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Abington Street, Northampton: The evidence for and against pedestrianization

A report commissioned by the St Edmunds Residents Association

from the Social Enterprise Research Group,

The University of Northampton

March 2014

University of Northampton

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Contents

Summary ................................................................................................................................ 3

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4

Methodology/Research methods .......................................................................................... 7

Impact on trade...................................................................................................................... 8

Impact on safety .................................................................................................................. 13

Impact on health and the environment ............................................................................... 14

Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 16

References ........................................................................................................................... 17

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Summary

This report examines the academic literature, especially the ‘gold standard’ peer reviewed

literature, for evidence of the impact of pedestrianisation.

The literature highlighted that ‘impact’ could be summarised under three headings: impact

on trade; impact on safety; and impact on health and the environment. The literature

concerning the impact of pedestrianisation on trade was much more extensive than that on

safety and health and the environment.

The evidence clearly shows that, provided a pedestrianisation scheme is part of a well-

planned, integrated approach to urban development and renewal (the provision of

adequate car parking being particularly important), the impact is overwhelmingly positive.

Effective pedestrianisation of urban areas benefits trade by increasing public throughput,

public spending and commercial rent rates. Pedestrianisation also decreases the levels of

vacancy in urban retail areas, thereby helping to increase employment levels in the area as

well as trade figures.

Pedestrianisation is associated with significantly decreased numbers of traffic accidents.

Moreover, public safety is further increased by measurable decreases in crime rates (that

further increase local equity).

Urban pedestrianisation is linked to significant reductions in levels of CO2 emissions and

noise pollution. Both of these trends have been associated with increased public health,

both physical and psychological as well as an enhanced environment.

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Introduction

This report was commissioned by the St Edmunds Residents Association from the Social

Enterprise Research Group at the University of Northampton.

St Edmunds Residents Association is concerned that Northampton Borough Council propose

to re-open Abington Street in Northampton to vehicle traffic. Abington Street has been

pedestrianised for over 25 years. The street contains over 100 retail units as well as the

main Northampton Library, several banks and building societies, and estate agents and

other professional services.

The terms of reference for this report were to review existing written material, published in

reputable and ideally peer-reviewed journals, and identify evidence that made the case

both for and against pedestrianisation.

The report is produced to meet the terms of reference set by the client. It does not

represent the views of the Social Enterprise Research Group or the University of

Northampton, rather it reports on the relevant secondary evidence.

An Introduction to Pedestrianisation

The separation of traffic and people on foot (pedestrians) is not a new concept. Arcades

were popular in the nineteenth century, as were the parks for people and the utopian ideals

of Hausmann, and these concepts were continued into the current century by Le Corbusier1.

In Britain, pedestrianisation was often driven by a concern to improve health conditions

through regulations on street widths and building heights. However, in the USA, where

legislation on planning was weakest, the arguments were between the city beautiful and the

city practical movements2.

The first purpose-built pedestrian street in Europe was the Lijnbaan in Rotterdam, opened in

1953. The first pedestrianised shopping centre in the United Kingdom was in Stevenage in

1959. Lead by these early pioneers, a large number of European towns and cities have made

part of their centres car-free since the early 1960s. These are often accompanied by car

1 D. Banister. Traffic calming in the United Kingdom: the implications for the local economy:

http://fupress.net/index.php/ceset/article/viewFile/7251/6752 2 Ibid

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parks on the edge of the pedestrianised zone, and, in the larger cases, park and ride

schemes. Central Copenhagen is one of the largest and oldest: It was converted from car

traffic into pedestrian zone in 1962 as an experiment and is centered on Strøget, a

pedestrian shopping street, which is in fact not a single street but a series of interconnected

avenues which create a very large pedestrian zone, although it is crossed in places by streets

with vehicular traffic. Most of these zones allow delivery trucks to service the businesses

located there during the early morning, and street-cleaning vehicles will usually go through

these streets after most shops have closed for the night.

Benefits and problems of car-free developments

Several studies have been done on European car-free developments. One of the most

comprehensive was conducted in 2000 by Scheure3. Other more recent studies have been

made of specific car-free areas such as Vienna's Floridsdorf car-free development4.

These studies report the characteristics of car-free developments as being:

Very low levels of car use, resulting in much less traffic on surrounding roads.

High rates of walking and cycling.

More independent movement and active play amongst children.

Less land taken for parking and roads - more available for green or social space.

The main benefits found by these studies for car-free developments were:

Low atmospheric emissions.

Low road accident rates.

Better built environment conditions.

3 Scheurer, J. (2001) Urban Ecology, Innovations in Housing Policy and the Future of Cities: Towards

Sustainability in Neighbourhood Communities Thesis (PhD), Murdoch University Institute of Sustainable Transport.

4 Ornetzeder, M., Hertwich, E.G., Hubacek, K., Korytarova, K. and Haas, W. (2008) The environmental effect of

car-free housing: A case in Vienna. Ecological Economics 65 (3), 516-530.

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Discouragement of private car and other motorized vehicles (measure of travel

demand management).

Encouragement of activo modes.

Interestingly, and surprisingly, these studies did not report on the impact of car-free

developments on trade. This omission is regarded by this research report as an error.

This report will review the evidence for and against pedestrianisation. Reviewing the

academic, peer-reviewed, ‘gold standard’, literature, it is clear that evidence on the effects

of pedestrianisation can be grouped under three headings: impact of pedestrianisation on

trade; impact of pedestrianisation on safety; and impact of pedestrianisation on health and

the environment. These headings are used to help structure this report.

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Methodology/Research methods

To gather information for this report a series of web searches were make using both the

University of Northampton’s on-line journals and Google Scholar. Articles produced by

pressure groups, such as Living Streets were included in the report but were balanced by

articles in peer reviewed journals. Although the most relevant evidence for and against

pedestrianisation came from UK case studies, it was thought useful to include international

case studies, particularly those from Western Europe, the USA and Canada, and Australasia.

In total 37 articles were identified and their summaries or abstracts read. Of these articles a

total of 22 were deemed appropriate to read in full, 16 of which are cited in this report.

It is interesting to note that, in contrast to the studies cited in the Introduction to this

report, the great majority of the articles reviewed looked at the impact of pedestrianisation

on trade. There were many fewer articles looking at the impact of pedestrianisation on

safety and health and the environment.

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Impact on trade

Studies, while overwhelmingly positive, have shown that there is a great deal of variation in

the effects that pedestrianisation can have on commercial trade in an area. Most of these

studies have chosen to use differences in rent rates before and after pedestrianisation

measures were put in place as a measurement of economic impact.

A report produced by the pedestrian-supporting charity Living Streets provides a

comprehensive review of the literature associated with the pedestrianisation of urban

environments. It presents a series of statistics showing pedestrianisation in a very positive

light5. To ensure objectivity, this report reviews the evidence presented with the aim of

ensuring its veracity, as well as taking numerous other sources into account.

Since the recession in 2008, footfall – a common measure of business performance –

decreased by 10% by 2011 – with the exception of London6. Nevertheless, well-planned

improvements to public spaces within town and city centres have been shown to boost

commercial trading by up to 40%7. For example, in the 1990s comparative analyses in

Germany and the UK carried out by Hass-Klau (1993) reported commercial benefits ranging

from 20 to 40%8. A review of studies carried out by Newby (1992), Hass-Klau (1993) and the

European Federation for Transport and Environment suggests a range of 10% to 25%

increase for retail turnover. The authors calculated that retail footfall increased by about a

third (32.3%) and retail turnover by an average of 17% as a result of improvements, such as

pedestrianisation9.

Walking and cycling projects have been predicted to typically increase land value from 70 to

300%10,11. A synthesis of the literature on the relationship between walking interventions

5 The pedestrian pound: the business case for better streets and places:

http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/sites/default/files/content/library/Reports/PedestrianPound_fullreport_web.pdf 6 Department for Busness, Innovation and Skills. 2011. “Understanding High Street Performance”. HM

Government. 7 Department of Environment. 1997. “Managing Urban Spaces in Town Centres: Good Practice Guide”.

Stationery Office Books. 8 Hass-Klau, Carmen. 1993. “A Review of the Evidence from Germany and the UK.” Transport Policy 1 (1): 21–

31. 9 Whitehead, Tim, David Simmonds, and John Preston. 2006. “The Effect of Urban Quality Improvements on

Economic Activity.” Journal of Environmental Management 80 (1) (July): 1–12. 10

Litman. 2002. “Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis.” Techniques, Estimates and Implications, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www. Vtpi. Org/tca). http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca01.pdf.

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and property value has shown that an increase in value of 21.7% for retail rents and 24.2%

for commercial rents and that a reasonable range was in the order of 10% to 30%12.

Additionally, there was a mean increase in office rents of 24% from waterfront

regeneration/water features installation, which is almost identical to the mid-point of the

range reported in Frederick et al. (1996) for the seven case studies they investigated (i.e.

about 3% to 53%)13.

Positive effects on trade are also shown by a number of case studies focusing on cities in the

UK. For example, a range of improvements to Coventry city centre, such as new pedestrian

areas, a new civic square, clearer signage and better placement of street furniture, were

credited with a 25% rise in footfall in the town centre on Saturday that were predicted to

result in benefits of £1.4million through increased trade to the local area 14. Additionally,

enhancing the walking routes between two train stations, the bus terminus, the school, the

library and the high street in Wanstead (London) achieved an average increase of 98% in

pedestrian numbers15.

Investment in better walking environments has been found to benefit businesses in other

ways. For example, the transformation of a canal towpath in London into a high quality

route for walking and cycling is estimated to have produced £5,487,130 of benefit through

reduced absenteeism stemming from health benefits16.

From economic perspective, local property owners or investors may think that the removal

of passing traffic would have a negative impact on their business and their return. However,

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Burden, Dan, and Todd Litman. 2011. “America Needs Complete Streets.” ITE Journal 81 (4): 36–43. 12

Whitehead, Tim, David Simmonds, and John Preston. 2006. “The Effect of Urban Quality Improvements on Economic Activity.” Journal of Environmental Management 80 (1) (July): 1–12. doi:10.1016/j. jenvman.2005.01.029. 13

Ibid 14

NWDA/RENEW Northwest. 2007. “Economic Value of Urban Design Final Report.” www.placesmatter.co.uk/webfm_send/23 ———. 2009. “Places Matter: The Economic Value of Good Design.” 15

Tolley, R. 2011. “Good for Busine$$: The Benefits of Making Streets More Walking and Cycling Friendly, Discussion Paper.” 16

Davis, Adrian. 2010. “Value for Money: An Economic Assessment of Investment in Walking and Cycling.” United Kingdom: Department of Health, Government Office for the South West. http://healthandtransportgroup.co.uk/health_transport/ValueforMoneyAnEconomicAssessmentofInvestmentinW.pdf

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this perception has been proven to be wrong by a number of independent studies, such as

those carried out by Brambilla (1977), Hass-Klau (1985) and Kumar (2006)17.

With respect to retailing, there does now seem to be some evidence of benefits from

location in traffic free areas. Caton (1990) found that rents in pedestrian streets were 45%

higher than in vehicular streets in 1987, and 80% in 1989. The higher rents are justified in

terms of increased trade as more people are attracted to the traffic free areas and as each

individual may have a greater propensity to spend money18.

Research investigating the effects of urban upgrades in the city of Bogotá (Colombia) shows

that property values in areas with urban upgrades have appreciated considerably when

compared to a control group of similar properties. Additionally, the research shows

employment benefits from the city’s Sunday “ciclovía” (closing of streets to motorised

vehicles) is significantly greater than week-day auto-related employment along the same

corridors.

In this Colombian study the Zona Rosa (upgraded area) property values begin to diverge

significantly from the eight control areas. By the 2002 to 2003 period, this divergence is

even more pronounced with property values in the Zona Rosa surging 22% while the

property values in the control areas fell by nearly 6%. During the entire period of 1999

through 2003, the average annual percentage change in property values for the Zona Rosa

was 6.0% while this value for the control areas was – 8.1%. The beginning of the divergence

in property values between the Zona Rosa and control areas commenced the year before

the project was implemented, which coincides with the date of the project’s

announcement. However, caution should be exercised in assuming that the property value

gains in the Zona Rosa are exclusively due to the pedestrianisation upgrades. A modelling

analysis utilising all key variables affecting property valuation would be necessary before

assigning a strict causal relationship19.

17

Reviewed in: Yuen Han (2009) An empirical study of the impact of a pedestrianisation scheme on retail rental values in the neighbourhood. The Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong 18

D. Banister. Traffic calming in the United Kingdom: the implications for the local economy: http://fupress.net/index.php/ceset/article/viewFile/7251/6752 19 Ibid

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In another study that focussed on the Mission District of San Francisco, twenty-seven

merchants located in the Mission District of San Francisco were interviewed about what

impact a more pedestrian-friendly environment (such as larger curbs and street benches) as

well as bicycle lanes had had on their businesses. Four and a half years after the bike lanes

were built, the vast majority of the interviewees expressed support for the bike lanes. 66%

of the merchants believe that the bike lanes had had a generally positive impact on their

business and/or sales, and the same percentage supported more traffic calming on Valencia

Street20.

Five years after beginning a major project, commercial vacancy rates in the area decreased

from 70% to 20%, while commercial rents rose from $6/sq. ft. to $30/sq. ft. Property values

increased from a range of $10-$40/sq. ft to $50-$100/sq. ft. The project attracted

approximately $350 million in private investment. All of this was achieved while maintaining

the same motor vehicle traffic volumes21.

In conclusion, a pedestrianized environment helps lead a town’s streets to become an

attractive public space for people to walk, to shop and to have fun with friends. Hence,

pedestrian friendly streets increase the number of pedestrians that come downtown,

encourage them to come more often, and to stay longer once they are there. In general, the

longer people stay in a retail environment, the more money they will spend there

(Robertson, 1994). A similar conclusion has also been drawn by Monheim (2002), the

dramatic change that pedestrian areas have brought to some cities in Europe can be

inferred from high pedestrian volumes and also from the new businesses and shopping

malls developing in these city centres22.

20 Drennen E. (2003) Economic Effects of Traffic Calming on Urban Small Businesses. Department of Public Administration San Francisco State University: http://www.sfbike.org/download/bikeplan/bikelanes.pdf 21 Ibid 22

Ibid

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Table 1 summarizes the ‘trade’ evidence for and against pedestrianization.

Evidence for Evidence against Reference/Country

Increase footfall None found Department of Environment. 1997. “Managing Urban

Spaces in Town Centres: Good Practice Guide”.

Stationery Office Books.

Increase public spending None found Hass-Klau, Carmen. 1993. “A Review of the Evidence

from Germany and the UK.” Transport Policy 1 (1): 21–

31.

Whitehead, Tim, David Simmonds, and John Preston.

2006. “The Effect of Urban Quality Improvements on

Economic Activity.” Journal of Environmental

Management 80 (1) (July): 1–12.

Increase commercial area rent None found D. Banister. Traffic calming in the United Kingdom: the

implications for the local economy:

http://fupress.net/index.php/ceset/article/viewFile/72

51/6752

Decrease commercial vacancy None found Drennen E. (2003) Economic Effects of Traffic Calming

on Urban Small Businesses. Department of Public

Administration San Francisco State University

Table 1: Summary of ‘Trade’ evidence for and against pedestrianisation

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Impact on safety

Unsurprisingly, pedestrianisation is associated with increases in public safety in those

urbanised areas it is employed in. According to Brambilla and Longo (1977),

pedestrianisation has always proven to be an effective measure for improving the lifestyle

and safety of the residents23.

Studies of pedestrianisation in the UK and Dutch cities indicated that overall accident rates

are reduced by 60%-80% after implementing pedestrian scheme, and traffic deaths have

been reduced about 50% within 10 years24.

Additionally, in a Colombian study, social indicators related to accidents, crime levels, and

equity are also quite positive as well as showing traffic deaths being reduced from over

1,300 in 1995 to less than 700 in 200225.

Table 2 summarizes the ‘safety’ evidence for and against pedestrianisation.

Evidence for Evidence against Reference/Country

Less traffic accidents None found Yuen Han (2009). An empirical study of the impact of a pedestrianisation scheme on retail rental values in the Neighbourhood. Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

Less crime None found Lloyd Wright, R.M. (2004) Reclaiming public space: the economic, environmental, and social impacts of Bogotá's transformation. Cities for People Conference Walk21: Copenhagen.

Increases in local equity None found Lloyd Wright, R.M. (2004) Reclaiming public space: the economic, environmental, and social impacts of Bogotá's transformation. Cities for People Conference Walk21: Copenhagen.

Table 2: Summary of ‘Safety’ evidence for and against pedestrianisation

23 Brambilla, R and Longo, G. (1977) For pedestrians only: planning, design, and management of traffic-free

zones. 24

Reviewed in: Yuen Han (2009). An empirical study of the impact of a pedestrianisation scheme on retail rental values in the Neighbourhood. Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

25 Lloyd Wright, R. M. (2004) Reclaiming public space: the economic, environmental, and social impacts of

Bogotá's transformation. Cities for People Conference Walk21: Copenhagen.

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Impact on health and the environment

Several studies have been conducted on the impact of pedestrianisation on health and the

environment in the UK and Europe. Most of them indicated that there are some positive

impacts to the environment after the implementation of pedestrianisation.26

The results from studies focusing on the town of Chester have shown that that

pedestrianisation brings distinct beneficial to the local population. Large reductions to the

levels of environmental degradation have been found in central area, and such benefits

accrue to a large number of people who live, work or undertake leisure activities on the

pedestrianised roads27.

The car-free housing project undertaken in Vienna has shown that pedestrianised areas are

responsible for significantly lower CO2 emissions, measured per household, per capita, or

per € spent, than the reference (control) settlement. The study concluded that avoiding car

use is the most important reason for reduced CO2 emissions, but the purchasing of green

electricity is also important28. In a separate study air quality monitoring in Bogotá (Colombia)

shows emission reductions by as much as 40 per cent for some pollutants in pedestrianised

street29.

Lastly, in regards to the noise pollution associated with traffic, pedestrianised areas have

been shown to have noise levels 10 to 15 decibels less than other, car-friendly, areas. It

should be noted that a decrease by 6 decibels equals to a 50% cut in perceived noise levels

(City of Toronto Council and Committees, 1999)30.

26 Yuen Han (2009). An empirical study of the impact of a pedestrianisation scheme on retail rental values in

the Neighbourhood. Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

27 Chiquetto, S. (1997) The Environmental Impacts from The Implementation of A Pedestrianization Scheme.

Journal of Transpn Res., 2, 133-146. 28

Ornetzeder, M., Hertwich, E.G., Hubacek, K., Korytarova, K. and Haas, W. (2008) The environmental effect of car-free housing: A case in Vienna. Ecological Economics 65 (3), 516-530. 29

Lloyd Wright, R. M. (2004) Reclaiming public space: the economic, environmental, and social impacts of Bogotá's transformation. Cities for People Conference Walk21: Copenhagen. 30

Brambilla, R. and Longo, G. (1977) For pedestrians only: planning, design, and management of traffic-free zones.

15

Table 3 summarizes the ‘health’ evidence for and against pedestrianization.

Evidence for Evidence against Reference/Country

Lower levels of environmental

degradation

None found Chiquetto, S. (1997) The

Environmental Impacts from The

Implementation of A

Pedestrianization Scheme. Journal

of Transpn Res., 2, 133-146

Less CO2 emissions None found Lloyd Wright, R. M. (2004)

Reclaiming public space: the

economic, environmental, and

social impacts of Bogotá's

transformation. Cities for People

Conference Walk21: Copenhagen.

Less Noise Pollution None found Brambilla, R. & Longo, G. (1977)

For pedestrians only: planning,

design, and management of

traffic-free zones.

Table 3: Summary of ‘Health’ evidence for and against pedestrianisation

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Conclusions

If combined with adequate care in the planning of corresponding parking areas,

pedestrianisation is associated with numerous benefits for local trade, safety, and health

and the environment. It should be noted here that data regarding negative consequences

associated with pedestrianisation of urban areas, especially those associated with

commerce, is conspicuous in its absence.

Effective pedestrianisation of urban areas benefits trade by increasing public throughput,

which is associated with increases in public spending and commercial rent rates.

Additionally, despite the increases in real-estate rent, pedestrianisation decreases the levels

of vacancy in urban retail areas, thereby helping to increase employment levels in the area

as well as trade figures.

It is no surprise that pedestrianisation is associated with significantly decreased numbers of

traffic accidents. However, public safety is further increased by measurable decreases in

crime rates (that further increase local equity).

Lastly, urban pedestrianisation has been linked to significant reductions in levels of CO2

emissions and noise pollution. Both of these trends have been associated with increased

public health, both physical and psychological.

It can therefore been concluded that ‘effectively’ pedestrianised areas (as defined by those

that are easily accessible and associated with adequate parking – generally a maximum of

15 minutes casual walk away), have a significant benefit for local trade, the environment

and public health and safety. Indeed, there is an almost complete lack of evidence of any

negative effects resulting from well-planned pedestrianisation.

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References

Brambilla, R. & Longo, G. (1977) For pedestrians only: planning, design, and management of

traffic-free zones.

Burden, Dan, and Todd Litman. 2011. “America Needs Complete Streets.” ITE Journal 81 (4):

36–43.

Chiquetto, S. (1997) The Environmental Impacts from The Implementation of A

Pedestrianization Scheme. Journal of Transpn Res., 2, 133-146.

D. Banister. Traffic calming in the United Kingdom: the implications for the local economy:

http://fupress.net/index.php/ceset/article/viewFile/7251/6752

Department for Busness, Innovation and Skills. 2011. “Understanding High Street

Performance”. HM Government.

Department of Environment. 1997. “Managing Urban Spaces in Town Centres: Good

Practice Guide”. Stationery Office Books.

Drennen E. (2003) Economic Effects of Traffic Calming on Urban Small Businesses.

Department of Public Administration San Francisco State University:

http://www.sfbike.org/download/bikeplan/bikelanes.pdf

Hass-Klau, Carmen. 1993. “A Review of the Evidence from Germany and the UK.” Transport

Policy 1 (1): 21–31.

Litman. 2002. “Transportation Cost and Benefit Analysis.” Techniques, Estimates and

Implications, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www. Vtpi. Org/tca).

http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca01.pdf.

Lloyd Wright, R. M. (2004) Reclaiming public space: the economic, environmental, and social

impacts of Bogotá's transformation. Cities for People Conference Walk21: Copenhagen.

NWDA/RENEW Northwest. 2007. “Economic Value of Urban Design Final Report.”

www.placesmatter.co.uk/webfm_send/23 ———. 2009. “Places Matter: The Economic

Value of Good Design.”

18

Ornetzeder, M., Hertwich, E.G., Hubacek, K., Korytarova, K. and Haas, W. (2008) The

environmental effect of car-free housing: A case in Vienna. Ecological Economics 65 (3), 516-

530.

Scheurer, J. (2001) Urban Ecology, Innovations in Housing Policy and the Future of Cities:

Towards Sustainability in Neighbourhood Communities Thesis (PhD), Murdoch University

Institute of Sustainable Transport.

The pedestrian pound: the business case for better streets and places:

http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/sites/default/files/content/library/Reports/PedestrianPoun

d_fullreport_web.pdf

Whitehead, Tim, David Simmonds, and John Preston. 2006. “The Effect of Urban Quality

Improvements on Economic Activity.” Journal of Environmental Management 80 (1) (July):

1–12. doi:10.1016/j.

Yuen Han (2009). An empirical study of the impact of a pedestrianisation scheme on retail

rental values in the Neighbourhood. Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

A Report from the Social Enterprise Research Group (SERG), The University of Northampton, February 2014