Cluttered Pavements and Lack of Facilities Blamed for Stalled Walking Rates in London

London’s crowded pavements are discouraging people from walking regularly, members of the London Assembly have heard.

Dockless e-bikes left blocking footpaths and excessive roadside signage are among the obstacles making the capital less pedestrian-friendly, according to Dr Tom Cohen, a transport policy lecturer who addressed the Assembly’s Transport Committee last week.

“Walking trips do seem to have stalled, and walkability is one of the reasons,” Dr Cohen said. “It’s extraordinary how much of what we find on the pavement is there to serve the roads, such as signage.

“If we want to reach Swiss levels of walking here in London, we need to reconsider how we allocate space between vehicles and pedestrians. In many places, it wouldn’t be disastrous if drivers had to take turns, if it meant creating pavements wide enough for people to use comfortably.”

Dr Cohen also highlighted the lack of benches and limited access to public toilets as further reasons why some Londoners choose other forms of transport over walking.

The discussion formed part of a wider debate on why London’s ambitious walking targets remain out of reach. Launched in 2018, Transport for London’s (TfL) Walking Action Plan aimed to increase daily walking trips from 6.4 million to 7.5 million by 2024. However, the latest TfL figures show the number has stalled at 6.7 million.

Official data also revealed that walking trip rates in 2023/24 dropped to 0.73 per person, representing a 10% decline from the previous year.

Dr Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, told the committee that the pandemic had a long-lasting effect on travel habits. “Pedestrian activity during the pandemic fell by 70 per cent, and recovery has been slow. By 2022, it was still 25 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, and in 2023 it was 13 per cent lower,” he explained.

He noted that hybrid working patterns, financial pressures, and a broader reduction in leisure trips were affecting every mode of transport, not just walking.

TfL data showed that while walking trips remained flat at 6.7 million—similar to 2019—public transport use in 2023 stood at 8.6 million journeys, over a million fewer than before the pandemic. Car and taxi trips also fell, from 10 million to 9.6 million.

Despite the challenges, City Hall has met one of its key goals: increasing the proportion of children walking to primary school. The rate has now risen to 57%, with a new target of 60% set for next year.