as belonging to the pool of walkers and pedestrians. Government
should evolve policy and funding that will provide for this category of people.

B.20 There is also a need for another policy to take into account the needs of workers
who walk to their places of employment. 23.2% (about 2 310 000) of these people walk to

15
NHTS. 2003, Table 8.1
16
NHTS. Table 10.6 Page 76.
17
NHTS. Table 8.2
18
NHTS. Table 10.8
19
NHTS. Table 8.3
20
NHTS. Table 10.10

8
their place of work.21 Many walk not out of choice but because walking is the only mode
available to them

B.21 Issues of access to workers should be dealt with at a different policy level (public
transport policy). Among options worth exploring are: the subsidization of transportation of
workers by employee (which some employees currently do); the provision of this
transportation by Government; the deliberated location of workplaces and schools either in or
near residential areas, the promotion of worker villages and the expansion of the hostel based
systems for new schools.

B.22 Of the 25% of students who walk to school, about 1.7 million of them walk for longer
than 30 minutes in one direction. This means that 560 000 students walk to school for
more than two hours a day to and from school.22 .These numbers do not detract from the
fact that even when these dangers are there, students will continue to walk. These dangers
should be addressed through other security measures.

B.23 According to the Department officials interviewed, there is a separate policy document
on Scholar Transportation developed by the DOT for which support is being sought from the
Provincial Governments and the Department of Education.

B.24 The Policy on Scholar Transportation will not eradicate children walking to school. The
need for a walking policy to address all walking, including that of scholars will always be
relevant. The scholar transportation policy will encourage those students who live near their
schools to continue to walk, as there is a distance limit to school that the scholar transport
policy.

B.24 The foremost purpose of walking is food shopping. 81% of people walk to buy their
food, while 15% walk to other shops. Walking accounts for the highest number of people who
walk to major services – 43% walk to their traditional healers, 40.7% walk to their medical
service centres, 38,4 walk to the post offices, 24% walk to their welfare offices, 30.9% walk
to their police stations, 27.5% walk to their municipal offices and 49.9% walk to their tribal
offices.23

B.25 In the monitoring and evaluation of the policy, there is a need for research to analyze the
quality of walking amenities, with a special emphasis on those that the previous research
considered peripheral and non-Western, such as walking to traditional leaders and tribal
offices.

C: AIMS OF THIS DOCUMENT

C.1 This document aims to achieve an integration of walkers and pedestrians into the
road network in such a manner that fatalities will be reduced, mobility and access will
be guaranteed for all. Road architecture and design respond to the needs of all users,
including walkers and pedestrians – a reference to the universal design concept.

C.2 Shocked by rising number of fatalities Drive Alive indicated, they would join hands with
the Global Road Safety Partnership – an initiative of the World Bank – which aims to reduce
death on the roads in Third World countries. It is suggested that if this has not been done, the
responsible unit (Road Safety) within the DOT interacts with this global partnership in
conjunction with Drive-Alive.

21
NHTS. Table 13.1 Page 131
22
NHTS. Table 13.13 page 124.
23
NHTS. Table 8.5

9
C.3 In addition to universal design concepts, this document aims to persuade residential
planners to integrate “smart growth” strategies that will encourage human scale
facilities, extending transportation options by integrating downtowns to new town centres.
Walkways should be part of the smart growth.

C.4 Another broader aim of this document is to position the DOT as a key department in
determining road infrastructure (including pedestrian faculties) for new residential
developments, to avoid the retrofitting of these facilities on the road and residential systems
constructed to serve motorists only. The Department will have to consider the issue of eco-
villages and eco-shopping facilities that will enhance the environment. All these will require
an overall objective underpinned by integrated land use planning.

C.5 In addition to residential planners, this document aims to persuade transport planners
and transport engineers and officials to embark on facility design, roadway design,
intersection designs, traffic management, signalling systems and signage friendly to
walkers and pedestrians. In trying to achieve this, planners should consider the following:

C.5.1 At signalized sections pedestrians and walkers face conflicts with vehicles
emanating from the crossing movements on red (high speed and illegal), right turns on green
(permitted/legal), left turns on green (legal for protected-permitted or permitted left turn
phasing and right turns on red (typically legal);

C.5.2 At roundabouts, pedestrians and walkers have conflicts with vehicles entering the
roundabout, or those exiting it. 24

C.6 As the car-ownership culture grows and more suburbia are built far away from main
amenities, there is a decline in the number of walkers. Boosted largely by the emergent Black
middle class, or the “Blackoisie,”25 motor trade sales in South Africa, for the second quarter
ending June 2006 increased by 11,6% compared with the second quarter of 2005.

C.7 For the first six months of 2006 motor trade sales increased by 15.2% compared with the
motor trade sales for the first six months of 2005.26 45 369 new vehicles were sold in South
Africa by the end of June 2017. 3 606 were sold in May 2017. However, 28 639 vehicles were
sold in May 2015 down by 630 units.27

C.8 This discussion document aims to persuade the growing Black Middle class that car
ownership is not the only display of their newly found status and wealth. Other avenues
such as stock option, property investment etc., should also be considered.

C.9 With a personal disposal income having grown for Black South Africans from
approximately 35% in 1992 and surpassed that of Whites to 45% in 2005,28 the responsibility
to invest wisely for the sustainability of the country’s economy and personal wealth should
always be directed towards diversification.

C.10 One of the aims of this discussion document is to reverse the decline of walkers and
encourage new walkers and pedestrians to join the trend. This requires that the ambitions
about car ownership should be downplayed and this could be done to children at an early age

24
Roundabouts: An Informational Guide: Safety. US Department of Transportation.
25
Mail and Guardian, On Line, 15 January 2006.
26
Statistics South Africa, Motor Trade Sales, June 2006 (P6343.2)
27
https://SA car sales: Mixed results for June 217. July 3 2017.
28
Bureau For Market Research, University of South Africa.

10
through highlighting the negative long-term effects of congested roads and the positive
benefits of non-motorized transport and public transport.

C.12 Another aim of this document is to continue the government’s efforts of protecting
the most vulnerable members of our society. Specifically to the transport sector, the
pedestrians and walkers have always been vulnerable in all aspects of road policies.

C.13 In addition to the walkers, there is an attendant need for all Government departments to
address the issue of the physically disabled members of our communities, the elderly and the
infirm. Citing pedestrians specifically, the Satchwell Report indicated that

“pedestrians constitute the road user group socio-economically the worst off” … the
chances of dying from road accidents from road injuries are considerably higher among
pedestrians than among other road user groups.”29

C.14 Some of the physically disabled persons were disabled after being knocked over by
cars, it is double injustice that they cannot be part of the road system and network that
should feel the highest responsibility for them. The White Paper On National Transport
Policy promises

“to improve the quality of life the mobility needs of the disabled population will be
integrated into the design of the new infrastructure, especially in urban areas and in
public transport interchange facilities.” 30

C.15 Finally, the document aims to persuade a large number of carless people from
wanting to own cars and to consider using non-motorized forms of transportation to their
places of conveniences and leisure.

D: THE GOALS OF THIS CULTURE

D.1 Once engagements are finished, South Africans should be satisfied that:

D.1.1 Children can walk to their nearest grocery shop a few blocks away from home
assured of safety and security and look forward to walking there at any other time, day or
night. The culture of buying fresh bread and milk daily rather than buying them in large
quantities shall be revived.

D.1.2 School children would prefer to walk to school if they lived near schools than being
driven by their parents. Parents will reduce transporting their children to school and
encourage them to walk.

D.1.3 Elderly people can walk to and from their bus stops, be able to collect their
pensions at pension points and be able to use their meagre income on nearby shops and
reach their homes or retirement villages without fear of being mugged on the streets.

D.1.4 The disabled community can be able to walk on their own, use their wheelchairs,
to feel their way around. They can be able to move from place to place like their able-
bodied counterparts without being prejudiced by other human or infrastructural factors.

29
Satchwell Report.
30
The White Paper On National Transport Policy 1996. Pretoria, DOT

11
D.1.5 Tourists should feel free to include walking for leisure and to other places of their
conveniences without being driven around if those places are nearer to their hotels or lodges
or if they prefer walking.

D.1.6 Skaters, cyclists, scooter riders, perambulator pushers and dog-walkers, would
also feel that they are part of the walking and pedestrian communities which have equal
access to the facilities.

D.1.7 The number of people who prefer to walk as a mode of choice will increase. The
quality of walking trips will be better than they are at present. This growth in the number of
walkers will send a signal that walking is a mode of transport.

D.1.8 Traffic planners, road engineers and transportation officials will be able to ensure
that new road construction includes the interests of walkers and pedestrians.

D.1.9 Traffic officers will not view walkers and pedestrians as a nuisance but as part of
their core functions and responsibilities; and that

D.1.10 DOT officials will accord the same seriousness to walkers and pedestrians
throughout the year as legitimate users of our roads rather than as statistical entities at the end
of the festive seasons.

E: POINTS OF DEPARTURE OF THE DOCUMENT

E.1 Walking Is All-inclusive And Non-Discriminatory. Walking is not a reserve of the
able-bodied. When walking is referred to, it will also be including people with disabilities of
all types, such as the physically disabled (accounting for 44% throughout the country),
visually impaired (accounting for 18.4% in the country), hearing impaired accounting for
11.6%), intellectually impaired (accounting for 17.2% in the country)31 etc.

E.2 There are 1 091 022 sight-disabled, 383 408 hearing disabled; 55 774 physically disabled
and 192 554 mentally disabled out of a total population figure of 40 583 573 million32 Most of
these need access to our roads and transportation network.

E.3 Walking Is A Sustainable Mode Of Travel. It complies with all the “green
environment” requirements, such a fresh air breathing, no fossil fuels usage, has health
benefits and uses less land space compared to other modes of transportation. The
environmental dividend of walking can only be achieved through pedestrian facility
construction that complies with the necessary environmental sustainability and protection.

E.4 Walking Is Cheap. It is an alternative, particularly in a world where energy resources are
getting more expensive and more harmful to peoples’ health. A timetable does not determine
it, but it can be done any time the walker chooses. This cheapness relates to energy
acquisition by South Africa. South Africa is not in the first 25 world crude oil users.

E.5 The costs of transportation of this crude oil and the price fluctuations beyond the
country’s control, still means that walking is the cheaper option. The fixed cost of operating a
car is at around R1.50/ kilometre. This money could be saved if a bicycle on an average 16-
kilometre round trip was bought. This would buy an R2800 bicycle in six months’ time.33 In
all cases, walking Is Free.

31
NHTS, Table 9.3
32
Disability Statistics in South Africa.www. signgenius.com./info statistics
33
Arrive alive. Department of Transport.

12
E.6 In relation to the above point (of cheapness), walking is an energy saver. It is human-
driven in addition to health benefits. The biomechanics of walking indicates that a process
known as double pendulum facilitates walking. The scientific aspects and biomechanics of
walking will require another study, but it is sufficient to state that in relation to saving energy,
the double pendulum process recovers about 60% of the energy between pendulum dynamics
and ground reaction force.34

E.7 Walking Is Natural. Walking comes naturally to the human body. This discussion
document should be seen as confirmatory rather than proposing revolutionary ideas. The
growth of technology has changed the state of nature with the introduction of systems that
undermine what comes naturally.

E.8 Walking Is Linked To Longevity. Health benefits related to walking make people live
longer and healthier. Walking is a “self-fulfilling prophecy” in relation to old age. It has been
mentioned that there is a need to guarantee the security of the elderly walkers. The more
people walk, the longer they will live.

E.9 Walking Is An Exercise of Choice. When walkers choose this mode to other modes, the
walker has exercised his democratic right to choose the method of travel. Where there is no
alternative, walking only then becomes a mode of the first and last resort. Walkers will
choose the shortest route to their destinations and wish to spend as short a time as possible on
the walk.

E.10 In terms of the nearest opportunity effects and the need to improve all public spaces, it
should be accepted that

“the nearest park, whether 10 or 50-kilometres away, may confer on the park a special
absolute advantage reflected in higher percentage levels than relative distance alone
would predict.” 35

E.11 Walking is a psychological triumph. In a cultural mindset that supports the growth of
car usage, those who choose walking, triumph over social and cultural pressures and
infrastructural barriers against walking. Walkers and pedestrians should be seen as victors
who claim the public space from motorists.

E.12 In walking most of Maslow’s Hierarchical needs are being satisfied.36 The safety
issues without which people will not support walking, the affiliation needs which make
walkers part of the community they live with, the self-esteem which comes from being
appreciated by their communities.

E.13 In relation to democracy, walking can also be politically uniting. One of the most
popular political interactions in South Africa is the presidential “walkabout” and izimbizos.
This method of political interaction cancels the aloofness displayed by speeches on televisions
and radio. They promote politicians as “one of us, “talking to us rather than at us,” “talking to
the common man” and “ready to listen to our socio-economic problems.”

E.14 Walking Enhances Democratic And Social Interaction. People who do not know one
another can meet in a walk and from there create a social base from which to discuss issues of
common interest. People are more likely to greet each other when they meet in a walk than

34
www.wikipedia.org./wiki/walking
35
Stanley, L. and Fessenmaier, D.R. (Eds) 1983. Recreation Planning management. Venture
Publication, Pensylvania, USA.
36
Maslow, A.H. A Theory Of Human Motivation. Start Publishing. 2012

13
when they meet in another mode of transport. Driven by individualistic tendencies, even when
people meet in lifts, in taxis, on trains or buses, they do not greet if they do not know one
another.

E.15 Natural walking can be used as the first step towards financially rewarding
endeavours such as sports and small-scale trading. The integration of natural footpaths
into the trailing and hiking network and for these natural and historical trails should have
some economic benefits and spin-offs.

E.16 In relation to sport, walkers can be easily turned into speed walkers, with minimum
technical and tactical training build on the endurance that has been acquired through long-
time walking.

E.17 All South Africans walk. At a certain point, even car drivers have to get out of their
cars. There is a lot of walking even when a person is to going to travel by plane. Walking Is
A Necessity.

E.18 Even if the State had all the resources, it would not provide road infrastructure to all
communities. Public transport to all homes and motorized transport cannot be obtained by all
South Africans. From these statements, it can be concluded Walking Is Inevitable.

F: PROBLEMS STATEMENTS
F.1 The distance people walk to their places of conveniences, be it work, school,
entertainment, church and leisure is declining as car usage grows. Even in rural areas
where walking is a given, the escape from the vicissitudes of walking is being addressed
through a growing number of car usage, irrespective of whether those vehicles meet the
standards set out by traffic laws or not.

F.2 Car usage is also enhanced by the elimination of the traditional road designs. As we
construct more roads, the narrow ubiquitous sidewalks and bicycle lanes are disappearing
faster. Frequent intersections disappear, more travel lanes are added. Vehicle speeds are
growing.37

F.3 As more parents afford vehicles, a growing number of students are driven to schools
by their parents rather than walk. While many cite the problems of safety for their children
when they walk, alternatives methods to provide community safety can be developed. The
real reason for these parents to drive their children to school is to take advantage of richer
lifestyles, without a long-term realization that it is a lifestyle can have detrimental health
effects.

F.4 Three challenges problems which this document has to address are first, the conscious
reduction of car use to school where walking could be the best alternative for students.
Second, it is to increase safety for students who walk to school. Third, it is for parents to
have a long-term view of their children’s health.

F.5 Walking in rural areas is not by choice. The introduction of motor vehicles to
address the issue of long-distance travelling is a welcome introduction. In the process of
the provision of this welcome relief, walking in short distances may also be affected – and the
benefits of walking are thus eroded. The outcome of the discussions should maintain and then
raise the number of short-distance walkers in both urban and rural areas and peri-urban areas.

37
Wilkinson, B, and Chauncey B. 2003. “Are We There Yet” The Benchmarking Project.

14
F.6 Land-use patterns in the developing world are taking a centripetal move away from town
centres, thereby increasing the journey lengths which debilitates against a walking culture. In
post-1994 South Africa, the relaxation of residential laws and spatial redress has an
opposite centrifugal attraction. A lifestyle that encourages car ownership accompanies this
centrifugal attraction. To have managed the transition, or to “have made it” from the rural
areas into the city, is accompanied by a culture of car-ownership, even when car-ownership is
essential.

F.7 A social malaise of crime threatens the merits and the benefit of walking. In a choice
between the benefits of walking and the false security provided by being inside a motor
vehicle, most people reject walking. Being inside the car has its problems – it also attracts
criminal activities, but the feeling that a motor vehicle can provide an escape from criminals
persists. The dangers of crimes-related to walking need to be addressed.

F.8 In a road network that was designed for the car, little attention is paid to provide
lighting for walkers and pedestrians. Although cars and other motorized vehicles have
lights as a standard feature, they get the added benefit of being favoured with streetlights
while walkers who need lighting most are ignored. A walking culture should address street
lighting to attract walkers and to make them feel safe.

F.9 Walkers are further discouraged from walking by the shortage of crossing facilities and
the uncoordinated traffic signalling that still favours motor vehicles. The situation is even
worsened for disabled walkers who have to cross street which does not have aids to assist
them, or where kerbs are not low enough for their wheelchairs, or the colours are not bright
enough to assist their visual abilities.

F.10 Where facilities for walkers are provided, they further discriminate against people with
special needs. This document must address access to walking amenities for all, with a strong
emphasis on adequate and reasonably spaced crossing facilities and the need to cater to the
walking needs of the physically disabled.

F.11 Although motor vehicles are favoured in the road system, some of them dominate
the walkways for walkers and pedestrians where these are provided. In addition to other
obstacles found in public spaces, some cars owners also park their cars in public spaces. This
document has to deal with the problem of both unnecessary constructions and motor vehicles
parked in public space and thus limiting the attractiveness of walking.

F.12 One dissuading factor for walkers is the speed with which car drivers drive even on
roads in residential areas and where there is high pedestrian activity. The lower number of
cars serves as a spur for car drivers finding themselves surrounded by people to colonize the
space and to engage in speeds that would not be possible if other cars were there. This
document has to address the reduction of motor-vehicle speed in areas dominated by walkers
and pedestrians and in residential areas.

F.13 Regardless of these problems, there are alarming bells in relation to physical
inactivity which walking can contribute to reducing. The preliminary findings of the South
African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) for 2003-2004 for instance, indicates the
prevalence of inactivity among men at about 63% and of women are in the region of 49%.
There are about 20% of men who are minimally active and about 30% of women in this
category. Even less, at 10% men and 20% of women can be said are sufficiently active.38

38
Ms Zanele Mthembu, DOH Presentation.

15
G: INTEGRATED TRANSPORT POLICY MAKING
G.1 Any attempt of making transport policy in South Africa should not suffer the problems of
Past policy-making in South Africa was disconnected from the multimodal,
multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral and interdepartmental approaches.

G.2 To prevent the silo approaches of the past, this discussion document should front-load the
need for the coordination of road engineering, planning and design of pedestrian and walker
facilities, safety education, law enforcement, re-conscientization of drivers, correct data
collection and distribution, mass communications, pedestrian research, statistics collection to
reverse this disconnection.

G.3 Not all of these issues will be discussed at great length within the context of this
discussion document, but there is ample recognition that transport-related policies and
strategies cannot exist to the exclusion of other policies and strategies within the sector.
Transport sector strategies do not exist in isolation but conjunction or assistance of
others outside the transport sector.

G.4 The transport governance structure in South Africa is such that all spheres of
government have concurrent responsibility. In implementing the overall transport
strategies and policies, Members of the Executive Councils (MEC) responsible for transport,
albeit in different portfolio names, meet as MINMEC.

G.5 This arrangement engenders administrative coordination. This document provides a

framework for implementation by three spheres without prescribing “national” policy.
The document is an objective compass from which other spheres can develop theirs.

G.6 Policy development cannot be only the preserve of government as the inculcation of
culture largely depends on the acceptance of the policies by people outside government.
For this reason, business, walking clubs, schools, churches and other development partners
must be involved in the evolution of this culture.

G.7 In the true nature of credibility and acceptance, there may be quicker acceptance from
those who stand to gain the least from it and resistance from who are the intended
beneficiaries. If this happens, the need for communicators to market this culture to the
intended beneficiaries will be greater.

G.8 The objectives of a mode considered insignificant will require a longer-term reiterative
and consultative process with many stakeholders, including those who stand to benefit
from it.

G.9 The implementation of the recommendations may take longer because of the long-term
effort of changing the cultural mindset about walking as an inferior mode and motor-vehicle
ownership as superior. The success of this discussion requires patience.

G.10 The patience required in the exercise is informed by the unequal resources of
appealing to the public by those who wish to promote other modes of transportation
through aggressive advertisements and creation of captive markets.

G.11 Marketing supports motorized industries to the detriment of other modes of

transportation. The marketing of walking should display the same or more doses of aggressive
marketing, innovative communication and decisive branding.

16
G.12 The purpose of this discussion is to encourage walking as an acceptable mode of
transportation and to promote pedestrianization as part of a comprehensive transportation
improvement responsibility of the DOT. This effort requires the different divisions of the
department to work with and not against one another. DOT should interrogate whether
walking should form part of the National Transport Master Plan. The National Transport
Master Plan (NATMAP) should be an all mode document. There is a need to accommodate
walking as a mode of transport.

G.13 Convincing those who walk out of lack of alternatives that theirs is the healthier
alternative, will not necessarily assuage them from the problems created by their
poverty status. Such a pronouncement may be misconstrued as forsaking them to their
perpetual condition. This is an existential challenge which the Departments of Transport
should continue to grapple with.

G.14 To improve transportation for the poor on the pretext requires that the different divisions
of the Department promote back to the future. The intention should be to wean people off
their motor vehicles -based lifestyles by presenting healthy lifestyles as surpassing the
sedentary ones.

G.15 The argument of “back to the future” is more likely to gain favour from those who
already use the other modes of transport as a “fashion item” than those who walk
because they have no choice. The Department also has to engage those who have transport
alternatives and unlimited choices, that walking is a viable and healthier option.

G.16 The poor suffer double jeopardy. Because of their economic situation, their limited
discretionary income, their limited choices in terms of transportation, walking appears the
only choice. They are also pushed to the periphery of amenities. They thus have to travel
longer distances. They pay more than their richer and inner-city counterparts.

G.17 The discussion intends to continue to highlight the health, environmental, economic
and social benefits of walking while acknowledging there is a need to redress the negative
effects of walking caused by the lack of transport, particularly in rural areas.

G.18 “Overwalking” and exposure to the other dangers of walking for the rural poor, should
not be neglected. Walking for long distances is the flip side of the avoidable short trips
undertaken by motorcars to towns and cities. Both present a challenge to government
departments.

G.19 This document interrogates the issue of walking from a transportation perspective
but it is in full support of the other initiatives related to walking administered by, or that
benefit the other Government departments such as the Department of Health (in walking as a
physical exercise activity), the Departments of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
(walking/trailing, backpacking etc. as a tourist attraction) and the Department of Sport and
Recreation (walking as a sports code serve only to highlight the role of walking can, and does
play in our everyday lives). (See also Chapter H below)

G.20 Hilman and Whalley have argued,

“walking and local activity can be characterized as the bread and butter of daily travel, so
the planning system should not overlook its responsibility to provide this staple diet.”39

39
Hilman,M and Whalley, A. 1975. Land Use and Travel. Built Environment. Issue 1.

17
G.21 Because of income levels and other peculiarities facing South Africa as a country,
the apparel and fashion items accompanying walking in developed countries will be
avoided.

G.22 There is an acceptance that walking as a natural form of transportation relies on other
natural things such as being barefoot, natural breathing and normal clothing. The document
warns against the use of shoes which will later cause harm to the feet of walkers. It suggests
chiropractic advice to those who can afford such services.

H: ASSISTANCE OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS

H.1 This discussion document is an extension of the positions propagated by other

Departments such as, among others:

H.1.1 The Department of Health (DOH) with the Youth Charter on Physical Activity, the
National Healthy Lifestyles Strategy Document, the Siyadlala Campaign, the work of the
Multi-Sectoral National Healthy Lifestyles Task Force, the Vuka South Africa and Move for
Health.

H.1.2 The Department of Social Development (DSD) Grandparents Day and the launch of
the Social Development Month and the National Physical Disability Strategy developed by the
Office of the Deputy President in 1997, the adoption of the White Paper on Disability, the
Integrated National Disability Strategy and the Social Assistance Act.

H.1.3 The Department of Labour’s (DOL) employment-equity quotas that apply to the
private and public sector regarding the employment of disabled people through the
Employment Equity Act (EEA) of 1998.

H.1.4 The Department of Education’s (DOE) inclusive education through the White Paper
on Special Needs Education and the Scholar Patrols and Pedestrians Safety Education.

H.1.5 The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) in relation to

trails management and administration and the need for tour operators to promote walking,
backpacking, trailing etc. as one of the tourist attraction.

H.1.6 The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s (DOJ & CD) the
Equality Court system.

H.1.7 South Africa’s role in the Africa Decade of People with Disabilities and the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Disabled People.

I: POLICIES AND LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

I.1 Within Government, there is a lot of marketing to convince government officials and some
cabinet ministers that walking is a mode of transport. Other than the dominating
understanding of transport as motorized, any mention of walking, or NMT as a transportation
mode and part of the DOT’s responsibilities, is met with a lot of disbelief, at best and
resistance at worst. Walking is only seen as a calendar date item when only in one day, South
Africans are persuaded to leave their vehicles at home. Not all the officials embrace it. The
NMT policy as a DOT responsibility is relegated to the periphery.

1.2 The White Paper on National Transport Policy mentions, but does not dwell much, on the
issue of Non-Motorized Transportation. It was left to later policy development to take this

18
issue forward. There is a disconnect between the White Paper and implementation, a
disconnect between the White Paper and Provincial Papers on Transport, some of which
(Provincial White papers) have not been developed. Local municipalities are let off the hook.
They provide these facilities as and when they wish.

I.3 There have been projects around NMT, but these have been concentrating on either
cycling and occasionally, animal-drawn transport. In the final analysis, these have been done
for Public Relations exercises rather than real commitment.

1.4 In Metros that have implemented the policy, facilities still lack. They are concentrated in
certain areas and not where they are needed most. People open their “own” facilities,
including walkways that cross playing fields. Municipalities then respond later with the
provision of facilities on these unplanned pathways.

I.5 To give an impetus to the culture of walking and NMT in general, there must be an
undertaking by the DOT beyond Public relations, especially during the October Transport
Month, that walking is also their responsibility. The rise and drop of pedestrian fatalities
(Easters and Festive season) should be part of their success and failure evaluation.

I.6 Rules, regulations and proclamations respond to popular pressures dominated by rich
classes. Walking is seen as a low-class mode of movement. Regulatory and legislative and
legal issues about it reflect this low status. For example, the National Road Traffic Act
(NRTA) of 1996 barely mentions the connections between the Act and walkers and or
pedestrians. Only three words in the Act have relevance to this document, namely “sidewalk,”
“verges” and “pedestrian.” These do not assist in shaping a discussion document that
encourages waking as a culture.

I.7 The National Land Transport and Transition Act (NLTTA) is a dominant policy that
governs road traffic management in South Africa. There is a need to first interrogate this
legislation for compliance with an effective walking culture. The NLTTA, there is no mention
of walkers and or facilities related to pedestrians.

I.8 The NLTTA has also been cited as a document which is key to answering some of the
questions around transport in South Africa. As it has been shown in the amendments to the
NLTTA about the Taxi Recapitalization Programme, engagement with the document and
suggestions for new approaches and amendments can lead to a different policy. The DOT
should consider the necessary amendments to the NLTTA to support walking. All pieces of
road legislation administered by DOT should be interrogated for their compatibility
with the proposals and recommendations made in this document.

I.9 There is disharmony in the formulation and monitoring of pedestrian/walker policies

and strategies among the three spheres of government. While certain metros do have
limited amounts of facilities and some local legislative guidance (bylaw development), the
smaller and poorer ones are struggling with the provision of transport services even in the old
tradition of providing for cars and buses.

I.10 Within the context of the three concurrent competencies on transport (national, provincial
and local government level) and the SADC and the AU principles, there is an urgent need to
harmonize design principles, standards ad synchronize policies that protect vulnerable
road users and those that specifically promote walking.

I.11 The DOT Strategy Document 2006-2009 indicated that there is a project which compares
the transportation policies of the region. This project should also include the comparisons of
the walking policies of the regional states and suggest a common SADC policy.

19
1.12 In the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries there
is a legal precedent that pedestrians not crossing on marked pedestrian crossings are no longer
considered a factor in accident determination and culpability. The rationale for this emanates
from the knowledge that cars have brakes and they should use them. Because they have speed
governors, they should apply them. Because they can honk/hoot, they should do so.

R1. It is recommended that the issue of walkers and pedestrians be further discussed at a
national structure that coordinates national transport policy, such as a National Transport
Policy Coordinating Committee, the Committee of Transport Officials, and at MINMEC.

R2. It is recommended that the Department of Transport passes legislation that gives the
right of way to passengers even when they cross in parts of the city street that does not have
a pedestrian crossing. Pedestrian crossing areas should be provided, but walkers and
pedestrians should have the right to cross at any other point of the road, in which case
motor vehicle should give them the right of way.

J: TYPES OF WALKING
J.1 Transportation walking is where walkers use walking as an alternative to motor-
vehicles, walking to the same venues as those who use motor-vehicles. Most of the people
who undertake transportation walking do not have an alternative or are too poor to afford to
pay for transport, are young, are people with disabilities or people who have no cars. This
type of walking is exacerbated by the absence of infrastructure and not enough or no public
transport.

J.2 There is also another “forced or survival walking” by rural women and children to fetch
wood or to get water for their families to survive. While in a rural setting, fetching water and
collection of wood is misconstrued as part of the rural social and economic life, the
debilitating effects to health and neglect of other chores need addressing through walkable,
secure and faster facilities. These walking distances are exacerbated by water shortage and the
shortage of wood, which means people have to walk even longer distances to get wood or
water.

J.3 Each week, women spend on average 29 hours 20 minutes walking to and from the river,
27 hours 10 minutes to and from the field/garden and 19 hours 40 minutes to and from the
forest.40 The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that, in South Africa,
approximately 5.4 million children aged between 15 and 17 years were regularly spending at
least some time during the week fetching wood and water for their households.41

J.4 The Department of Transport should encourage water and sanitation for rural areas to be
enhanced by the Department of Water Affairs. They should co-operate with the Department
of Energy (DOE) in the development of energy alternatives that will reduce firewood
gathering and address energy deficits in rural areas.

J.5 Fitness walking where people walk for health reasons. Most of these people choose to
walk because it is less expensive compared to other forms of attaining physical fitness. It is
easy to gain fitness through walking. It does not require expensive equipment. It has fewer
risks of injury and has the general benefits related to all human-powered mobility.

40
A Heavy Load To Carry. Women and Rural Transport. HSRC Review. Vol. 4, Number 3 September
2006.
41
Child Labour Statistics. International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour. ILO

20
J.6. The sophisticated side of this type of walking is exemplified by treadmills in gyms and in
residences of those who can afford. People who cycle or who exercise on treadmills (and
other physical exercises) are more likely to adapt to walking than those who do not.

J.7 Leisure walkers who include “dog people” taking their animals for walks and exercises
or who have formed walking clubs. In this category, there is also a strong element of leisure
walkers who include tourism walking. With the growing Black middle class, dog walking is
gradually becoming a fashion fad.

J.8 This sub-sector of walking is a fertile area for further exploration of the walking culture.
The People’s Dispensary For Sick Animals (PDSA) which has organized the first dog
awareness walk has undertaken the first steps in Soweto. The event is held every month in
interested township and schools in Greater Johannesburg.42

J.9 Recreation walking in which people who are engaged in it view walking as a form of
sport rather than transportation. These can be formed into a walking club. They will always
walk in groups which support each other. Their distinctive uniforms and clothing may easily
distinguish them from other walkers. Social cohesion in South Africa can be used to
consolidate this walking.

J.10 There is also walking within a public space such as the parks. Fun Walks/Pretloop
concept resides within this category of walking. In these types of walks, families are invited
to parks where after the walk they can also share their provisions in a picnic fashion with
other families. This encourages social interaction mentioned.

J.11 Recreation walking can be extended in combination with other forms of sports-related to
it. Walking becomes important in the achievements of other sporting objectives codes.
For instance, walking and hiking form a dual sports combination. So does walking and horse
riding, cycling and walking, walking and safari’s etc. etc.

J.12 Window shopping is walking in which walkers walk as nearer as possible to shops.
Their movement, because it is linked to shopping, can be a disturbance to other walkers and
pavement users who use it for other purposes. A window shopwalker can suddenly stop, thus
disturbing other walkers. Although some integrated planning policies have a different view on
the growth of malls, a walking culture can take advantage of malls to encourage its growth.

J.13. Linked to this shopping walking is a new phenomenon to be explored to promote

walking – known as “trolling”, which means walking in a shopping centre. This is a
growing trend among the youth and can, to discourage sedentary lifestyles, be seen as a
partial solution to the problem.

J.14. For older people and mall walking, Underhill sarcastically observed that

“no sooner had America’s first enclosed shopping centre opened in 1956 in the
Minneapolis suburb of Edina, than doctors began advising older patients to get their
cardiovascular exercise inside the mall, where they could stride without fear of slipping on
snow or ice.”43

J.15 The other element of walking which is distinct from the recreational walking made
earlier is of speed walking as found in sports. Although this is by pure choice and financial
affordability and may well fall outside the brief, there is a need to mention it here to explore
as many opportunities that the issue walking can be modified to as possible.

42
The Star. October 16, 2006.
43
Underhill P. 2004. Are Malls Democratic? The Boston Globe.

21
R3. It is recommended that the Department of Transport engages the Department of Sports
and Recreation about how walk-induced sports, such as golf, bird watching and butterfly-
catching, beach-walking etc. can be leveraged to inculcate the culture of walking among
South Africans.

K: QUALITY OF WALKING ENVIRONMENT

K.1 To ensure that the quality of walking environments attracts rather than repel people, the
following actions need to be taken consistently and over a long period:

K.1.1 The local road authorities should inspect all existing footways/walkways in their
localities. Since this has been a neglected area of transport, it is suggested that existing
legislation, ordinances and bylaws be reviewed. Where such by-laws and ordinances do not
exist, these should be legislated within the context of the broader national transport laws.

K.1.2 There are instances when public space users want to be able to “see” the safety of their
cars (if they drove to the public space). These cars are either parked in the public space itself
(sometimes illegally) or are nearby. This bad behaviour should be addressed through parking
security management that does not disturb the use of public spaces by the public.

K.1.3 Prohibition of parking on footpaths by cars should be enforced. Car drivers view
walkways as parking spaces, particularly if the walkways are underutilized during the part of
the day or there are not many walkers and pedestrians around. In these cases, there is a greater
need for traffic officers to impose judicious fines on motorists or devise sanctions that will
discourage such practice.

K.1.4 Even when there are no walkers and pedestrians around, the tranquillity of the public
space provides the aesthetic beauty which is a tonic for stress. Carmona argues: “Space and
society are related: it is difficult to conceive of space without social content and to conceive
of society without a spatial component.”44

K.1.5 Wolch and Dear attest to the importance of the connection of public space to social
relations when they argue that

“social relations can be constituted through space in case of space characterizing in

influencing form, constrained by space in the case of physical environment obstructing
human activity, or mediated by space in the case of social activities being prohibited by
the friction of distance.”45

K.1.6 Signage, including directional signs where pedestrian mobility is restricted. Road
signage should be legible to all categories of users so that there should be no ambiguity to
users and the expectations of what should be done are uniform. For instance, on entering
built-up areas, e.g. schools, road users should be warned while still in “transition” zones, not
at the built-up location itself.

K.1.7 Directional signs for walking and information boards and maps, zoological
information about trees and historical accounts of historical sites should be provided to bring
the aesthetics of the public space to life. It will at the same time be providing educational

44
Carmona, M. et al. 2003. Public Spaces – Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design.
Architects Press Oxford.
45
Wolch, J. and Dear, M. (Eds) 1989. The Power of Geography: How Territory Shapes Social Life.
Unwin Hyman. Boston

22
information that enhances the advantages of walking beyond those mentioned in this
discussion document.

K.1.8 Clearing and levelling of verges so that they can be used for the provision of
walkways and sidewalks. Many municipalities subcontract the cutting of verges. In
contract documents, there should be an agreed number of times that verges should be cut per
year. This should take into account the rain patterns and other related issues of peculiarity to
that municipality.

K.1.9 Periodic sweeping of walkways and pathways, the gardening and the weeding of
flower beds, the trimming of the hedges near the walkways create an ambience that
promotes walking. These activities should be done regularly, but municipal workers should
choose the times least used by walkers to this cleaning. The municipal workers should not
contribute to the cluster and congestion that already exists through vendors who wish to sell
their wares, buskers and entertainers in the public spaces.

K.2 Entrepreneurs located in or near pathways and sidewalks, such as bar owners, vendors
restaurants etc., should not want municipal workers to the cleaning of the premise but should
do so themselves both from the perspective of cleanliness and also to make their premises
attractive to their clients.

L: SAFETY OF WALKERS
L.1 The Shortage of Data for Walkers and Pedestrians

L.1.1 The shortage of data and low statistics availability as related to walking and
pedestrians has been a major concern for researchers in the field of non-motorized
transportation. In concentrating on statistics that deal with fatalities and injuries, sight has
been lost of the important issues such as customer satisfaction index, safety and security and
the provision of facilities for walkers and pedestrians.

L.1.2 This is so because there is an underreporting at police stations of crimes against walkers
and pedestrians, there is an under-recording of non-motorized trips, there is no
acknowledgement that walking is a form of transportation.

L.1.3 As far as could be ascertained by our research teams, the National Household Travel
Survey (NHTS) provides the official information on walking up to 2003. The years that have
passed may present a different picture. The statistics presented here are indicative and not the
latest. They will need to be revised annually.

L.1.4 From the little data available, the following statistics could assist the purposes of this
paper.

L.1.4.1 Of the total of 10 180 causalities as a result of walking, 256 were killed on
sidewalk/verge, 179 on shoulders of roads, 1195 on the roadway, while 8550 of casualties
were “unknown.” There were more unknown deaths than the known ones.

L.1.4.2 Those killed in the position of standing or running or playing also reveal that a higher
number fall into the category of unknown, at 99; 483 and 2329 respectively. This is the same
trend for the slightly injured.46

46
RSA Accident Statistics, 1999.

23
L.1.4.3 In 1999, 1286 South Africa were killed crossing the road, 191 were facing traffic, and
135 had their backs to the traffic and 83 unknown, giving a total of 1695 people killed
walking. 47

L.1.4.4 According to RTMC, pedestrian fatalities changed from 39.45% to 42,55 of the total
in 2005. Of this 13,92 % were in the age group between 30 to 35 years; 12.28% were in the
age group between 25 and 30 and 10% were in the age group between 5 to 9 years.48

L.1.4.5 According to the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) Data in
2001, pedestrian injuries were the common external cause of death in the 5-15 year age
groups and the third leading external cause of death in the 1-4 age group. Pedestrian injuries
were the most common cause of traumatic childhood deaths.49

L.1.4.6 Comparing the figures of Cape Town pedestrian deaths in 2001, where there were
604 pedestrian deaths, at a rate of 20.7 per 100 000 population, and in 577 in 2004 at a rate of
19.3 per 100 000, there is a decline. However, one injury and one death is one injury and one
death too many.

L.1.4.7 39.8% of deaths in the age group 0-14 years were transported related, and in the age
group between 45 and 54, transport-related death accounted for 34.6% of deaths, and in the
age group of above 65, transported related deaths accounted for 27.9%.

L.1.4.8 Specifically to pedestrians, it is in the age group of 35-39 that most people were
killed, at 88 deaths, followed by the 30-34 age group at 72 deaths and followed by the age
group 40-44 at 62 deaths. It is clear that the highest number of deaths recorded in Cape Town
is between 25 and 44 years old. The national trend is unlikely to be different.

L.1.4.9 In the scene of injuries recorded, 994 people died on the road, and these deaths
occurred between 18h00 and 00h00 at 37.1 followed by the hour between 09h00 and 10h00 at
5%. The day where most of these deaths occurred was Friday at 19.8% followed by Saturday
at 17.3% and followed by Thursday at 14.1%. Most people died in May at 10.6%, and July at
10.4% and followed by October at 9.3%

L.1.4.10 The overall manner of death in the accident related categories, 71.1% of these deaths
were transport related, and 28.9% were non-transported related.

L.1.5 The reduction of reality through the use of percentages does not represent the true
trauma, costs and devastation of fatalities and injuries that individual families go through.
There is a need for serious engagement with causes, among which could be the absence of
policy (and its implementation) related to walking and enforcement of legislation that exists
for both pedestrians and other road users.

L.1.6 The cliché that “one fatality is one fatality too many” should continue to inform the
corrective measures that seek zero-targeting (for all types of road users), irrespective of
whether this zero fatality can be met or not.

L.2 Data of Road Accident Fund (RAF) of Claims.

L.2.1 According to the Satchwell Report, pedestrians accounted for 28% of successful road
claimants. Of these 15% sustained fatal injuries and 24% had sustained serious injuries, 38%
sustained moderate injuries and 23% sustained light injuries.

47
Ditto
48
RTMC Road Traffic Report December 2005 10 January 2006
49
du Toit et. al. Pedestrian Injuries in South Africa: The Challenge.

24
L.2.1 The level of injuries, as argued in another section in this section, does not decrease the
disadvantage that walkers and pedestrians suffer on our roads, particularly in the cost of
posttraumatic stress disorders. These figures based on the Satchwell Report, reflect only on
those who claimed and claimed successfully and cannot reflect the actual numbers and
statistics to show the correct picture of the fatalities.

L.2.2 In racial terms, the largest group of claimants, at 75% were Africans, Coloureds, Whites
and Indians made up 15%, 6% and 4% respectively. These percentages indicate the
prioritization of the provision of facilities that can reduce these fatalities. Although we noted
the growing social cohesion, the reality of a culture is that it should be loaded in favour of
those who are most affected by its absence.

L.2.3 In gender terms, 62% of the successful pedestrian claimants were men. This means that
38% of these were women, but population statistics indicate that there are more women than
men in South Africa. This will require the encouragement of women to report their injuries to
the Road Accident Fund (RAF) and be allowed to enter the claim process to reflect their
vulnerability and their use of the road network.

L.2.4 The age group 20 to 49 years was the major claim group, accounting for 52% of the
pedestrian victims, while 36% were under the age of 20.50 The high figures for one age group
do not reduce the need for vigilance of other age groups.

L.3 Is There A Need For A Rail Accident Fund?

L.3.1 The statistics reflected are not easily available for pedestrians who are killed in railway
tracks. There is evidence that neighbourhoods located near railway lines experience high train
accident rates, but in most cases, these are not attributable to the rail company, as those killed
are blamed for being on the railway track. In most cases, railway companies claim families of
the deceased for the delays caused by those who are killed.

L.3.2 In the general public, there is also little interest in aggregation for the plight of walkers
who are killed on railway tracks. Unlike roads, there is no Rail Accident Fund. The DOT
should consider some form of compensatory mechanism for those pedestrians who are killed
on rail as it perpetuates inequities in modal responsibilities, but this should be considered
outside the brief of this discussion document.

M: SECURITY OF WALKERS
M.1 Public Walking Spaces

M.1.1 The responsible officials need to conduct a study of the extent of street lighting,
develop a method by which unlit street will be lit and determine their life expectancy.
Street lights invite more people to walk because they indicate safety. When they are always lit
(i.e. in tunnels as well) they provide necessary levels of surveillance and walkers being seen
by others who can help in the event of difficulties and insecurity.

M.1.2 This task should also involve an audit of lighting that assists walkers and
pedestrians in parks and open public spaces in addition to conducting an audit of walkways
and pedestrian pavements.

50
Report of the Road Accident Fund Commission 2003. Vol. 1 Page 90 to 91.

25
M.1.3 In 2000 the DOT allocated R3-million per province to improve pedestrian crossings
and certain areas located near the highways identified at a National Pedestrian Workshop as
hazardous to pedestrians. Regarding implementation, there was also a suggestion for the
establishment of an action plan to train Government, local officials and community members
to identify hazardous locations.51 This needs to be resuscitated.

M.1.4 South Africans should be encouraged to walk in groups such as the “walk busses.”
There is always the feeling of safety in numbers, apart from the advantage that walking in
groups increases the social cohesion described. Criminal elements are less likely to target
people walking in groups than individuals.

M.1.5 Reduction of corners and subways as these may provide convenient hiding spots
for criminal elements who prowl on lone and vulnerable walkers and pedestrians. If subways
continue to present dangers to walkers, they should be filled in and replaced by level
crossings.

M.1.6 Poorly-lit subways accessible by steps or ramps dissuade people from walking.
Where light bulbs have expired or blown out, city officials delay in replacing them. In some
cases, it is not the fault of traffic management, but lights are deliberately blown out or
destroyed by criminal elements to carry out their criminal activities.

M.1.6 Cities and officials should create open spaces that have all-round visibility. Open
spaces with all-round visibility have an aesthetic dividend, in that all facets of the
surroundings can be appreciated from any single point of the open spaces, but also assure
walkers that in the event of mishaps they can be assisted by others.

M.1.7 Encourage walkers not to carry valuables that attract criminals. This warning is a
standard one for all people, but it takes an added meaning to walkers because they are
considered easy prey by criminal elements. The highest categories of valuables to be hidden
from public view are cell phones, jewellery items, cameras, wallets and purses.

M.1.8 There is a need to solicit the help of the police and municipal traffic, safety and
security officers and Community Policing Forums (CPFs) to reduce crime in walk paths.
Community policing forums already exist in many wards. In protecting walkers and
pedestrians, community policing forum members will be integrated into their communities as
people who serve the community rather than serve the interest of the police. This has been a
problem that has caused the acceptance levels of CPFs to be low in communities.

M.1.9 The implementation of safety and security for walkers can be made possible by the fact
that in some provinces, MECs responsible for roads are also responsible for safety and
community liaison with minor variations from province to province.

M.2 Traffic Calming

M.2.1 To protect pedestrians and walkers and to promote this form of transportation, this
document advocates and support traffic calming measures with certain provisos. These
measures should include, but not limited to:

M.2.1.1 Speed humps but this should be checked against the downsides that attend to speed
humps such as slow emergency vehicles, drainage, traffic noise and the costs involved. It is
worth noting the Johannesburg Road Agency received many requests for speed humps outside
or near schools. Accidents near schools triggered many requests. There is a need for the pre-

51
Sowetan, 19 December 2000.

26
emptive provision of speed humps, based on research on the number of walkers and
pedestrians at intersections.

M.2.1.2 Chokers, but also to take into consideration the drain problems and costs to be
incurred. The benefits of chokers on our road system is that they reduce pedestrian distances.

M.2.1.3 Traffic circles or roundabouts have been promoted as alternatives because they
help to reduce left-turning accidents. They should be counterpoised against the reduction of
parking spaces and the creation of more space for the right of ways. The advantage of these
traffic circles is that pedestrians can have one place for crossing, while motor-vehicles using
the roundabout are forced to reduce their speeds.

M.2.1.4 Raised crosswalks with flattops, but this should also be checked against their effect
on slowing emergency vehicles in cases of emergencies, noise and maintenance costs. The
advantages of these raised cross-walks are their visibility and can also improve access for the
mobility challenged crossers.

M.2.1.5 Raised median islands in the middle of the road, but these should be checked
against drainage complications and maintenance. The advantage of raised median islands is
that slower walkers can take one leg of the crossing, rest in the middle island and then
continue their crossing of another half of the road.

M.2.1.6 Crosswalks and refuges which guarantee better walkers and pedestrian safety but
should be checked against costs.

M.2.1.7 Chicanes which are snake-like alternating curbs constructions, but these have the
disadvantage of drainage problems. There are maintenance costs involved.

N: PLANNING
N.1 Although details may differ from municipality to municipality and country to country,
the basic principles of transport planning and road design in support of pedestrians and
walkers are the same. The issue of planning should not unduly preoccupy the planners and
policymakers because most of these plans already exist.

N.2 Where these plans cannot be sourced from the transport authorities and industry in South
Africa, some cooperative agreements, should be explored. In particular, the relationship
between the DOT and the USDOT and its agencies is a suggested port of call. The
Memorandum of Understanding between the DOT and the USDOT which has been
underutilized. As an alternative, new products from East Asian markets with cheaper but
equally useful versions should also be considered.

N.3 Integration of walking into the transport infrastructure should be decided at the
outset of integrated planning. There is a need to change the design of roads of the 1960s
where guardrails to prevent people from crossing the roads separated roads, where there were
narrow pavements, the unwelcoming gyratory systems and dual carriageways which made it
impossible for walkers to experience freedom on the road.

N.4 To achieve the suggested design goals, the following should be taken into consideration
when planning: making important destinations such as clinics, schools, churches also
accessible on foot from all angles; improving walking facilities to ensure maximum traffic
flows for all users; ensure safety of walkers/pedestrians, including lighting pedestrian routes
and provide visible policing; provision of best level gradients to avoid stairs and high kerbs;

27
integrate elevators and staircases with pedestrian routes and regular maintenance of walking
facilities.

N.5 The physical environment (and therefore physical design) should be seen as a first
step towards the creation of a livable social environment. In the social environment,
vulnerable road users, such as walkers and pedestrians should reclaim the streets by
advocating for traffic calming, more pedestrianization and promoting locally based traffic
management.

N.6 There is a need to re-orientate professionals in road engineering, planning and

traffic management to respond to walkers and pedestrian needs in the performance of
their duties and the execution of their mandates as in the pre-planning stages. The concerns of
walkers and pedestrians should not be relegated to the periphery. Their concerns should be
front-loaded as early as when the planning process starts.

N.7 In addition to the reorientation of current professionals, there is also a human capacity
concern that should be addressed; that

“it is not good just looking after assets in the form of physical infrastructure if equivalent
attention is not paid to personnel (the intellectual assets’) for example career path and
succession planning.”52

N.8 The emphasis on professionals to implement the recommendations made in this

discussion document does not preclude the need for the development of new skills in these
areas of professionals.

N.9 Cities and towns should maintain social facilities and amenities within walking
range and develop new ones within walking range of served communities. The walking range
of shops, churches and schools should be part of this determination. This must be seen within
the context of “malling” already discussed. Malling should also be interrogated within the
concerns raised by small corner shop owners that the “mallization” of society is swamping
them.

N.10 Land use patterns should encourage the use of public transport, cycling and
walking. In urban areas, encouragement of walking may mean restrictions on vehicular
movements through the design of urban street/public spaces.

N.11 There is a need for vehicular speed reduction especially in built-up areas and where
there is a high likelihood of different road users converging in built-up areas. The speed limit
in built-up areas in European suburbs is a maximum of 20 km/h. In South Africa, this is at a
higher limit of 60km/h on a public road in an urban area.53

N.12 The proliferation of retail parks, shopping parks and big churches change travel
behaviour in a way antithetical to walking. These facilities mega shops are not only
complemented by large parking spaces that entice people to drive to the malls, but also the
mega-parking facilities do not cater for NMT users.

N.13 All new road constructions should include walkers and pedestrian facilities where
feasible. In residential areas, home zones should be given priority over motor vehicles;
walking links must be improved to link with hospitals, schools and public transport. There
must be the prioritization of areas with lower car usage.

52
Civil Engineering. October 2005. Vol. 13 No 10.
53
National Road Traffic Act, 1989

28
N.14 Cities and towns should embark on deliberate pedestrianization of inner-city
centres but remember that delivery vehicles, buses, emergency vehicles, cyclists and disabled
peoples and walkers should be catered for and that walkers also need access to the above-
mentioned facilities.

N.15 Existing facilities roads without walking pedestrian facilities should be retrofitted
to accommodate the needs of pedestrians. The retrofitting should take into consideration
the backlogs in pavement provision. The responsible agency should be guided as to whether
to retrofit first or construct new roads with new facilities.

N.16 In making this decision, agencies should note that the view of experts in the field of
engineering is that

“the replacement costs of services infrastructure constructed prior to 1994 and still in
service (or that ought to be in service, but needs repair or rehabilitation) is thought to be
an even larger order of magnitude than the replacement costs of that constructed since
1994.”54

N.17 The retrofitting decision should also take into consideration the prioritization of the
development of pathways from town centres outwards to residential areas; routes serving
utilities, walking to hospitals, to work and to shopping, public transport and finding ways of
improving and repairing existing walkways and pathways.

N.18 The walking culture should take advantage of big events. For example the Transport
Action Plan of the FIFA World Cup which envisaged repairing 356 pedestrian walkways
throughout the country at the cost of R520-million.55 Many transport projects were centred on
the World Cup, but there is a growing acceptance of the legacies of the World Cup.

N.19 The costs related to pedestrian infrastructure provision or retrofitting will be at huge
costs to the state as the above figure indicates. The promotion of walking by Government
should be seen in the context of investment in the citizens of the future health. It is a
long-term reduction of the State’s financial responsibilities of carrying for the sick. National
Treasury may have to consider a special tax rebate for people who walk or consider a
congestion tax for those who drive unnecessarily.

N.20 The DOT developed a Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework For South Africa
(RIFSA) which provides a policy outline for the development of roads in South Africa, with a
clear vision for

“an integrated road network system, that is managed efficiently, by adequately resourced
road authorities, providing access and mobility to all South Africans in a sustainable
manner.”56

N.121 There are currently 362 099 kilometres of roads in South Africa of which 723506
kilometres are paved.57 There is acceptance that not all roads can be paved, or provided with
pedestrian facilities. Pedestrian infrastructure cannot, for the time being at least, be provided
even in the paved 723506km. Even in unpaved roads, facilities for walkers will still need to
be provided over time.

54
Civil Engineering, October 2005. Vol. 13, No. 10.
55
Sunday Times, 22 October 2006.
56
Road Infrastructure Framework For South Africa. Final Draft. January 2006.Presentation at the
Transport Lekgotla.
57
World Fact Book: 2004.

29
R4. It is recommended that the responsible Department of Transport division establishes a
formula by which it will determine backlogs of sidewalk construction, taking into account
all the relevant factors such as economic dynamics and input costs.

R5. It is recommended that the Department of Transport organizes an Indaba with all road
agencies and service providers to discuss both the issue of retrofitting, integration of
walkways and sidewalks in new constructions.

R6. It is recommended that road agencies should adopt a single pavement management
system for monitoring and classification of the condition of the pavements and to share
their resources and knowledge.

R7. It is recommended that the suggestion of the Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework
For South Africa (RIFSA)’s of a Roads Coordinating Body (RCB) be implemented
expeditiously and that pedestrian infrastructure should be included.

R8. It is recommended that the relevant division within the Department of Transport
facilitates the drawing up of a Charter for Walkers and Pedestrians which will include, but
not limited to safety issues for walkers; security of pedestrians; consultations on new
facilities; auditing of existing facilities; signage recommendations and Intelligent
Transport Systems provision.

O: SCHOOLS
O.1 The Vulnerability of Children

O.1.1 Transport policy related to walking should take into consideration that children are the
highest number of walkers particularly to school, but they are more vulnerable than
their adult counterparts.

O.1.2 Their vulnerability is manifested in the following ways: their peripheral vision is lower
than that of their adult counterparts; their experience of traffic problems and their avoidance
skills are lower than their adult counterparts; their cognitive abilities are still low. Their
auditory levels are still not well developed.

O.1.3 At the age between 0 and 4, children are still learning to walk. They require parental
supervision because their peripheral vision and the depth perception is still low.58 The actual
independence walking ability of a normal child is achieved at the age between 9 and 15
months.59

O.1.4 In addition to these vulnerabilities, children suffer double jeopardy when it comes to the
addressing the fatalities and injuries. Children made up only 8% of road accidents casualties.
Most of these, at 49% were pedestrians. Payments by the Road Accident Fund indicate that
84% of road accident victims who claimed successfully were adults of 18 years and older,
whole only 16% were children were younger than 18 years old.

O.1.5 In terms of the intensities, 7% of children were fatally wounded, 66% sustained light
and moderate injuries. Injuries may lead to fatalities later. 60 The study that was made by the
Medical Research Council, the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS), is a
point of reference.

58
City of Bellevue, Youth Link Survey. 1991.
59
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/walking
60
Report of the Road Accident Fund Commission, 2002. Vol. 1 Page 91.

30
O.2 Walking To School

O.2.1 The main mode of travel to educational institutions is walking. In metropolitan areas,
56.9% of learners (about 4 448 000) walk to school; 70.8% (about 3 823 000) walk to their
education centres) and 90% (about 7 470 000) in rural areas walk to their educational
centres.61 The figure indicates that policy priorities should be in favour of rural people who
have a higher percentage of learners who walk to school.

0.2.2 The numbers in metropolitan and urban areas also indicate that the strategies for walkers
should be maintained. Walking should be increased if walking is by choice, or alternative
remedial policies (e.g. school transportation policies) be developed if such walking is as a
result of deprivation.

O.3 Continuing The Current Projects

O.3.1 Encourage students who live near to schools to walk rather than be driven to
schools by their parents. If students walk, they will free parents to deal with other
responsibilities such as going to work. Students will be in constant social contacts with their
school colleagues. If parents want to assure the safety and security of their children, they
should be encouraged to walk with their children if the distances to school are shorter.

O.3.2 In this way the four fears that parents have for their children will be minimized. These
fears are the fear that their children will be hurt in traffic accidents; that their children will be
mugged and bullied by other children; that strangers may attack their children; and that their
children may be hijacked or kidnapped or “jackrolled.”

0.3.3 Continue with road safety education at schools. In the past, the new curriculum
design neglected those “soft” disciplines which were more life-oriented in favour of “cash”
subjects. With the new approach to life skills, there is now an opening to reintroduce those
disciplines that enhance life skills, but these should be done in balance with the other
disciplines. Road safety is a discipline that needs reinforcing throughout the age limits.

O.3.4 Continue with and establish scholar patrols where they are none existent. These
have been in serious decline, particularly in schools located in poorer areas. Scholar patrollers
should be considered for some form of incentivization.

O.3.5 In schools with enough resources and where there is a middle-class student population,
the patrols continue to exist, largely because the parents can afford them, or transport
authorities target those schools which have higher visibility than poorer ones. Poor schools do
not only suffer the shortage of amenities and services but, they are more vulnerable than their
richer counterparts to dangers of the road.

O.3.6 Alert traffic officials to obstructively parked cars near school entrances and other
public spaces. Clamping of cars found on walkways and the removal of those obstacles not
friendly to safe and secure walking does not, on its own, improve the smooth and undisturbed
walking. Cars left on walkways and public spaces should be clamped, towed and released
upon payment of a fine.

O.3.7 Road safety education should continue to emphasize the “obviouses” of walking.
These are referred to as “obviouses” because they have been taught to many South Africans at
different stages of their lives.

61
NHTS. Table 11.4

31
O.3.8 These “obviouses” were pasted on classroom walls to remind students and were not on
workplace walls in the understanding that adults knew about them. Results now show adults
need to be reminded of these “obviouses” as much as the school children.

0.3.9 It is commendable that these “obviouses” should still form part of the Road Safety
Strategy and they remain unchanged over a long period. These “obviouses” are as follows:
wear bright clothes, wear light clothes, walk in like; “walk on pavements and where there are
no pavements; walk on the right;” “share the pavement space with others;” “look right, left
and right again;” “cross only when the road is clear;” “do not cross in front of a taxi or a bus;”
“cross at marked pedestrian crossings;” “if crossing in rural roads where there are no traffic
lights or markings, choose a straight road where you have a distant view of cars and can see
clearly in both directions;” “use pedestrian bridges,” “see and be seen;” and “do not drink and
walk.”

O.3.10 In teaching road safety to children walkers at school age, theoretical knowledge
should be backed up by practical demonstration and application.

R9. It is recommended that the Department of Transport and the Department of Education
continue to co-operate in the provision of road and traffic-related training and lessons and
awareness to school children.

P: BENEFITS OF WALKING
P.1 Health

P.1.1 Diesel and petrol fumes have carcinogens and particulates harmful to
health. If more people were to walk, they would still be subjected to the same dangers but at a
lesser risk than when they were driving themselves. More people walking means lesser cars
on the road. Fewer cars on the road mean fewer fumes emitted.

P.1.2 Brisk-walking every day (of thirty minutes on most days) is recommended because
of its health benefits. Such walks should be of moderate intensity, meaning that people
should undertake a physical exercise to be out of breath but not necessarily sweat.62

P.1.3 According to a study in Chicago, people who exercise, can add three years to their
life. Their hearts reap benefits from something as simple as brisk walking a half-hour day.63

P.1.4 Coronary Heart Diseases (CHD) is reduced by physical exercise which includes
walking. While in Canada the lifetime risk of coronary heart diseases at age 40 is one in two
for men and one in three for women,

“in South Africa heart disease kills a person every eight minutes. The problem is reaching
epidemic proportions as out lifestyles stresses encourage us to eat incorrectly, drink too
much, smoke in excess, exercise too little and put on too much weight.”64

P.1.5 Bradshaw et al. indicate that cardiovascular diseases account for 14% of death in man
and 19% in women.65

62
Transport-Related Health Effects With Particular Focus on Children: Physical Activity.
63
Associated Press Nov 14 , 2005 (Framingham Heart Study)
64
“Every 8 Minutes Heart Disease Kill A South African.” Press Release Issued on behalf of Pfizer by
Ogilvy PR. 4 September 2006
65
Quoted from a Presentation by Ms Zanele Mthembu of the Department of Health. 26 May 2006

32
P.1.6 Walking enhances bone maturity and bone density. Most of the stresses that happen
to the bone’s long axis are as a result of the direction of the muscles pulling them in different
directions. Bones, like most tissues, respond to the extent to which they are made familiar
with how they should work. In the prevalent sedentary (inactivity) culture where bones are
not exercised, the cases of osteoporosis rise.66

P.1.7 Obesity is reduced through physical exercise including walking. A global pandemic
often misinterpreted as a sign of wealth and health, obesity levels in South Africa are the
same as the United States even when they are at different health, population and wealth
levels. This matter which is of great concern to the South African Minister of Health.67 One in
three men is overweight or obese, while for women, it is more than one in two.68

P.1.8 The figures represent a contradiction. For a country with resources that should cater to
malnutrition as a result of this priority, obesity is neglected. Public finances could be saved if
South Africans walked more often than succumb to their sedentary lifestyles. Regretfully, in
the prevalence of HIV, thinness69 is viewed as an indicator. Obesity is wrongly seen as a sign
of good health and being HIV free.

P.1.9 There were slightly over 20% of men with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of more than
twenty-five while there were about 26% of women. There were more than 10% of men with a
BMI of more than 30 while there were about 30% of women in this category. In the category
of overweight and obese, there were about 30% of men while there were close to 60% of
women in this category of overweight and obese.70

P.1.10 Some forms of cancer can also be reduced through regular exercise including
walking. For example, endometrial cancer can be reduced by 30% according to the study by
the Vanderbilt University in Nashville and the Shangai Cancer Institute. According to a study
carried out by the researchers at the Brighmam and Woman’s Hospital and the Harvard
University, risk of death from breast cancer was reduced by 19% in those who walked or did
similar exercise 1-3 hours per week; by 54% for walking 3-5 hours per week, 42% for those
walking g 5-7 hours per week and 29% for those putting in over 7 hours of exercise per
week.71 The statistics in South Africa are likely to be the same.

P.1.11 Walking can reduce depression. Serotonin (a brain chemical that leads to depression)
can also be reduced by exercising and because of this reduction of serotonin, moods and
feelings of well-being can be enhanced.72

P.1.12 Independence at old age is also a benefit of physical exercise, including walking.
The independence has derivations from a younger age of physical activities. There is evidence
of a likelihood that physically active young people, compared to those who are inactive, will
be more active in later life as well.73

66
Osteoporosis: The Role of Exercise In Maintaining Bone Strength. [www. endocrineweb.com/
osteopororis/exercise.html. See also Gross T.S. and Srinivasan, S. Building Bone Mass Through
Exercise. Could Less Be More. University of Washington.
67
Budget Speech, April 2005. Minister of Health.
68
BBC News, October 289, 2004.
69
Kruger HS, Puoane T, Senekal M, van der Merwe MT. Obesity in South Africa: challenges for
Government and Health Professionals. School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Science, North-
West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. vgehsk@puk.ac.za
70
Presentation by Zanele Mthembu, Director: Health Promotion. Department of Health, 26 May 2006.
71
Bumgrapher W. Walking Reduces Cancer Risk and Improves Survival Rates
72
Walking and Depression Reduction. Cyberprent.com
73
Ditto

33
P.1.13 Other health benefits which cannot be discussed because of the limitations of space are
a reduction of blood pressure, improvement of lipid profiles, enhancement of mental
well-being; higher life expectancy; increased motor skills for children and fewer
psychosomatic symptoms.

R10. It is recommended that the Department of Transport supports the efforts of the
Department of Health to establish a National Centre for Physical Activity to serve as an
information hub for Physical Activity, research outreach programmes etc.

P.2 Community and Quality of life

P.2.1 Surveillance process against criminality and strangers, in an environment of

increasing crime, can be greatly assisted by walking rather than people in cars. Communities
that know one another can easily identify non-residents. They can be vigilant if those non-
residents are of ill-intent.

P.2.2 Vigilance is more important if criminals from other communities change their “hit”
areas when police officials in their original areas pursue them. Walking can reverse the
individualistic effects of modern day life which are referred to by Sonnett and others as the
“privatization of people’s lives” and the end of the “public culture.”74

P.2.3 People on foot rather than individuals in their cars are good for vibrant
community life. Cars create impersonal human beings who find solace in their cars than in
the communal life. These people are defined by the cars that they drive rather than the
contributions to the social lives of communities in which they live.

P.2.4 Fewer cars mean safer streets for children in residential areas. Children are the
most vulnerable road users, from both the physiological, psychological and economic points
of view. Their vulnerability has been discussed in this discussion document.

P.2.5 Retail sale prices and property values are increased in communities where there
are improved walking conditions. One such study is the one conducted by Epplis and Tu in
1999 which indicated that homebuyers were willing to pay a $20 000 premium for homes in
walkable communities.75

P.2.6 The realtors’ selling pitch for a property is whether those properties are within walking
distances of restaurants, shops and schools. In addition to these attributes of distances,
environmentally-friendly additions such as street trees, short front yard setbacks, front
porches and rear garages also enhance the values of properties. The trend for urban sprawls
located far away from amenities is improving.

P.2.7 Less money would be spent on motor vehicle travelling, and communities could
invest the money in other community enhancing endeavours such as sports, culture, recreation
and arts.

P.3 Promotion of Social Inclusion

P.3.1 Roads passing through residential areas split communities. Under pressure to
provide housing, housing structures are clustered in a manner that increases community
interaction when the need for roads becomes paramount, communities that had bonded are

74
Sennet, R. 1977. The Fall of Public Man. Faber and Faber. London.
75
Eppli, M& Tu,C. 1999.Valuing the New Urbanism. The Impact of the New Urbanism On Prices Of
Single Family Homes. Urban Land Institute.

34
then required to be removed for roads to be built for access. The Department will have to
impose a law that forces the construction of roads to precede the building of new residential
areas.

P.3.2 Cars create social exclusion, as many community members do not have cars. Car-
owners become the elite that liaises and interacts with other car-owners. The carless sections
of the population are excluded from this group. But significantly, car owners get divorced or
divorce themselves from community struggles, trials, tribulations and triumphs.

P.3.3 Because walking is slower than driving; walkers have a longer time to understand their
surroundings. In cars, drivers do not have the time to concentrate on their surroundings and
environment because they also have to concentrate on the road. If drivers are interested in a
particular object in the environment, they have to turn around. Walkers are not out under the
stress of turning around.

P.3.4 In the long run, high traffic density in human settlements may also lead to social
side-effects by hindering the development of social interaction in children. Children
cannot socially interact because their parents have to make appointments for them to meet
other children, or the roads are so congested that they represent a dangerous option compared
to watching television or playing television games at home.

P.3.5 Walking includes all categories and social classes and when walking there can be
no differentiation between the elite and the non-elite. These “equal people” walking to
shops, markets, to friends, to places of leisure, play centres, eateries and pubs create an
important social capital while at the same time increasing the “economic” capital which
dominates present life. Walking maintains the old social capital while contributing to the
new “economic” capital.

P.3.6 In metropolitan settlements there is a high level of car ownership, with households
holding ownership of 0,48 per household, 0,39 car ownership per household and 0.14 per
household in rural areas.76 According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation, there
were 6 814 531 registered vehicles in South Africa, but this grew to 7 971 187 in 2005.77

P.3.7 In trying to address these long distances walked in unsafe conditions; the DOT
announced the construction of cycling and pedestrian paths along the road between
Lekgwareng and Dinkwanyane High Schools in Limpopo.78 More needs to be done in other
areas.

P.4 Economic Benefits

P.4.1 The more people walk, the more they have to shop around for bargains than they
do when they are in their cars. Although in the past businesses had resisted restrictions such
as longer shopping hours, widening of walkways in favour of wider car parks, there is now a
realization that people who buy more are those who walk than those who drive. The most
successful shopping sections are those that provide the most comfort and pleasure for walking
customers.

P.4.2 While driving to town for daily chores to towns and cities can be walked from some
residential areas, the problem of finding parking in congested cities by drivers presents a

76
National Household Travel Survey 2003. Technical Report, Page 50.
77
RTMC. December 2005.
78
Radebe J: Speech At The Launch of Integrated Rural Mobility And Access Project, 11 February
2006.

35
challenge for many who want to run around, pay their monthly instalments, or do
consultations with their lawyers, doctors or other professionals.

P.4.3 The problem of finding parking happens mostly during weekends and month ends
shops. Services are forced to extend their working hours on these days to accommodate
latecomers, most of whom are delayed by trying to find parking in a congested town and city.

P.4.4 Economic benefits of walking should also be measured on the cost-benefit analysis
(not necessarily financial gains) to include the cost benefits of accessibility; consumer costs
savings; public costs savings; efficient land use: equity; accessibility of commercial areas,
liability and walkability.

P.5 Transportation Benefits

P.5.1 Vehicle miles consumed by vehicles daily when people drive to work, school or
places of conveniences are greatly reduced by walking. The reduction leads to savings for
the family or the car owner.

P.5.2 Cars used less have low car maintenance costs over a period. The resale value of such
cars is higher than those that have overused their kilometrage.

P.5.3 One less studied effect of motor vehicles is vehicle vibration. In addition to noise
pollution discussed under environmental benefits, the vibration of vehicles means that there
are certain fatigue disorders enhanced. The concerns for vehicle vibrations are more so with
the growth of more vibrating cars bought, such as the Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and
recreational vehicles. The so-called “Four-By-Fours” built for off-road conditions but are
rarely used under those conditions.

R11. It is recommended that the relevant section of the Department of Transport in

conjunction with the Department of Health commissions a study to determine the health
and environmental effects and costs of motor-vehicle vibration in South Africa.

P.6 Environmental Benefits

P.6.1 Vehicle emissions will be reduced. Ambient air pollution can be indicated through
particulate matters (PM), or Total Suspended Particles (TSP); Black Smoke (BS) or gaseous
pollutants such as Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3)

P.6.2 The use of cars for short distances of less than 2 kilometres means that cars will
release a lot of emissions as most cars begin to function at their normal capacity after a
distance of 10 km, particularly on cold days.

P.6.3 The lesser the cars are used, the lesser the noise that emanates from them. An even
greater downside of noise is the hearing loss that exponentially increases if people are
exposed to ambient and traffic noise. (Children are more exposed to loss of hearing in their
later years as a result of traffic noise).

P.6.4 Although South Africa is excluded from some of the stringent conditions of the Kyoto
Protocol, there is a need to contribute to the lessening of global warming on a voluntary
basis. The depletion of the ozone layer is a concern that can be reversed if a critical mass of
people resorts to environmentally friendly transportation means.

P.6.4 There has not been much understanding and planning around the environment and
transport even when there is evidence that transport is among largest contributors to

36
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions. Human Resources Development and management,
Policymakers and planners in the Department of Transport should look into this issue with
urgency.

P.7 Parallel Responsibilities to Enhance Walking

P.7.1 There is a need for leverage of other activities and actions that will enhance walking.
There is a need for the DOT to improve the other modes of transport identified in the National
Household Travel Survey and to respond to the dissatisfaction lees expressed therein
concretely.

P.7.2 According to the NHTS 71 % of train users, 55% of taxi users and 54% of bus users are
not satisfied with the levels of overcrowding on these modes. 74% of bus users, 64% of taxi
users and 53% of train users are not happy with the facilities at stops, in ranks and stations.
The responses to these dissatisfaction levels will require far more than one department and
one response. These are audiences that can be assisted by migration to walking. It is
supported by comprehensive communication and marketing strategy suggested.

P.7.3 To benefit from walking, there must also be parallel work outside the recommendations
of this discussion document which will lead to the reduction of the numbers of less physically
active people such as:

P.7.3.1 Reduction of automation at workplaces. Because of the risk of losing a competitive

edge in technology, the design of the office and work areas may be configured in such a way
that they encourage walking and exercise. This can be done by the location of parking
facilities and ablution facilities away from the office. Within the office the location of
common offices such as printing rooms in places that force workers to walk to them etc.

P.7.3.2 Further education and culture change about the need for the broader
understanding of the environmental degradation. The then British Education Secretary Mr
Blunkett advised that

“education can do more than anything to move us away from the image of environmental
protection as a fringe, liberal issue to being a core concern across society.”79

P.7.3.3 Relocation and spatial planning of suburbia to promote physical activities. The
spatial planning and relocation will encourage and support the growth of local shopping
centres. It will establish and keep public building such as hospitals, council and municipality
offices, courts and hospitals in town centres. It will build new developments away from
existing green lungs and open public spaces. It will build new housing developments near
existing shops, post office and schools. People will walk rather than drive to these facilities.

P.7.3.4 Redstone argued that for many years, the urban dweller has sought relief from the
burdens of the central city – social, financial and environment by escaping to the ever-
widening ring of suburbs, away from the efforts of the ageing obsolesce, and so-called
invasion by less fortunate, less wealthy, and less prepared to cope with the demands of the
city.” 80

P.7.3.5 Encouragement of car use only for long distances and discouragement of car use
for short distances. Alternatively, the promotion of public transportation even for short
distances.

79
School Run Blamed For Pollution, BBC, April 8 2000.
80
Redstone L.G 1976. The New Down Town: Rebuilding Business Districts. McFraw Hill, New York.

37
P.7.3.6 Lifestyle and cultural changes that are racially and class inclusive, achieved
through minimum financial injection from either private or public funds which increase social
cohesion for the stabilization of democracy.

P.7.3.7 The reduction of sedentary lifestyles such as television watching and couch
potatoes. The Youth Risk Survey 2002 found that 21% of adolescent boys (between the ages
12 and 18years) watched television for more than 3 hours daily and 25% were girls.
Exacerbating this is the prevalence of smoking among the adolescents at 30% prevalence for
boys and 18% for girls, 10% of adolescent boys and about 28% of girls are overweight. The
prevalence of physical inactivity for boys stands at a little above 31%, and for girls, it is close
to 40%.81

P.7.3.8 The integration of walking into transport can be enhanced by improved facilities of
other modes such as the following: poor walking links to bus stops and train stations will
reduce the willingness of people to use public transport; buses should be located near where
people live so that they will be dissuaded from using their cars, but they may walk to the bus
stops; buses should be accessed from both sides of the street; extra facilities at bus stops such
as shelter, seating timetables and telephones should be provided and buses must “kneel” to
kerb level.

Q: DETERRENTS TO WALKING
Q.1 Uncoordinated street furniture is a cause for concern for the proposed walking culture.
There should be co-ordination between street furniture and the purpose for which it is
provided. It would not be helpful to have street furniture like seats if no sitting is allowed, or
bicycle parking facilities at places where cycling is not allowed, or bus stops where there are
no bus routes. Street furniture should be linked to the whole transportation plans for the city
or the municipality.

Q.2 Journey lengths of long and circuitous and meandering routes discourage walking.
Crossing facilities are not equidistantly placed. For walkers, this means walking long
circuitous ways to reach pedestrian crossings. Walkers should be given the right of way.
Fences that separate road and act as barriers for crossing the streets at any point so that
walkers and pedestrians do not make long roundabout walks.

Q.3 Steep gradients and hilly walkways and long steps dissuade people from walking.
Steps do not only dissuade old people from walking but are a nightmare for people using
perambulators or wheelchairs. The provision of wheelchair alternative access for long steps is
costly.

Q.4 Acoustic systems at intersections and traffic control systems should be attached to the
crossing lights in such a manner that people in wheelchairs should be able to reach them.
Acoustic systems should be such that they assist by giving crossing cues to people with visual
disabilities. Audible indicators and light control systems more responsive to pedestrians and
walkers should be installed appropriately to assist people with disabilities to walk.

Q.5 Coffee shops have extended their trading space beyond the inside of a room. They
have their tables in the walking space and pavements. The use of pavements creates an
ambience of relaxation which is sometimes limited inside the shop. Where these are found in
the pavement, there should be a distance wide enough to allow walking for those who will
still need to use the pavement for walking.

81
Umthente Uhlaba Usamila: Youth Risk Behaviour Survey 2002. MRC and Department of Health.

38
Q.6 Street and wall graffiti (and all the enviro-crimes related to it such as emptying car
ashtrays, fly posting, shop signs on walkways dog fouling) that is offensive and against social
and moral codes of the community is unlikely to generate interest from walkers. The
municipalities will invoke strong punishment for graffiti and illegal signposting. The indirect
effect of these graffiti is that it is superimposed on those community friendly municipal
notices that inform the public rather than cause discomfort.

Q.7 Weather patterns also influence the amount and the popularity of walking. Although
these cannot be avoided, the material and the type of shelter that will be provided should be
determined by weather patterns experienced in that particular city. Coastal cities and towns
are known for their tropical or humid weather.

Q.8 The provision of facilities and the material used should reflect this reality. Steel street
furniture that absorbs heat instantly will dissuade walkers from sitting down. Unshaded large
chess boards will discourage people to play when it is hot. Open spaces blocked by buildings
will prevent the flow of breeze etc.

Q.9 Portable advertising boards on walkways should be displayed so that walkers and
pedestrian will have the benefit of knowing what is on offer, but the placements of these on
the walkway should not disturb walkers.

Q.10 Personal security should be guaranteed to walkers. Large open spaces removed from
other facilities or other structures should be avoided. Lonely and scary places such as tunnels
should be lit at all times, or mobile security should be visible at all times.

Q.11 Overhanging and uncut tree branches should be avoided. Cracked slabs should be
repaired immediately. Where trees are really necessary, the environmental section of the
municipality should provide the information about the type of the tree and its species, so that
walkers have full advantage of outdoor life education that can be leveraged through walking.

Q.12 Fire hydrants serve a noble purpose, but a balance should be struck between their
location and inconvenience to walkers while making them visible for firemen in the event of a
fire emergency. If they are located in the middle of the walkway, they cause discomfort to
walkers. Included in this category of “disturbances” for walkers are signposts, post boxes
garbage cans, parking meters, signposts etc.

Q.13 Material used in the construction of sidewalks and pavements should correspond to
both the weather conditions and the intensity of use. For city and urban areas, concrete,
because of its durability, is preferred. There may be a need to use bricks, whose advantage is
that they can be replaced if they lead to tripping hazards. Replacement requires the exact
amount of bricks rather than the resurfacing a large area. In rural areas, asphalt is usually
preferred. In both cases, materials should be all-weather.82

Q.14 Litter, including dog dirt, may discourage walkers. Some municipalities may decide to
pass bylaws and provincial governments ordinances against this nuisance, including
determining leads for dogs when walked; off-leash and on leash times; owners cleaning up
after their dogs; no digging of the ground by dogs; carrying suitable bags or plastic dogs
waste bag; regular worming of dogs found in the walkways; other health considerations; dog
permits’ and exemption of guide dogs.

Q.15 Skaters love empty walking spaces. Skating should be prohibited where there are many
walkers and pedestrians.

82
Recommended Guidelines/Priorities For Sidewalks and Walkways. Pedsafe.

39
Q.16 Noise pollution caused by high radio volumes in public spaces may also dissuade
other people, particularly the elderly walkers. A balance between the right of people to enjoy
music and others to enjoy the other benefits of the public space is required. In some
municipalities, there are noise levels enforced.

R12. It is recommended that the Department of Transport considers the development and
adequate use of the Walk Hazard Reporting System to identify problem areas in walking
facilities, walkway designs and maintenance backlogs.

R: TYPES OF CROSSING FACILITIES

R.1 Uncontrolled Crossings

R.1.1 Dropped kerbs or verge crossing to facilitate driving and access to the residential
areas of the driver of the car will cross a footway when doing so. Dropped kerbs should be
provided only when the owner of a residential area has first provided a driveway. This will
make it easier for synergies for levelling the driveways and the kerb levels.

R.1.2 Refuges are also referred to as traffic islands. These islands are in the middle of the
road where there are no crossing points. They help to narrow the road, thus giving the
pedestrians a safer waiting area. Motor vehicles have the right of way.

R.1.3 Speed tables or flats tops referring to long raised speed humps with a flat section in the
middle and ramps on the ends are sometimes constructed with brick or other textured
materials on the flat section.

R.1.4 Road junction where vehicles can change between different routes or directions of
travel, but in the context of this document, this should be done with due consideration for
pedestrians who want to cross the junction.

R.2 Crossings

R.2.1 Zebra crossings, first introduced in South Africa in 1952, are the usual black and
white stripes across a road, giving the right of way to pedestrians. But since they were
introduced, there have always been complaints that they were not achieving their objectives.83

R.2.2 Pelican Crossings which is a crossing with a push button device located on the wait
boxes at intersections.

R.2.3 Puffin Crossings which are similar to the above, but are differentiated by the location
of the red and green signals. The difference is that in the above crossing the across the other
side of the road and in this one the red and green signals are above the wait box. In this type
of crossing, there may be sensors which can determine whether pedestrians are waiting to
cross or not.

R.2.4 Toucan Crossings which is a sensor-driven crossing that can be used by both cyclists
and walkers and pedestrians. These crossings are the same as the two above, but in the green
and red man, it also includes a green and a red cyclist and pedestrian.

83
The Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossing. Automobile Association of South Africa, November 1962.

40
R13. It is recommended that the Department of Transport institutes a policy that will force
drivers to stop at zebra crossings even when there are no pedestrians and walkers in sight.
All drivers should treat all zebra crossings as stop signs.

S: FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST WALKING

S.1 For some time the issue of pedestrian and walker safety has been taken as a problem
of young school children and irresponsible walkers themselves. In a society that
emphasizes the rights of adults over those of children, there has been no effort to guarantee
the safety of walkers and pedestrians who were presumed to be children.

S.2 The Unfinished Journey states that

“227 000 children and adolescents (0-19) die on the world’s roads every year. For every
death, there is a life-changing disability, and for every disability several serious injuries.
The equivalent of at least two large schools is emptied of children every year.”84

S.2 Walker and pedestrian safety have been overshadowed by policies that overemphasis
of the need for the seatbelts and speed limits and drunken driving. Walkers and
pedestrians) are blamed for being on roads where they should not be. Roads are still
considered the preserve of motorists only. Walkers and pedestrians are seen as a nuisance.

S.3 The following speed limits are allocated for the following categories of roads in South
Africa: 60 km/h on a public road within an urban area; 100 /h on public road outside an urban
area which is not a freeway; 120 km/h on every freeway; a maximum speed limit of 80 km/h
for a goods vehicle with a GVM exceeding 9 tonnes; certain vehicles have their speed limits
determined by their tyre sizes; certain tractors and trailers are not allowed to exceed speed
limits of 35 km/h depending on their braking system.

S.4 Road traffic signs can also prescribe speed limits at any given point, particularly when the
road is under construction or repair.85

S.5 There is a low level of training of traffic officers on issues that affect pedestrians or
walkers. In driver training, drivers are made aware of the threat they pose to and are posed by
other motor users rather than all road users. Walkers and pedestrians face the highest risk of
dangers and safety at ring roads, inner ring roads and radial routes.

S.7 The public is not aware of the complications related to walking and pedestrian
traffic. It is aware of the causes and complications caused by accidents to walkers. As long as
those most affected see themselves as an aberration in the road network rather than legitimate
users, the others who are less affected are not going to join their cause.

S.8 Transportation research has not highlighted the need for pedestrian and walker
safety, either in road design, facility design, travel demand management, mobility
management, travel behaviour, public policy, economics, behavioural sciences and market
segmentation.

S.9 This is in spite of the evidence that pedestrians account for a less percentage of fatalities.
Recklessness among pedestrians and walkers accounts for 12.2% of fatalities. Intoxication

84
Unfinished Journey. The Global Health Response To Children and Road Traffic. Child Health
Initiative. 2018
85
Arrive alive.co.za

41
accounts for 10,8% as compared to speeding by motorists by 37.8% and informal housing
next to roads which accounts for 39,2%.86

S.10 The dangers presented by informal settlements located near roads that led to the
Tshwane Metropolitan Council to pledge R90 000 for the erection of a pedestrian bridge on
the N1 highway near Hammanskraal near the informal settlement of Kekana Gardens.87

S.11 Pedestrians who are killed are under the influence of liquor. 3000 adult pedestrians
are killed in motor accidents per year. 70% of them are drunk when killed.88 The advertising
campaign of Don’t Drink and Walk should continue to supplement the message of Don’t’
Drink and Drive which is being driven by Asiphephe Campaign, “Omela Ekhaya” (translated
to Crave For a Drink At Home) in KwaZulu-Natal and Arrive Alive in the national context.

S.12 Alcohol and walking are not only confined to adult pedestrians. 10.6% of learners had
walked alongside a road after drinking in the previous month that the Youth Risk Survey was
taken. Of these 14.9% were males, and 7.1% were females.

S.13 More White learners (at 21.3%) walked alongside the roads after taking alcohol.
Coloureds were at 20.3%), Indians (at 20.1%) and Blacks at 8.2%. The Western Cape had the
highest prevalence of learners (at 19.6%) who walked to alongside a road after taking alcohol,
even when compared to the national average of 10.6%.89

S.14 Pedestrian links are winding, long, indirect and time-consuming such that walkers
are forced to take a primary transport mode such as a taxi, to reach another mode (a bus/train)
instead of walking. These uncoordinated links also discourage people from using public
transport, particularly if they cannot reach public transport facilities through walking.

S.15 Bus stops are not located where the greatest number of people can have easier
access. The longer people walk to bus stops or to bus ranks, the more unlikely that they will
support walking.

S.16 Gated communities should be viewed against the security concerns purported to give
rise to them. These gated communities may prevent walking under the guise of the provision
of their security, transport and road authorities will provide clear application procedures and
conditions for allowing these gated communities as impediments to walkers.

S.17 There should also be a regulation which allows for free passage of pedestrians and
walkers on vacant plots, as opposed to the current warnings on unoccupied lots that
trespassers will be prosecuted. There should be a balance between the right to privacy, the
property rights and rights of access.

R14. It is recommended that the Department of Transport develops national guidelines

about how local municipalities should deal with gated communities as it relates to
transportation and access for all road users.

R15. It is recommended that the enforcement regime used against drinking and driving
should be modified and extended to pedestrians and walkers as well. If walkers and
pedestrians are found intoxicated while on the road network, appropriate penalties should
be extended to them

86
Road Safety Education and Tips: Arrive Alive, NDOT.
87
Pretoria News, October 22, 2001.
88
www.alcohol.co.za/statistics
89
UMThente Uhlaba Usamila: The First South African National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey 2002.
Medical Research Council and the Department of Health.

42
R16. It is recommended that Transport officials should be involved in the prevention of
alcoholism as a social problem as a pre-emptive step to alcohol abuse on the roads.

T: SUSTAINING A WALKING CULTURE

T.1 Municipalities should encourage walking by posting directional signs (wayfinding90),
particularly in areas where there are fewer vehicles and the Standard Living Measures (SLMs)
are low.

T.2 Facilities provided must cater to a wide variety of users, but the use should not
antagonize one user against others. These users should include people who walk alone,
walkers who walk in groups, who walk their pets, who push strollers and carts, who stop to
gaze and window shop, who run, who skate, who frolic, who play and those who eat on the
sidewalk cafes and in walk paths.

T.3 Provision should be made for all categories of walkers by providing step-free access
facilities, dropped kerbs, short and direct routes to encourage less mobile people and people
who suffer from bone diseases such as arthritis and children in buggies and perambulators and
people in wheelchairs.

T.4 Streets and public spaces should become a way of interaction with other people and a
place for making new friends while preserving them as critical infrastructure for
walking as a mode of transportation.

T.5 Infrastructural solutions such as traffic planning, design, facilities provision and
engineering should be integrated with non-infrastructural solutions such as education,
advocacy, training, marketing, communications and publicity campaigns.

T.6 In teaching adults about road safety, their vulnerability in spite of their age (and
acquired wisdom) should be emphasized, their limitations, particularly the elderly,
should also be appreciated by both themselves and the tutors. At the age above 65, street
crossing becomes difficult for the elderly, such as the 102-year-old woman pedestrian who
was knocked down by a car in Dzanani Limpopo in June 2001.91 This is exacerbated by their
poor vision, their difficulty in hearing oncoming vehicles and those approaching from
behind.92

U: GENERAL COMPLAINTS BY WALKERS

U.1 Traffic lights do not normally work. They are not located in correct places. They are
not provided in townships where most pedestrians are vulnerable to speeding motor-
vehicles. In townships, roads are smaller. There are no or minimal walker facilities provided.

U.2 Pedestrians and walkers underutilize the push buttons because these are either located far
away from the crosswalk, or there are no indications which buttons are for which
crosswalks, or that there is poor maintenance that some buttons are not working at all.

U.3 Even when pedestrians and walkers have pressed the button, walkers and pedestrians
are not informed whether the button is working or not and the length of time that they may
wait before they are allowed to cross.

90
Lynch, K The Image of the City, 1960.
91
Star. June 27 2001.
92
City of Bellevue. Youth Link Survey 1991.

43
U.4 At intersections where there are a flashing red or green man lights, walkers and
pedestrians do not understand when to start or end their crossing, particularly if they are
already in the middle of the crossing. They are confused about whether to run and finish their
cross or take their time.

U.5 When new crossings are identified, and when time phases change, pedestrians are not
educated or informed about them. Those who know the time of the previous time phases, get
impatient or are not ready when the lights go green.

U.6 Pedestrians are not aware that once the green light allows them to cross, there may
also be an allowance given to turning vehicles to do the same. There is confusion between
the driver and the pedestrians as to who should give another the right of way.

U.7 The amount of time given for crossing the street is not adequate. The times are
standard even when there are disabled people, are shorter, are differently gaited, who are
elderly and young, who should cross the street within the required time.

U.8 Motor-vehicle drivers who keep their cars engines running, blow their hooters
unnecessarily or play their music loud when their robot is red at crossings intimidate
crossers to cross quicker. The practice by drivers to “hurry pedestrians along” ends up
confusing pedestrians and plays into the stereotype that the motorized modes dominate the
roads.

U.9 These complaints were also raised in a letter to The Star in 2001, by a reader who stated
that motorists hoot, flash their lights. They shake their heads with their fingers placed at their
temples. Sometimes they stick their heads out the windows and shout abuse.” 93 There may be
a regulation for drivers to switch their engines when they have stopped at robots. This may be
reviewed against the growing number of vehicles models which can now switch off
themselves due to environmental consciousness of car manufacturers.

U.10 Crosswalks and pavements are clustered with some other activities such as the selling
of newspapers and flowers and cigarettes, showmen and beggars which cluster the
crosswalks.

U.11 There is laxity by traffic officers and police to investigate cases of Near Misses
because no one was killed. Under pressure of work, this may be understandable, but the
investigation of near misses on walkers by motorists should be seen as preventative measures.
In the long run, understanding and addressing the issue of will reduce the workload.

U.12 Coffee shops that extend beyond their space and pavement trading enhances the
ambience of a walking community and related structures. There can, however, arise a
problem of off-premises canvassing (OPC) which is defined

“as person-to-person efforts solely intended to interest pedestrians in or solicit their

participation of in commercial transactions for private profit with business, except when
done entirely within an enclosed structure.”94

U.13 Pavement traders should ensure that in plying their trades, they do not do so in a manner
that will dissuade walkers from walking on the pavement designed for them (pedestrians) in
the first place.

93
The Star, November 11, 2001
94 Supreme Court of Alaska, City of Skagway v. Robertson (09/22/2006) sp-6046

44
U.14 Although they are often grouped as environmentally friendly modes of transport,
bicycles and skateboarders use the same space as pedestrians, but their speeds and
uncaring attitude concerns pedestrians and walkers. In the hierarchy, cyclists feel that
they own pavements and walkways, even though all of them (walkers and pedestrians are
discriminated against in the road network.

U.15 Some towns and cities have banned skateboarding in certain areas of the walkway.
Fines could be imposed if skateboarders break these bylaws and prohibitions. The
relationship between traffic offers and skateboarders is that of the latter chasing the former
and the former finding joy in avoiding or outrunning the traffic officers. The onus is on
skateboarders to consider themselves in solidarity with the pedestrians, as all of them receive
short rift in the road network.

U.16 The “quads” and motorized four-wheelers have not been allocated facilities.
Because they fear the road, they may find a softer option on the pavement. The Department
should plan for this invasion through a new policy of prohibition which will protect walkers.

V: PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
V.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Issues

V.1.1 Indicators that should be considered should be those of quantitative and qualitative
varieties. Measures to determine the latter should be developed as a standard for this walking
discussion.

V.1.2 There is a need for the prioritization of the indicators as there are those who will be
relevant in all cases and those which will not. There is also a need for the development of
these indicators as part of the broader transport indicators, rather than be confined to the
proposed walking culture.

V.1.3 Quantitative indicators are difficult to measure. They can be felt over a long period,
such as life expectancy raised etc. and the department will work with other Departments such
as the Department of Health and Statistics South Africa to develop and maintain these
indicators.

V.2 Sustainability

V.2.1 The document has alluded to some issues where there should be improvements and
provision. Underlying all these improvements is the issue of sustainability of the measures
undertaken. In the new understanding of sustainability, there is an added economic and social
sustainability over and above the traditional environmental ones. We will unpack some of the
issues under each of these sustainability criteria.

V.2.2 Economic Sustainability

V.2.2.1 has to do with the issue of productivity. We have made a point about people who
walk to work. Walking has health benefits which mean that health workers will be at work
most of the time to sustain the productivity of the companies. Increased productivity can be
considered as indicators for this walking culture.

V.2.2.2 has to do with economic activity. There is an economic activity generated by people
who walk. We have mentioned issues such as shopping, street vendors, buskers, mall-

45
walking among others. Walkers have a greater chance of comparing prices, buying from
informed choices. Increased economic activity can be considered as an indicator.

V.2.2.3 has to do with employment. We have not excluded the walking people from being an
employable group, as long as they reach their places of work within the same codes as
expected from those of their counterparts who use other modes. Corporates consider
subsidizing the transportation of their workers or subsidizing bicycles for those who walk
long distances.

V.2.2.4 has to do with the tax burden. We have suggested to National Treasury that there
should be a consideration for tax relief for those who walk to work, or for parents who do not
drive their children to school, or for the congestion tax paid by car users. The establishment
and the increase of the congestion tax collection, or the decrease in taxation for walkers
should also be considered as an indicator.

V.2.2.5 has to do with trade, albeit on a smaller scale. We have mentioned the issue of
numbers of pavement traders, door-to-door salesman and off-premise canvassing. Increased
trading opportunities by small traders should also be considered as an indicator for the
walking culture.

V.2.3 Social sustainability

V.2.3.1 has to do with equity. We have mentioned that walking enhances this equity as it is an
activity for all people irrespective of class and race. Equity could also be considered as an
indicator of the walking culture.

V.2.3.2 has to do with human health. We indicated the health benefits of walking at greater
length in the document. The number of people who gain health benefits and the reduction
of hospitalization costs and longevity of the population should be part of the indicators.

V.2.3.3 has to do with community livability. We have indicated that communities which
walk and which have walking facilities have a greater chance of communal homogeneity than
those which rely on their cars. Community livability should be an indicator.

V.2.3.4 has to do with cultural and historical values. We have alluded to the issue of
preservation of historical routes with the assistance of the Department of Environmental
Affairs, Tourism and Arts and Culture. The document encourages such issues as walking to
church (or faith-based walking) and fewer roads to preserve those cultural and historical sites
of value to the communities. The preservation of cultural and historical sites should also
be considered as an indicator.

V.2.3.5 has to do with public involvement and active citizens. People walking together feel
like one community. Consultation user groups, communities, clubs and people who will
benefit from this new culture. Public participation should be considered as an indicator
for the proposed culture.

V.2.4 Environmental sustainability

V.2.4.1 has to do with pollution emission. The reduction of emissions as will result from a
walking community. The reduction of emissions should be seen as a core indicator of the
walking culture

V.2.4.2 has to do with the climate change. Although South Africa is excused from the Kyoto
Protocol provision as a non-annex country, there is a need to contribute to the reduction of
Greenhouse gases. Reduction of GHGs should also be an indicator.

46
V.2.4.3 has to do with biodiversity. This issue should be read together with the same issues
made under social sustainability.

V.2.4.4 The other issues of habitat preservation and aesthetics can also be read together
with the other issues raised under economic and social sustainability. They should also be
indicators for this culture.

V.3 Other Indicators

V.3.1 The following issues should also be considered in the monitoring and evaluations of
the walking culture are: congestion reduction; crash reductions; improved mobility for non-
drivers; increased public fitness; smart growth developments; how many children walk to
school; the longest distance walked by people to commercial areas, schools butcheries etc.
pedestrian casualty levels drop; public rights of ways increased; signposts numbers increase;
number of pedestrians crossing grows; number of street lights erected and repaired; schools
with growing numbers of walking students; distances of streets to residential areas reduced;
number of streets with 20 km zones; number of complaints by walkers decrease; what are the
speeds at which cars drive in residential areas; the number of children who are escorted by
their parents to schools? What are the compliance levels at crossings by pedestrians and by
cars; facility costs; consumer costs; noise impacts; depletion of the non-renewable resource;
property values; vehicle and kilometres travelled; and vehicle and person trips?

W: CONSULTATION
W.1 Local communities from ward level will be invited to participate in decision-making
processes that will have an impact on their walking environment. There are 284 municipalities
in South Africa. According to the Ministry of Provincial and Local Government, 90% of these
already have established ward committees.

W.2 Transport departments should be ready to accept suggestions that come from
communities to establish walking clubs and facilities. Communities know what is best for
them and how much they can contribute to their development.

W.3 The community participation should be informed by Arnstein’s ladder of participation,

by emphasizing the (Higher level) partnership, delegated and citizen’s control levels, as
opposed to the (middle level) tokenism of placation consultation and informing, or even
worse, the (lower level) of non-participation levels of therapy and manipulation.95

W.4 If the community is not forthcoming with their views about walking and pedestrian
safety, the DOT should undertake this evaluation and audit of pedestrians and walker
needs. The Department should not consume the communities time through unstructured and
long meetings and meet them only as and when there are challenges, and as and when there is
progress to report.

W.5 Community involvement should be led by dynamic recruitment which will indicate
the members’ time commitments when the meetings are likely to take place and their level of
involvement. Community members involved should be people who have a passion for the
welfare of the walkers and pedestrians and have a positive disposition towards children.

W.6 Local Government structures/Transport committees and forums, where they exist
will be consulted. The consultations should be two way, meaning that if the community

95
Arnstein, S. 1969. A Ladder of Citizen Participation. American Institute of Planners Journal. July.

47
representatives, (who are volunteers) needs to consult the DOT, officials should be readily
available to consult with them.

W.7 Transport officials should be guarded in their approach of establishing committees

even if there are volunteers and weigh the necessity against existing structures. If there
already exists a cycling community group, establishing a walking community group may be
duplicative. The concerns of the two groups are the same.

W.8 The matter should be discussed at either COTO or MINMEC level as a policy item. One
of the decisions which COTO should take is whether transport officials who participate in
these meetings have been adequately updated on the issue of pedestrians and walkers.

W.9 National Government departments should coordinate their involvement where necessary,
particularly DOT, Sport and Recreation, Tourism, Health and Education and other
Departments on an ad hoc and co-option basis.

R17. It is recommended that the Department of Transport establishes a Stakeholder Group

on Walking and Pedestrians.

X: CONSCIENTIZATION OF DRIVERS
X.1 There should be a conscious decision to emphasize the treatment of road users
as equals as opposed to a situation where private vehicles are given special status
symbols ever other road users.

X.2 The historic design of infrastructure has always been adapted to suit the motor vehicles,
which in turn gives drivers the mistaken notion that they should dominate the road.

X.3 A car driver who does not respect pedestrians and walkers also suffers the same treatment
as a walker or pedestrian when he or she has to walk. Sooner or later, a driver does get
out of his or her car to suffer the same consequences that they visit on pedestrians.

X.4 Drivers should be taught that the mere fact that traffic lights allow them to proceed does
not mean that they should not be wary of pedestrians who cross the road even when they
are not allowed to. The same caution should be told to pedestrians and walkers not to assume
that drivers can see them should be reciprocally extended to the drivers as well.

X.5 Drivers should reduce their speeds to lower than the limits indicated in road signs if
there are many pedestrians around. They should also allow longer crossing times for the
elderly and the infirm pedestrians.

X.6 The safety of walkers and pedestrians should be included in the driver manuals,
including the new approach K53 manuals. Defensive driving and be emphasized again in the
reissue of licenses after their expiry. There is a need for Driver Licensing Centre (DLC)
instructors to include routes that have pedestrians when testing learner drivers to make them
(drivers) understand that walkers and pedestrians are part of the road user networks.

X.7 Drivers should be aware of the areas and issues which present the highest safety
threats to walkers and pedestrians. The following are a few of these: rat runs and speeding;
excessive traffic speed; illegal and dangerous parking and inadequate street lighting.

R18. It is recommended that the Department of Transport authorities should consider

driver fault legislation where drivers must prove no fault in the event of a collision with
pedestrians or walkers, cyclists or other non-motorized road users.

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Y: PARTNERS IN WALKING
Y.1 A representation deficit in South Africa is characterized by an “us vs them approach”.
These divides manifest them in gender relations, rural-urban divide, rich and poor, elites and
non-elite etc. Representation across the board in walking should avoid these artificial and not
so artificial schisms.

Y.2 To encourage walking as a mode of transport there is a need to bring the following
people, all players and stakeholders on board. Bringing them on board may require different
levels of participation and different agenda settings by the DOT.

Y.2.1 At an inter-departmental level, there is a need for the DOT, the Department of Health,
Department of Sports and Recreation, the Department of Education, the Department of
Environmental Affairs, Department of Tourism, the Department of Energy to work together
because each one of them stands to benefit from a well-functioning walking culture.

Y.2.2 A temporary partnership for walking evolves itself during strikes by any of the
modes, trains or buses or taxis. During strikes by taxi drivers and security officials, some
workers had to walk to work. On these days, transport officials should make sure that walkers
are made to appreciate the benefits of walking although forced to do so. When next they are
advised to look for alternative transport, they should be able to choose walking as a safe and
reliable mode.

Y.2.3 At a political level, the political heads of the above departments should be formed into
an Inter-Ministerial Committee to deliberate on new challenges and review of the walking
culture. They should provide political guidance, sell the idea to their Cabinet colleagues and
be the front-line communication agents for this cultural change on a continuous basis. A
walking community that finds a political champion is not only likely to continue walking but
may become a valuable contributor to the political establishment and participation (as a
dedicated voter, for instance).

Y.2.4 Local governments are at the coalface of the implementation of walking policies and
the provision of facilities. Closer to communities that may require and may demand particular
walking facilities and amenities, local communities should be at the forefront with ample
support from the other spheres of government. Also, the local governments should be required
to include waking policies into their Integrated Transport Planning (ITPs)

Y.2.5 At professional and industrial levels, there is a need to work in partnership with
organized civil engineering and research structures, such as the South African Institution
of Civil Engineering, (SAICE), the South African Roads Federation (SARF), research
institutions such as the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the ITS
formation such as The South African Society for the Intelligent Transport Systems (SASITS).

Y.3 Schools in their capacity as schools but also as extensions of communities in which
they are located should take the lead in the promotion of a walking culture for both their
students, their parents and their teachers. Likewise, churches should also be at the centre of
encouraging walking to church (spiritual dividend) but also rip benefits from the health
dividend of walking to church.

Y.4 Interests groups such as tour operators, tour guides, should also form part of these
partnerships. In this way, they will be able to help promote the walking policies, for the
improvements of facilities to their potential clients in the tourism industry.

49
Y.5 The promotion of cycling by the Department has invited celebrities to take part for
promotional purposes. This use of celebrities for promotional purposes should be
accompanied by the continuous usage of the mode by these celebrities so that more and
more people can be attracted to it.

Y.6 As part of its SMME company development, the Gauteng Department outsourced the
construction of pavements to small-scale entrepreneurs. The Zivuseni and Kubakhi Project
provided workers with overalls, hats and gloves as 100% labour only at R40 per worker per
day, costing the Department R50-million and was to be doubled the following year in 2004.96

Y.7 The Eastern Cape Transport Department also embarked on a similar project of creating
more jobs, the Department set up a new Community-Based Transportation Programme with a
budget of R84,5-million.

Y.8 The programme dealt with community-based and labour intensive methods of road
construction and maintenance to build sustainable livelihoods and push back the frontiers of
poverty. Through this programme, households maintained certain stretches of road and
obtained permanent salaries from the department. This includes road maintenance,
upgrading, construction, focus on roadside animal management, pedestrian safety,
footpaths, non-motorized transport, etc.”97

R19. It is recommended that the involvement of SMMEs and small entrepreneurs based in
the areas where the pavements improvements or retrofitting are to be continued in Gauteng
and extended to other provinces.

R20. It is recommended that the Department of Transport leverages its Black Economic
Empowerment Charter in line with the recommendations that come from the Department of
Trade and Industry.

R21. It is also recommended that in cases where such work has been outsourced,
supervision and accountability for quality and financial controls be exerted by the
responsible transport department. The testing and the evaluation that has been done
according to the Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework For South Africa (RIFSA)98 is a
welcome development and should be extended and made more frequent.

Z: PROMOTION OF WALKING
Z.1 A Captive Market

Z.1 The alarm bells about growing car ownership notwithstanding the figures are highlighted
in relation to the capacity of the South African roads to carry those cars. In reality, more
people do not have cars than those who have them. According to the NHTS, there are 38
million citizens (out of a total of about 6 million) who live in households with no access to
cars. These are the intended beneficiaries of this culture change.

Z.1.2 There are 13.7 million people who use public transport at least once a weak and
millions of people who use a car once a week. On the days that they are not using cars or

96
Horak E. et al. Transformation of A Provincial Routine Road Maintenance Unit in South Africa.
Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Asphalt Pavements for Southern Africa.(Capsa) Sun City, South
Africa 12-16 September 2004. Road Maintenance Unit.
97
Mhlahlo, T. 2006 Strategic Perspective and Challenges In The Transport Sector. Eastern Cape
Transport Summit, 20 April 2006.
98
Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework For South Africa, Chapter 6. Department of Transport.

50
using public transport, these people should be considered the intended beneficiaries of this
culture.

Z.2 Charity Walks As A Trigger

Z.2.1 Some walks organized by Non-Profit Organizations, or on their behalf by companies

should also be used as triggers for promoting the walking culture in South Africa.

Z.2.2 Individual celebrities take part in these walks (and also run) not for gain, but to use their
celebrity status for the companies to pledge donations for a certain length of kilometres
completed.

Z.2.3 The Minister and top officials of the DOT joined some others in a walk organized by
Radio 702, to promote walking. The more the officials of the Department concretely support
walking, the more people will see walking as a mode of transport.

Z.3 Choosing Days To Promote Walking

Z.3.1 There are days in the calendar which can be used for the promotion of walking: In
April, there is an Earth Day Celebration where transportation choices and their effects on
the environment are explored. In May there is usually a Walking School Bus where parents
and families who live in the same block of flats or neighbourhoods walk their children a
section of the block in pairs to school.

Z.3.2 In September there is an International Walk To School Day. The DOT should use this
day as a means of promoting walking to school by students who do not walk to school. The
DOT has adopted October as Transport Month. Walking promotion should be included as
part of the activities of the month.

Z.3.3 On November 4, South Africa celebrates Childrens’ Rights Day. Walking could also
be promoted on this day. The World Mental Health Awareness Day on October 10 can be
used to highlight the advantages of physical exercise in its multifaceted forms.

Z.4 Promotion of Trails

Z.4.1 A promotional booklet of South Africa states that there are official – and safe – hiking
trails, beyond human habitation in mountains, forests, deserts and coastal zones.99Hiking trails
should be seen as an essential tourism contribution to a walking environment in South Africa.

Z.4.2 There are sub-sectors of walking such as hiking that are mostly exclusive and reserved
for the international tourists. Among local customers, this area has not been properly
marketed. Hiking trail operators need to come to the party and to extend their hiking network
to include “natural” walking trails.

Z.4.3 The other forms of trailing that exclude walking, such as bicycle trails, equestrian trails,
cross-country skiing and motorized trails, will not be discussed as they involve other modes
of transport. They cannot be classified as core, but beneficiaries of a voluntary walking
culture.

Z.4.4 For many disadvantaged people, trails become a method of access rather than
leisure. In most cases these trails are shortcuts, providing access to shops, clinics, churches,
dipping facilities, community functions, schools where no road exists. This is a huge

99
South Africa, 2005-2006. South Africa At A Glance. Editors Inc. Greenside.

51
underutilized resource. Their integration into the broader trail family would assist in breaking
social barriers.

Z.4.5 Trails should also be seen within the context of providing access to other forms of
sports. Mountain climbers may use a trail to reach their destination. Gliders have to walk to
the summit of the mountain as these areas are not accessible by motor vehicle. In combination
with other sports, trailing can be a vehicle to other rewarding health and environment
benefiting activities.

Z.4.6 Old hiking trail operators should be willing to assist new entrants in the field, for
some of whom entry would be natural but financial prohibitive. This natural entry in trails
tourism means that all trails should be promoted, even those not on travel brochures. The help
of the Departments of Environmental Affairs and of Tourism will be crucial.

Z.4.7 New entrants into the tourism industry, SMMEs and BBBEE concerns should be
assisted in designing this new product. Before this assistance is sought, it is suggested that
aspirant entrants should begin to research the following in relation to the trails in their
surrounding areas: How difficult is the trail in terms of its steepness and length? What is the
tour group age structure and can they all be part of the trailing group? Are there facilities on
the trail that will assist hikers such as huts, water points, running water?

Z.4.8 Operators should remember that trailing is precisely about the limitations rather than the
additions of comforts customers are used to. A minimal provision of facilities is key. Which
season is likely to attract many customers – in summer do rains allow for hiking, in winter,
does the cold discourage hikers? What are the average temperatures in summer or winter?
What type of clothing should customers bring with them? Determine the price and cost
structure for hiking that will attract more people than discourage them. Are the trails offering
a circular route or there is a need for another mode of transport to collect hikers at particular
points?
How secure is the trail? Is there a need for the provision of security personnel along the route?
Should food be prepared for the trail and are there facilities to provide such foods? What is
the target market and how are these markets segmented? Is there a need for the provision of
an interpreter?

Z.5 Communications And Marketing of Walking

Z.5.1 Avoid “Exclusive” and “Designer” Walking. Once there is an excessive “marketing
“of walking, the tendency shifts to make it “fashionable” rather popular. In this case, designer
clothes, designer trails, exclusive walking clubs and exclusive walking facilities discourage
the greatest number of people who would like to walk.

Z.5.2 It would be a contradiction in terms to promote walking as a cheap mode of

transport, only to find that, it too is “crept” upon by profit-driven expenses that retain
the status quo of expenditure on transportation. Two examples that emanate from apparel
acquisition exist in South Africa.

Z.5.2.1 Originally designed as places of fitness, gym paraphernalia are expensive. Costs serve
as a factor in deciding whether people want to go to the gym or not. The same holds for golf
where both equipment and clothing related to it is expensive and acts as a barrier to the poor
who want entry.

Z.5.2.2 It is within this concern that the issue of celebrities raised earlier and their need to
sustain their walking beyond the promotional date. There is a need to encourage celebrities
to promote walking as an alternative form of transport, without forgetting walkers for

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whom walking is the only transport available. The real impact of this culture will be measured
around Why people walk, rather than who walks.

Z.5.3 Design fliers, advertising billboards, radio and newspaper adverts and other forms
of communication should popularize walking.

R22. It is recommended that the Department of Transport, i.e. the Integrated Planning and
Intersperse Co-ordination (IPIC)), integrate trail construction and trail maintenance into
its portfolio.

R23. It is recommended that the Communications Division of the Department of Transport

develops a Communications Strategy for the Promotion of Walking in South Africa and to
integrate them with the existing promotional efforts of Public Transport.

R24. It is recommended that an audit of trails, including “natural” access trails be

undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and
the Department of Sports and Recreation.

R25. It is recommended that signposting, colloquially referred to as “blazing” of trails,

should be undertaken to assist users who do not know their way around.

R26. It is recommended that the Department of Transport with the assistance of the
Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) undertake the analysis of historic trails and to
develop a National Management and Management System for such trails under the
auspices of the South African National Heritage Association. (SAHA)

AA: RESPONSIBILITIES OF NMT USERS

AA.1 Most of the responsibilities which should be borne by the walkers and pedestrians are
articulated in a booklet Pedestrian Safety Manual released by the DOT and co-sponsored
by Arrive Alive. The suggestions do not detract from this document but add some other
elements which should be considered.

AA.2 Even though marginalized in the road infrastructure, there is a responsibility on

NMT users to be kind to one another and other road users. Where routes are shared
between pedestrians/walkers and cyclists, cyclists consider themselves as higher in the
pecking order.

AA.3 Walkers at night should wear bright or reflective clothing for easy visibility.
Reflective clothing should not give the pretence of total safety, as its detection qualities are at
longer distances than recognition distances.

AA.4 Walkers and pedestrians should also ensure their protection through being visible,
through advocacy and knowledge through training. The education should mean crossing at
correct pedestrian crossings, no jaywalking and respect for traffic lights They should not be
held responsible for their safety as other factors are leading to a walker/pedestrian friendly
environment. They should be integrated with more education to change driver behaviour and
attitude to walkers and pedestrians.

AA.5 The issue of jaywalking should be debated at greater length. It may be done because
of the absence of crossing facilities at regular intervals. It may also be caused by the
irresponsibility of the walkers and pedestrians on the road. The DOT should provide
guidelines about jaywalking and to determine to what extent it can be taken as an offence and

53
the necessary fines that go with it. Motorists complain that they are easy targets because they
are registered and are easy to trace, but jaywalkers are ignored.100

AA.6 In bearing responsibility for their safety, walkers and pedestrians should not
assume that drivers can always predict their intentions. The responsibility for walkers to
take care of themselves reduces according to their age. The burden of responsibility for the
safety of walkers and pedestrians should rest with drivers, but this should not absolve walkers
from their responsibilities.

AA.7 Walkers and pedestrians should ensure that they walk on verges, walk on
pavements and walkways and footpaths where these are provided, but if not available, they
may walk with vigilance on the far side of the road where oncoming traffic can see them.

AA.8 If they are in a group, walkers should walk in a single file, in the opposite direction to
traffic101 and keep as close as possible to the edge of the road especially if the visibility
conditions are poor. If traffic is dense where there are circumstances which force them to
walk in the same traffic flow as the car due to related to the underdevelopment of facilities to
serve and walkers should always be vigilant

AA.9 Walkers and pedestrians should not cross because they think vehicle drivers have
seen them or they have seen the pedestrian crossings, or to rely on drivers to follow the
rules. There may be instances where the traffic signs may be so many as to confuse the
driver, or be confusing to the driver, or not functioning. There may be other impediments and
obstructions to the drivers’ view. Walker should cross once they are convinced that the motor
vehicle is stationary.

AA.10 Former KZN Transport MEC Cele raised this issue at the KwaZulu- Natal Transport
Indaba and stated that although they do provide facilities such as bridges, walkers prefer to go
“under” them than “over” them.102

R27 It is recommended that the Road Safety Division of the DOT continues to
communicate correct pedestrian behaviour to reduce the number of fatalities on our roads.
There is a need to reconfigure the message towards the responsibilities of both the driver
and walkers and pedestrians than blame the pedestrian for being on the road.

AB: THE ROLE OF DOT AGENCIES

[Although at different levels and scales and intensity, some of the DOT agencies can play an
important role in promoting walking as a mode of transport. Only six agencies, because of
their relevance to walking, will be mentioned.]

AB 1: Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA)

AB 1.1 There has been no confirmed source for some people who walk to catch a plane at the
airport. Many passengers drive to or are driven to the airport. Once at the drop off zone, or
after parking their cars, a lot of walking takes place as cars cannot be brought into the airport.

AB 1.2 The building of airports and the distance between the parking facilities and boarding
gates should be explored for the promotion of walking. Taking the case of South Africa, the

100
The Citizen, April 08, 2002
101
The Vienna Convention on Traffic Signs, 8 November 1968.
102
Cele, B.H. Keynote Address KwaZulu-Natal Transport Indaba, 30 November 2006.

54
biggest port, the O.R.Tambo for example, the new improvements may mean that the boarding
gates are closer to the parking facilities.

AB 1.3 If a passenger has parked at the farthest parking facilities, along the R21, it takes him
or her some minutes to walk to the check-in points, on the third floor, with the use of either
escalators or the lift. From the check-in points, the passengers walk for a few meters or some
minutes to the security gates. From the security gates, there is a walk to the boarding gates.
From the boarding gates, there are some minutes to the plane through the skywalk.

AB 1.4 Some small airports in South African do not provide bus service from the terminal to
the plane. There should be consciousness about how the passengers walk to the plane.

AB 1.5 The walking lengths and physical benefits depend on whether the walker uses
staircases, lifts or the distance of his/her boarding gate. The approach can be replicated in all
the 728 airports103 which are not administered by ACSA.

AB.1.6The number of people who will fly in the future will increase as the low-cost airlines
grow. The number of people who walk the distances above will fall under the “brisk walking”
advocated in this discussion document.

AB.1.7 Since walking in airports is a given as explained earlier, there is a need for walkers to
observe some unwritten regulations in lifts, staircases etc. One of these regulations is that of
walking on the left to allow people to pass on the right in conveyor walkers and staircases.
The same holds for all lifts, staircases etc.

AB 2: The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL)

AB 2.1 The responsibility of integrating walkways and pedestrian pavements specifically falls
on SANRAL on the roads under their jurisdiction. There is also a need for the Department to
embark on a standards-setting exercise so that all in existing roads agencies, such as the
Johannesburg Roads Agency and the Roads Agency of Limpopo and others that may be
formed later, to work in uniformity with the proposed walking culture.

AB 3: The Road Accident Fund (RAF).

AB 3.1 We have indicated in the document that the Road Accident Fund should expedite and
facilitate the claims laid by pedestrian and walking claimants. The Fund needs to further work
with the DOT to develop the Driver Faults system mentioned in one of the recommendations.

AB 4: The South African Railway Commuter Corporation (SARCC)

AB 4.1 Most walkers complain of safety to take trains and of security when walking to the
stations. The SARCC to work with the police, the SAPS and Community Policing Forums
(CPF) to guarantee the security of people who walk to the station outside, in addition to
security at the station.

AB 5: The Road Transport Management Corporation (RTMC)

103
World Factbook, 2004.

55
AB 5.1 The RTMC should produce broader pedestrian statistics and also assist in changing
driver behaviour and to inculcate among road users a walker and pedestrian-friendly
environment.

AB 6: The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR)

AB 6.1 The RSR has been tasked with safety on the railways. As most train users have cited
the issue of safety in trains and the Government’s admission that there is a need to purchase
new trains, the role of the RSR and its responsibilities to the train users can never be greater.
Most train passengers walk to the station. The RSR could be that of complementing the
walking culture through guaranteeing safety in trains.

AB 6.2 We have also alluded to the roads that have been built near the communities. This
also applies to railways.

R28. It is recommended that the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) develops regulations about
the distance that should be maintained between railway lines and human settlements and to
develop strategies to reduce human fatalities on the rail and at level crossings.

AC: TECHNOLOGIES
AC 1: IT Hardware and Software

AC.1.1 There is a need to develop a new IT s system to determine trends and costs
analysis of all modes of transportation, including walking. Most of the existing computer
models serve the evaluation of the vehicular motor traffic. One such model, the Highways
Design and Maintenance Model provided by the World Bank does not account for
walkability. In its calculations, it justifies the allocations of resources to road constructions
rather than promoting walking communities.

AC. 1.2 The pressure on the World Bank (and other international organizations) to be
representative of its members, including poor creditors, should be leveraged to include road
construction, infrastructure maintenance and construction that protects the poor. This shift
should be reflected in World Bank software, design, funding etc.

AC2: Intelligent Transport Systems

AC 2.1 Intelligent Transport Systems, including tactile or auditory guidance systems for
visually impaired walkers and pedestrians, should be considered. Included in the technologies
for the visually disabled may be the need to include audible signals at the crossings or talking
signs for the hearing impaired.

AC 2.2 There is a need to manufacture vehicles designed for lateral visibility and rear
view mirror efficiencies to improve inter alia onboard detectors for pedestrians; speed
governors activated by roadside beacons; friendly vehicles fronts for cars and buses
(plasticized rather than metals) and telematics.

AC 2.3 The role of the Department during the taxi a recapitalization programme and its
insistent on safety regulations in the new vehicle, means that the relations between
Government and industry should be further enhanced. They should ascertain the (ICT and
ITS) industry’s abilities to provide such systems and to legislate on their standards.

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AC 2.4 Microwave detectors are electromagnetic systems which can detect whether there
are pedestrians who want to cross at kerbside or those who are already inside the crossing
area. The advantage of this technology is that it can be used in two ways:

A.2.4.1 Firstly, it can be used to determine whether crossers already in the crosswalk still
need some more time (the shorter and the elderly and the awkwardly/slowly gaited).

A.2.4.2 Secondly, it can replace the existing push buttons which have been indicated in the
document are not very effective.

AC 2.5 In-pavement lighting which provides amber lights towards motor vehicles (on both
sides of the crosswalk. A push button activates these lights by pedestrians. If there is no
pedestrian activating it, the device allows for motor vehicles to proceed. The advantage of this
device is that it can extend the crossing time and cater for the slower people when they cross
the street.

AC 2.6 Infrared detectors are temperature or thermally radiated devices that can detect the
presence of pedestrians at both the kerbside and within the crosswalk area. These devices can
be used to augment existing push-button devices.

AC 2.7 Animated eyes are LED signals that assist by reminding the crossers to do the basic
(look left, look right and left again). These can be used in combination with the other systems.

AC 2.8 Countdown signs that provide the amount of time remaining for the pedestrian to
cross. These can be used to address the issue of the lack of information about when
pedestrians are likely to cross after pushing the button. They can be used in combination with
the press buttons. In his presentation to the KwaZulu-Natal Transport Indaba, eThekwini
Municipal Manager indicated that this is what they had envisaged for the 2010 World Cup.104

AC 2.9 The illuminated push buttons which respond to the complaint that the pedestrians
do not know whether the button is working. The illuminated push buttons provide this
feedback as it indicates whether it is working or not. The illuminated pushbutton also warns
other pedestrians that there is no need to push the button again as it has been pushed already.

R29. It is recommended that the Department of Transport prevails upon road agencies to
use the current technologies in the provision of the crossing facilities for walkers and
pedestrians and to encourage the private sector in organized and unorganized ITS
businesses, to develop technologies that will serve South Africa’s peculiarities.

AD: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

AD 1: Integration of Walking Into Transport Data

AD 1.1 One of the shortcomings in policy development related to walking and pedestrians is
the lack of data. There was a discussion within the DOT officials for the establishment of a
National Transport Data Centre. This was not concluded.

AD 1.2 There should be continued monitoring and collection of data on the risk exposure of
walkers and pedestrians. This data collection should be accompanied by data verification
and validation against benchmarks that have been previously set.

104
Sutcliffe, M. Presentation to the KwaZulu natal Transport Indaba on eThekwini’s Preparations for
the 2010 World Cup. 30 October 2006.

57
AD 1.3 While it is true that more pedestrians are killed on our roads, blaming the victims for
their problems should be based on the causal effect of other road users on the fatality
rates of pedestrians and walkers. These should be interrogated in equal measures.

AD 1.4 Data collectors should conduct surveys of hospital data because fewer pedestrian
fatalities and injuries are reported at police stations. Data collectors should, in addition to the
loss of human lives, also interrogate the economic and social costs of accidents.

AD 1.5 In relation to data, walkers and pedestrian walking patterns should be

monitored and recorded in response to the following questions, among others: How many
walk journeys are taken by different age groups? How many children are obese? How many
children are driven to school? How long do poor children walk to school? How many for the
age group of 16-20 years age group? How many journeys are made to educational centres?
Have the numbers of children who walk to school risen or declined? How much do children
walk? On which roads do they walk? At which time of day do they walk? Which purposes
do they walk for?

R30. It is recommended that the Department of Transport should update itself on the recent
developments in monetization efforts for health when making assessment and evaluations.
This should include the Willingness to Pay Methodology which was tried in the European
Union.

R31. It is recommended that the Department of Transport explores the ways and means of
establishing the following pedestrian friendly indices such as the pedestrian incident rate,
Pedestrian Exposure Index and the Pedestrian Danger Index.

AD2: Travel Demand Management (TDM)

AD2.1 Travel demand management strategies should also take into account the travel
choices, patterns of walkers and pedestrians. In these strategies, it should be taken into
consideration that pedestrians and walkers usually make trade-offs between travelling
and cancelling if they feel their travel will be unsafe. Pedestrians and walkers choose to
travel more on certain days than on others. It should also be considered that travelling to a
particular single destination may trigger travels to other destinations.

AD2.2 TDM should also take into consideration the age categories of
walkers/pedestrians in light of the growing life expectancy and the resultant mobility patterns
of the elderly.

AD2.3 The TDM should also consider that the integration of the disabled of all
categories into the broader economy and society (as opposed to the past where they were
home or institution bound) brings to the mix a new category of pedestrians and walkers.

R32. It is recommended that Public Transport Division within the Department of Transport
includes walking as part of the Travel Demand Management Policy.

AD3: Rural Statistics

AD 3.1 Rural pedestrian statistics should also be integrated as part of the overall statistics
collection on walkers and pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

AD 3.2 Injuries, both permanent and temporary that lead to death later should be
properly recorded as part of fatalities rather than injuries.

58
AD 3.3 There should be a thorough comparison of road accident figures with the accident
circumstances to find ways of eliminating conditions and circumstances which lead to road
accidents.

AD 3.4 All these steps should be integrated into compensation policies benign to walkers
and pedestrians.

AD 3.5 The laborious collection of data should be accompanied by period dissemination

thereof. Radio, television and print media should be used to their maximum to market the
data that will promote walking.

AD 3.6 The orthodox study methodologies on accidents should be extended to include

methodologies such as traffic conflict techniques and broader behavioural approaches
rather than “engineering or traffic management studies.” In the extension of the studies and
analysis, crash analysis should be integrated with the conflict analysis with particular
emphasis on the existence of conflicts points; exposure (the combination of the two
conflicting entities/streams at a conflict point), severity (based on the seeds at which the
conflict modes were travelling) and vulnerability (in terms of how those involved survive
crashes).105

R33. It is recommended that Government should consider establishing its data collection
system rather than rely on data collected mostly by research houses that aim to improve
either their vehicle designs or their sales records.

AE: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

AE.1 Subject to physical sites allowing, finances available and needs analysis being done,
government will do the following: Provide and improve crossing facilities creating direct
routes to public amenities for pedestrians and walkers; liaise with municipalities to include
walkers in their integrated transport plans; discuss with local municipalities to include
surveillance of walkways in their CCTV cameras; conduct feasibility studies of urgent
requests for formal and informal pedestrian crossings; record and prioritize requests for
walkers by local communities; support public campaigns that promote walking; investigate
and make adjustments at traffic signals where walkers wait for a long time; set up criteria to
determine whether a crossing is required or not; provide dropped kerbs and tactile paving;
provide crossing facilities at intervals of not more than 200-km in city and town areas; set up
pathways and footways standards and specifications; negotiate with landowners should extra
land be required to expand walkways;incorporate the requirements of people with special
needs and have annual reviews of road accidents which involve walkers.

AF: THE WAY FORWARD

AF.1 A document of this nature does not give definitive answers and solutions to the
problems we face in our transportation system. There should be an integration of the issues
raised here with the other NMT policies strategies and other policies of government in other
departments.

AF.2 There is a need for integrated planning at a higher level than within the DOT. The
higher level planning will mean that the Department has to exhaust the issue within its
structures such as MINMEC and COTO, but continue to involve walking clubs, schools,
churches, business, tourism etc. to thrash out a way forward.

105
Roundabouts: An Informational Guide. US Department of Transportation.

59
AF.2 Walking is an added responsibility to a regime in both government and the private
sector that has neglected it for a long time. We suggest new entrants into the walking
market, (e.g. in trailing), the allocation of personnel that will champion walking in schools,
in communities and in the Department and the inclusion of walkers and pedestrian safety in
the drivers’ licensing laws. All these pertain to a form of human resource reorganization or
recruitment. There is a need for Human Resource Training and planning.

AF.3 Some issues raised here concern technology acquisition, even though the document tries
to be as South African as possible. There is a need for the Technology Planning. The
planning will need officials to scan the best available technology in the market, at minimal
cost to the state.

AF.4 To take walking out of this neglect, there is a need for a strategic identity and
branding of the walking product. This can reside within the Communications Unit of the
DOT.

AF.5 The construction of roads in the past has not incorporated the need for walkers and
pedestrians. The Department must be involved in Facilities Planning, either to retrofit
existing roads and walkways or to integrate these into new roads

AF.6 The Department should follow up with a Strategy and an Implementation Plan. The
resources already exist within the Department in the case of Shova-Kalula project, and the
Implementation Plan of this document can be tweaked to fit in into this project. Where there
will be a reconfiguration, there is a need for Project Replanning.

AF.7 The costing and budgeting of this exercise have not been done. There is a need for the
Department first to have an audit of walkways, crossings and technologies available to arrive
at a Budget Planning that will best serve the walking and pedestrian community.

AF.8 There are many other pressing needs for Government to implement this proposed
walking culture within the current MTEF cycle. There is a need for the Unit to continue to
forecast the growth or the decline of the walkers over the years.

AG: CONCLUSION
AG.1 We have argued that there is a greater need for the South African Government, public
and civil society to consider walking as a mode of transport used by many South Africans.

AG.2 We have also listed the types of walking currently in place in South Africa, ranging
from the “designer” walking to walkers who have no choice but have to walk. We have raised
the issue that “designer” and celebrity walkers should be used in combination with promoting
walking as a reliable and viable means of transport.

AG.3 The document highlights the fact that a culture of walking can also be enhanced with
the availability of reliable data. Walking data should be treated as part of transportation
statistics and data.

AG.4 We have come strong on the benefits of walking, from the economic to social to
transportation to environmental. These benefits are deliberately longer than the other sections
for the simple reasons that if the benefits of walking are highlighted, South African will think
positively about walking.

60
AG.5 There is a growing integration of walking in other sports such as athletics where
walking is reserved for novices and running is for seasoned athletes. The DOT should support
these efforts.

AG.6 We have been strong on our criticisms of the transport planning and engineering that
continues to neglect walkers, but we have not forgotten to raise the responsibilities of walkers
even on the meagre faculties that do exist.

AG.7 We realize that as technology improves, there is a need to leverage it for the benefit of
walkers and pedestrians. These technologies pertain to pedestrian crossing facilities.

AG.8 We have included some recommendations. These recommendations require debate

among Government departments, and when agreement is reached, they can then be converted
to implementable policy positions for the DOT and its related agencies.

61
A CASE STUDY: WALKING TO UNISA LIBRARY.
From the Pretoria Central Station to the Samuel Pauw Library of the University of South
Africa in Mucleuneck is a distance of about 2.6 kilometres. It is a walk of 36 minutes from the
station to the door of the library and 27 minutes on the way back.

The difficulty of this walk is the steepness experienced by the walker for most of the walk,
namely along the Willow Road, at the crossing bridge until coming to the top of the bridge
and on the pedestrian walk along the M5 to the first pedestrian cross near the Theo van Wyk
Building.

From the station, the walkers walk on the right-hand side of Tulleken Road, cross a robot and
get into the taxi rank between Andries Street and Railway Street. There is a pedestrian
walkway that allows pedestrians to walk along the taxi rank, but as soon as you come to the
end of the taxi rank, there is no crossing facility that takes you to the Clara Street, and along
University, towards the left side of Andries Street.

A pedestrian pavement only starts near the BMW car dealer, but it is congested with car-
carrying trucks which deliver cars to the dealer. These block the walkway. From the
BMW dealer, we proceed across the Holiday Inn, where there is no pedestrian crossing. There
is a Stop sign from the exit of the Club Motors and space for walkers to cross.

Between the Holiday Inn and the Bridge, there is a van der Walt Street. The zebra crossing is
available, but the paint has peeled off. The Municipality could do well to repaint it.

There are traffic lights to facilitate pedestrian crossing from Railway Street across Nelson
Mandela to Willow Road. There are facilities to allow for the movement of the wheelchairs
and cyclists on all sides, but pedestrian crossers must be careful of the traffic turning to the
right from Wallow Road into Nelson Mandela and to van der Walt Streets.

Between Normal and Harmony Roads, along the Willow Road, there are no pedestrian
crossing marks. Truck learner drivers usually use the road. This can pose serious dangers for
the walkers and even more difficulties for the students who used wheelchairs. But to the credit
of Willow Road, there are pedestrian walkways on both sides of the road

On the day of the walk, the walkway along the Willow Road, opposite the Caltex Garage,
towards the Bridge there was a Coca-Cola truck next to the walkway as the garage cannot
accommodate the articulated trucks that come to deliver goods to its shop. There were also
two vehicles which were parked on the walkway.

There is a pedestrian bridge that crosses from the Caltex side on the west of the M5 to the
Mucleuneck side where the University is located. The bridge also caters for the mobility
impaired, but the wheelchair-bound pedestrians as it does not have stairs, except at the top of
the bridge where there is a split between stairs and the facility without steps which allows for
the wheelchairs to continue. But two problems exist with this bridge:

Firstly it is too steep to allow for an unaccompanied student who uses a wheelchair to
negotiate up to the bridge unless the wheelchair is motor powered.

Secondly, once the bridge is crossed onto the Mucleuneck side, the pedestrian walkway is so
steep that it can discourage both the student who uses wheelchairs and the elderly. At the end

62
of the pedestrian walkway, the last slab is broken. A wheelchair could find it difficult to
negotiate this.

After finishing the bridge over the Highway, into Mucleuneck, there is a steep pedestrian
walking, with the University being located at the top of the mountain. As soon as you finish
the pedestrian walk, there is a zebra crossing which is usually manned by an officer who
assists pedestrians with crossing onto the Theo van Wyk Building side.

There are also other pedestrians who walk up from the parking on the South side underground
side of the Theo van Wyk who also use this zebra crossing. On the other side of the streets of
this building, there are flower beds and sitting street furniture.

Between the Theo van Wyk Building and the road, there are ample facilities for parking and
enough separated space for walkers, including parking bays that accommodate people with
special needs. Between the roundabout road next to the Staff parking and up to the fountain,
there is no pedestrian crossing from the walkway.

The road is itself has two other pedestrian crossings, protected by round metallic arrestors
which allow pedestrians to cross from one side of the road to the other. In one of the
crossings, the one nearest to boom gate for cars, there is a person who assists walkers with
crossing either to their parking on the South or to the Northeast of the building towards the
O.R.Tambo Building.

There are no crossing marks between the Fountain and the OR Tambo Building. The fountain
part has also got a directional sign. This sign is not helpful to the walker as it points the
directions of the faraway places such as Sidney and East London, but a plaque on the
directional sign indicates that these distances are some of the examination centres that the
university has all over the world.

As you move towards the O.R. Tambo Building, an imposing concrete wall or a column and
also labelled as being opened by Hiemstra, greets you. Moving from this concrete column to
the O. R. Tambo Building side there is also no marked pedestrian crossing. The kerbs are not
conducive to wheelchair users.

Across the column and along the O.R. Tambo Building, there are some pedestrian-friendly
features such as sitting furniture shaped as round concrete or square and rectangular. There is
also a Post Office, an ATM, a bank and a restaurant. There is a pedestrian crossing between
the Building and the covered parking across it.

This parking is adequately equipped with the pedestrian signs as well as the dustbins. But a
negative is that on the day of the walk there was a green rubble bin opposite the Post
Office but on the pedestrian walkway which disturbs walkers. This bin also disturbs the view
of the Stop sign before the zebra crossing.

At the end of the O.R. Tambo Building to the east, there is a sudden veering off of the
walkway towards the Cas van Vuuren Building away from the road. Before you veer off to
the right, there is enough parking for the physically disabled drivers, but this limits the
walking space between the parking and the wall. Walkers have no options but to veer off
towards Cas van Vuuren.

In Cas van Vuuren there are two directional signs, one mounted on the board and the other
on the pavement itself, the latter pointing you to the direction of where the Hall A and the
Hall B are. In front of you, before you make the turn either to the left or right, there is another
message board about registration dates and other announcements, but this noticeboard blocks
the other directional sign of where the toilets are.

63
There are about four dustbins, perfectly located away from the walkway along the walkway
to the east towards Cas van Vuuren. There are also ashtrays. There is a drinking fountain,
separating the toilets of men and women easily accessible to walkers. At the end of the
building, there is an escalator that takes you up to the floor of the library.

Before you enter the library, there is a palisade gate. As soon as you got through it, there are
three flower ports on the left. In front of the door of the library, there is a half-moon sitting
facility with two ashtrays for smokers to finish their cigarettes before getting into the
library.

64
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APPENDIX 1: SUMMARY
A sister document to a Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) compendium that also includes
cycling and animal-drawn transport, the document is emboldened by the policy and
implementation shift which has been displayed, among other initiatives, by the trial run of the
HOV lanes during the October Transport Month 2006.

1. The following methods were used in the compilation of this document:

 physical observation;
 telephone interviews;
 questionnaire to a few DOT officials;
 study of other policy documents within the DOT
 study of new social cultures, such as mall walking, growing dog walking and
residential reconfiguration;
 personally experimentation;
 scanning the legislative landscape of South Africa;
 use of a reservoir of walking policies in many cities and countries;
 literature study;
 reliance on research results of other countries,
 researched other government programmes.
 Internet searches

2. In our dealing with the key meanings in the document, we acknowledge that:

 “walkers” will include people who do not use motorized transport, regardless of
whether they own a car or not;
 the word “pedestrian” is limited in describing walking
 “walking” is a legitimate transport infrastructure usage which needs access guarantees
 “Walking” refers to a form of transportation without a vehicle or animal. The average
walking speed is about 5km/h, but height, weight and age determine the actual speed.
 “Walking” will include all subforms of walking, such as sport, rambling and hiking
 “Walking” is the nearest to perfect exercise, perhaps surpassed only by swimming.
 “DOT” will be referring to all sections, agencies and spheres and organs of the
Department.
 where the term government will be used, it will be meaning the whole Government,
but will not be reducing the role of the DOT
 “public spaces,” will include all forms of public spaces
 “shopping malls,” we will be referring to the whole list of commercial places to
include arcades and gallerias, urban shopping centres, festival marketplaces and
multi-use centres, and
 “walking facilities,” we will be including sidewalks, pavements, walkways but also to
include the new forms of skywalks and concourses

3 The key documents which have been used are the following:

 The National Household Travel Survey (NHTS);

 National Injury Mortality Survey System (NIMSS);
 Road Accident Fund Commission Report The Satchwell Report)
 Statistics South Africa (StasSA);
 South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS);
 National Road Safety Strategy 2006 Onwards;
 Arrive Alive website Road Traffic Report for December 2005;
 Moving South Africa – A Transport Strategy For 2020 (MSA)

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  The White Paper on National Transport Policy.

4The background which informed this document was that:

 walking is losing the fight against the other modes of transportation.

 walking, in general, is declining in South Africa.
 a journey it is meant a single course of travel with a single main purpose.
 walking begins and ends the journey.
 people who walk on foot, still account for the largest number of passengers that end
up being on public transport systems such as buses and trains.
 people who though do have access to train; choose to walk.
 an even higher number of people walk to bus stops.
 walking corps is informed by the fact that walking will be sustainable if it is out of
choice.
 taxi services are the most accessible of all modes,
 the biggest challenge is not in the number of people who have access to the train
stations and bus stops, but those who have no service at all.
 there is also a need for another policy to take into account the needs of workers who
walk to their places of employment.
 560 000 students walk to school for more than to hours a day to and from school.
 the foremost purpose of walking is “food shopping.”
 non-Western trip purposes such as visits to traditional healers should also be
considered.

5. The aims of this document are;

 to achieve integration of walkers and pedestrians into the road network in such a
manner that fatalities will be reduced, mobility and access will be guaranteed for all.
Road architecture and design respond to the needs of all users,
 to persuade residential planners to integrate “smart growth” strategies that will
encourage human scale facilities.
 to persuade transport planners, transport engineers and officials to embark on
pedestrian facility design, roadway design, intersection designs, traffic management,
signalling systems and signage friendly to walkers and pedestrians
 to persuade the growing Black Middle class that unnecessary car ownership is not the
only display of their newly found status and wealth and other avenues such as stock
option, property investment etc., should also be considered.
 to reverse the decline of walkers and encourage new walkers and pedestrians to join
the trend.
 to continue the government’s efforts of protecting the most vulnerable members of
our society.
 to persuade a large number of carless people from wanting to own cars and to
consider using non-motorized forms of transportation to their places of conveniences
and leisure.

6. The visions of this document are as follows:

 children can walk to their nearest grocery shop;

 school children would prefer to walk to school if they lived near schools;
 elderly people can walk to and from their bus stops, be able to collect their pensions
at pension points;
 the disabled community can be able to walk on their own, use their wheelchairs, to
feel their way around and be able to move from place to place like their able-bodied
counterparts;

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  tourists should feel free to include walking for leisure and to other places of their
conveniences;
 skaters, cyclists, perambulator pushers and dog-walkers, would also feel that they are
part of the walking and pedestrian communities;
 the number of people who prefer to walk as a mode of choice will increase;
 traffic planners, road engineers and transport officials will be able to ensure that new
road construction includes the interests of walkers and pedestrians;
 traffic officers will not view walkers and pedestrians as a nuisance; and
 DOT officials will accord the same seriousness to walkers and pedestrians as they for
motorized transport

7. The points of departure of this policy are that walking

 is all-inclusive and non-discriminatory;

 is a sustainable mode of travel;
 is cheap;
 is, in most cases, free;
 is an energy saver;
 is natural;
 is linked to longevity;
 is an exercise of choice;
 is a psychological triumph;
 satisfies Maslow’s hierarchical needs;
 can also be politically uniting, and
 enhances democratic and social interaction.

8. The document seeks to address the following problems:

 the distance that people walk to their places of conveniences be it work, school,
entertainment, church and leisure is declining as car usage grows;
 car usage is as a result of the elimination of the traditional road designs;
 a growing number of students is driven to schools by their parents; Parents do not
have a long-term view of the health of their children;
 walking in rural areas is not by choice, the introduction of motor vehicles to address
the issue of long-distance travelling is a welcome introduction;
 in post-1994 South Africa, the relaxation of residential laws and spatial redress have
an opposite centrifugal attraction. A lifestyle that encourages car ownership
accompanies this centrifugal attraction;
 A social malaise of crime threatens the merits and the benefit of walking. In a choice
between the benefits of walking and the false security provided by being inside a
motor vehicle, most people reject walking;
 in a road network that was designed for cars, little attention is paid to provide street
lighting for walkers and pedestrians;
 walkers are further discouraged from walking by the shortage of crossing facilities
and the uncoordinated traffic signalling that still favours motor vehicles;
 although motor vehicles are favoured in the road system, some of them also wish to
dominate the walkways for walkers and pedestrians where these are provided;
 the speed with which car drivers drive their cars is cause for concern for walkers;
 regardless of these problems, there are alarming bells in relation to physical inactivity
and the resultant obesity, which walking can contribute to reducing.

9. In the section on integrated policy making, we make the following points:

 multi-modal, multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral and interdepartmental approaches;

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  transport sector strategies do not exist in isolation, but in conjunction or assistance of
others outside the transport sector;
 as all spheres of government have a concurrent responsibility, this document provides
a culture framework for implementation by the spheres without prescribing “national”
policy;
 policy development cannot be only the preserve of government as the implementation
of that policy largely depends on the acceptance of the policies by people outside
government;
 the need for the communicators to market this culture change to the intended
beneficiaries will be greater;
 the document will require a longer-term reiterative and consultative process with
many stakeholders;
 unequal resources of appealing to the public by those who wish to promote other
modes of transportation shape the advocacy limitations of this document;
 one question which the DOT should interrogate among themselves is whether
walking should form part of the National Transport Master Plan currently being
developed.
 the argument of “back to the future” as it pertains to walkers is more likely to gain
favour from those who already use the other modes of transport as a “fashion item”
than those who walk because they have no choice;
 continuation to highlight the health, environmental, economic and social benefits of
walking,
 document interrogates the issue of walking from a transportation perspective, but it is
in full support of the other initiatives related to walking;
 in line with the development of a culture that takes the peculiarities of the challenges
that face South Africa as a country, the apparel and fashion items that accompany
walking in developed countries will be avoided.

10. The following departments have programmes that will assist the inculcation of this
culture:

 The Department of Health (DOH)

 The Department of Social Development (DSD)
 The Department of Labour’s (DOL).
 The Department of Education’s (DOE)
 The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA)Department of
Tourism, The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC)
 The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s (DOJ
& CD) the Equity Court system.
 All programmes in industry and business in support of the above
positions.

11. In our review of policy and legislation, we found the following:

 The intentions of the White Paper on National Transport Policy have not been fully
implemented as they relate to walking and pedestrians;
 Walking is seen as a low-class mode of movement. Regulatory and legislative and
legal issues about it reflect this low status. For example, The National Road Traffic
Act (NRTA) of 1996 barely mentions the connections between the Act and walkers
and or pedestrians;
 The National Land Transport and Transition Act (NLTTA) is a dominant policy that
governs road traffic management in South Africa, but it is silent on walking as a
mode of transport;
 All pieces of road legislation administered by the DOT should be interrogated for
their compatibility with the proposal;

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  There is disharmony in the formulation and monitoring of pedestrian/walker policies
and strategies among the three spheres of government; and
 There is an urgent need to harmonize design principles, standards ad synchronize
policies.

12. The following types of walking have been mentioned in the document

 transportation walking for people who walk to where motorized transport also goes.
 “forced walking” by rural women and children to fetch wood, or to get water for their
families to survive.
 fitness walking where people walk for health reasons.
 people who cycle or who exercise on treadmills (and other physical exercises are
more likely to adapt to walking than those who do not.
 leisure walkers including “dog people” who take their animals for walks and
exercises or who have formed walking clubs.
 recreation walking in which people who are engaged in it view walking as a form of
sport rather than transportation
 there is also walking that can be done at a public pace such as the parks.
Walks/Pretloop concept resides within this category of walking.
 recreation walking can be extended in combination with other forms of sports-related
to it.
 window shopping walking in which walkers walk as nearer as possible to shops,
 linked to this shopping walking is a new phenomenon that should be explored to
promote walking – known as “trolling” which means walking in shopping centres;
 fun walks for social interaction,
 awareness walks to support or being against certain principles
 window shopping and “trolling.”

13. We argue that the quality of the walking environment can be improved by the following:

 transport authorities should inspect all existing footways/walkways in their localities;

 prohibition of parking on footways by cars should be enforced;
 signage, including directional signs where pedestrian mobility is restricted;
 directional signs, information boards and maps, zoological information about trees
and accounts of historical sites be provided;
 clearing and levelling of verges so that they can be used for the provision of
walkways and sidewalks.
 periodic sweeping and general attractiveness of walkways and pathways.

14. To provide security for walkers in the Public Walking Spaces, we have indicated the
following:

 a study of the extent of street lighting, develop a method by which unlit street will be
lit and determine their life expectancy.
 an audit of pedestrian lighting that assists walkers and pedestrians in parks and open
public spaces.
 encourage walking in groups such as the “walk busses.”
 reduction of corners and subways as these may provide convenient hiding spots for
criminal elements;
 poorly lit subways accessible by steps or ramps dissuade people from walking.
 creation of open spaces that have all-around visibility.
 walkers not to carry valuables that attract criminals.
 solicit the help of the police and municipal traffic, safety and security officers and
Community Policing Forums (CPFs)

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15. We suggest the following traffic calming measures, among others

 speed humps;
 chokers;
 traffic circles or roundabouts;
 raised crosswalks;
 raised median islands;
 crosswalks and refuges; and
 chicanes

16. In terms of planning we have raised the following issues:

 The basic principles of transport planning and road design in support of pedestrians
and walkers are the same all over the world;
 Transport plans can be sourced from the transport authorities and industry in South
Africa, some cooperative agreements, both internal and external should be explored;
 Integration of walking into the transport infrastructure should be decided at the outset
of integrated planning;
 The physical environment (and therefore physical design) should be seen as a first
step towards the creation of a livable social environment;
 Re-orientation of professionals in road engineering, planning and traffic management
to respond to walkers and pedestrian needs;
 Addressing the human capital shortages in transport engineering and planning;
 Maintain social facilities and amenities within walking range;
 Land use patterns should encourage the use of public transport, cycling and walking.
 Deliberate pedestrianization of inner city
 In existing facilities roads without pedestrian facilities, retrofit to accommodate the
needs of pedestrians.
 The promotion of walking by Government is an investment in the citizens of the
future health and a long-term reduction of the State’s financial responsibilities of
carrying for the sick.

17. As it pertains to schools and children walkers we have made the following arguments:

 Children are the highest number of walkers particularly to school, but they are more
vulnerable than their adult counterparts.
 The main mode of travel to educational institutions is walking
 Students who live near to schools should walk rather than be driven to schools;
 Continuation of road safety education at schools;
 Continue with and establish scholar patrols where they are none existent;
 Alert traffic officials to obstructively parked cars near school entrances;
 Emphasize the “obviouses” of walking, and
 Theoretical knowledge should be backed up by practical demonstration and
application.

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APPENDIX 2: RECOMMENDATIONS
R1 It is recommended that the issue of walkers and pedestrians be further discussed at a
national structure that coordinates national transport policy, such as the National Transport
Policy Coordinating Committee, the Committee of Transport Officials, or at MINMEC.

R2 It is recommended that the DOT passes legislation that gives the right of way to
passengers even when they cross in parts of the city street that does not have a pedestrian
crossing. Pedestrian crossing areas should be provided, but walkers and pedestrians should
have the right to cross at any other point of the road, in which case motor vehicle should give
them the right of way.

R3 It is recommended that the DOT engages the Department of Sports and Recreation about
how walk-induced sports, such as golf, bird watching and butterfly-catching, beach-walking
etc. can be leveraged to inculcate the culture of walking among South Africans.

R4 It is recommended that the responsible DOT division establishes a formula by which it

will determine backlogs of sidewalk construction, taking into account all the relevant factors
such as economic dynamics and input costs.

R5 It is recommended that the DOT organizes an Indaba with all road agencies and service
providers to discuss both the issue of retrofitting, integration of walkways and sidewalks in
new construction,

R6 It is recommended that road agencies should adopt a single pavement management system
for monitoring and classification of pavements conditions and to share their resources and
knowledge.

R7 It is recommended that the suggestion of the Road Infrastructure Strategic Framework For
South Africa (RIFSA)’s of a Roads Coordinating Body (RCB) be implemented expeditiously
and that pedestrian infrastructure should be included.

R8 It is recommended that the DOT consultatively facilitates the drawing up of a Charter for
Walkers and Pedestrians which will include, but not limited to: safety issues for walkers;
security of pedestrians; consultations on new facilities; auditing of existing facilities; signage
recommendations and provision.

R9 It is recommended that the DOT and the Departments of Education continue to co-operate
in the provision of road and traffic-related training and lessons and awareness to school
children.

R10 It is recommended that the DOT supports the efforts of the Department of Health to
establish a National Centre for Physical Activity to serve as an information hub for Physical
Activity, research outreach programmes etc.

R11 It is recommended that the DOT in conjunction with commissions a study to determine
the health and environmental effects and costs of motor-vehicle vibration in South Africa.

R12 It is recommended that the DOT considers the development and adequate use of the
Walk Hazard Reporting System to identify problem areas in walking facilities, walkway
designs and maintenance backlogs.

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R13 It is recommended that the DOT institutes policy that will force drivers to stop at zebra
crossings even when there are no pedestrians and walkers in sight. All drivers should treat all
zebra crossings as stop signs.

R14 It is recommended that the relevant division of the DOT develops national guidelines
about how local municipalities should deal with the issues related to gated communities as it
relates to transportation and access for all road users.

R15 It is recommended that the enforcement regime used against drinking and driving should
be modified and extended to pedestrians and walkers as well, beyond the limited public
indecency laws. If walkers and pedestrians are found intoxicated on the road, appropriate
penalties should be meted out.

R16 It is recommended that Transport officials should be involved in the prevention of

alcoholism as a social problem as a pre-emptive step to alcohol abuse on the roads.

R17 It is recommended that the relevant division of the DOT establishes a Stakeholder Group
on Walking and Pedestrians.

R18 It is recommended that the DOT authorities should consider driver fault legislation where
drivers must prove no fault in the event of a collision with pedestrians or walkers, cyclists or
other non-motorized road users.

R19 It is recommended that the involvement of SMMEs and small entrepreneurs based in the
areas where the pavements improvements or retrofitting to be continued in Gauteng and
extended to other provinces.

R20 It is recommended that the DOT leverages its Black Economic Empowerment Charter in
line with the recommendations that come from the Department of Trade and Industry.

R21 It is recommended that in cases where such work has been outsourced, supervision and
accountability for quality and financial controls be exerted by the responsible transport
department. The testing and the evaluation that has been done according to the Road
Infrastructure Strategic Framework For South Africa (RIFSA) is a welcome development and
should be extended and made more frequent.

R22 It is recommended that the DOT, i.e. the Integrated Planning and Intersperse Co-
ordination (IPIC)), integrate trail construction and trail maintenance into its portfolio.

R23 It is recommended that the Communications Division of the DOT develops a

Communications Strategy for the Promotion of Walking in South Africa and to integrate this
culture with the existing promotional efforts of Public Transport.

R24 It is recommended that an audit of trails, including “natural” access trails be undertaken
in conjunction with the Departments of Environmental Affairs, Tourism and Sports and
Recreation.

R2 It is also recommended that signposting, colloquially referred to as “blazing” of trails,

should be undertaken to assist users who do not know their way around.

R26 It is also recommended that the Department of Transport with the assistance of the
Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) undertake the analysis of historic trails and to develop
a National Management and Management System for such trails under the auspices of the
South African National Heritage Association. (SAHA).

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R27 It is recommended that the Road Safety Division of the DOT continues to communicate
correct pedestrian behaviour to reduce the number of fatalities on our roads. There is a need to
reconfigure the message towards the responsibilities of both the driver and the pedestrian than
blame the pedestrian for being on the road.

R28 It is recommended that the Rail Safety Regulator (RSR) develops regulations about the
distance that should be maintained between railway lines and human settlements and to
develop strategies to reduce human fatalities on rail and at level crossings.

R29 It is recommended that the DOT prevails upon road agencies to use the current
technologies in the provision of the crossing facilities for walkers and pedestrians and to
encourage the private sector in organised and unorganised ITS businesses, to develop
technologies that will serve South Africa’s peculiarities.

R30 It is recommended that the DOT should update itself on the recent developments in
monetisation efforts for health when making assessment and evaluations. This should include
the Willingness to Pay Methodology currently being tried in the European Union.

R31 It is recommended that the DOT explores the ways and means of establishing the
following pedestrian friendly indices such as the: Pedestrian Incident Rate, Pedestrian
Exposure Index and the Pedestrian Danger Index.

R32 It is recommended that the Public Transport Division within the DOT includes walking
as part of the Travel Demand Management Policy.

R33 It is recommended that Government should consider establishing its data collection
system rather than rely on data collected mostly by research houses that aim to improve either
their vehicle designs or their sales records.

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