Walking works!

Promoting and encouraging staff to walk to work can also form an effective part of your company's Travel Plan. Walking is best suited to journgularly suffer three times as much peys under 2 miles. The scope for encouraging staff to walk will vary greatly depending on the location of your workplace and the type of site.

Did you know?

• People in cars breathe more pollution than pedestrians because they are sitting in the line of the exhaust fumes from the car in front (Environmental Transport Association)

• Currently 2.6 million people walk to work, only 10.8% of the total number in employment, a decline from 13% in 1991. Twice as many women (15%) walk to work as men (7.3%) (DfT 2003).

• A single car parking space can cost an employer at least £500 a year (Department of Health 2002).

What can you do as an employer to encourage walking?

• Raise awareness of the health benefits of walking through promotional material. Walking to work is a great way of introducing exercise into your daily routine.

• You could produce a map showing safe walking routes, indicating distances and times to the most common destinations near to your workplace. This could be incorporated into a map showing local facilities for cycling and public transport.

• You should ensure that footpaths to your site are direct, well lit and maintained. This includes footpath links to bus stops and rail stations.

• Ensure that signposting for pedestrians is clear.

• You could consider the provision of umbrellas bearing your company logo.

• You could consider the provision of personal alarms for staff with concerns over personal security.

If you would like to discuss other ways to encourage your staff to walk to work contact the Transport Planning Team