active travel design

Healthy Cities Toolkit

Global Centre on Healthcare and Urbanisation, Kellogg College

Active travel

Moderate positive impact based on uncertain evidence with low resource implications

Cite as Heneghan C, Onakpoya I. Active Transport. Oxford Healthy Cities Toolkit

• Access data

Description

Active travel, also described as active transport or transportation, is defined as making journeys that involve a level of physical exercise [UK Dept for Transport, 2022 ].

It can include walking, cycling, skating or skateboarding (to name a few) and is highly favourable when commuting to work or school. In the literature, active travel was measured using self-reported instruments, surveys or questionnaires, interviews or focus groups, accelerometry, digital tracking devices or GPS.

Fourteen reviews considered the health impacts of active transport involving nearly 500 primary studies. Overall, active travel had a positive effect on increasing rates of physical activity, reducing non-communicable diseases, and improving mental health.

Designing community environments that make active travel convenient, safe, attractive, cost-effective, and environmentally beneficial is likely to produce the greatest impact.

The included reviews represented the ages of the general population, with one review focusing on children and young people [Audrey 2015 ], and two reviews on older people [ Barnett 2017 ; Graham 2020 ].

Three reviews restricted their geographical scope, with one review from the UK [ Graham 2020 ]’ Korea [ Kim 2019 ] and Latin America [ Gomez 2015 ].

Most (85%) reviews assessed rates of physical activity and examined the relationship of the urban environment in promoting active transport. Factors that supported active travel include:

• Adequate infrastructure (e.g. cycle lanes) and connection/continuity of cyclable and walkable surfaces [ de Carvalho 2012 ; Gomez 2015 ; Mölenberg 2019 ; Rachele 2019 ; Sallis 2015 ; Smith 2017 ; Stankov 2020 ]
• Smaller and calmer car traffic, offering greater safety for cyclists and pedestrians [ de Carvalho 2012 ; Gomez 2015 ]
• Short distances of trips [de Carvalho 2012 ; Gomez 2015 ; Sallis 2015 ; Stankov 2020 ]
• Aesthetics of the streets and facilities (cleanliness, low noise, presence of trees/greenery) [ de Carvalho 2012 ; Rachele 2019 ; Sallis 2015 ]
• Mixed land use, combining residential, commercial, and leisure spaces and facilities within a concentrated area [ Gomez 2015 ; Kim 2019 ; Rachele 2019 ; Sallis 2015 ]
• The financial cost and economic benefits [ de Carvalho 2012 ; Sallis 2015 ]
• The environment and sustainable mobility [ de Carvalho 2012 ; Gomez 2015 ; Sallis 2015 ]

Factors that discouraged cycling were related to geography (e.g. weather or terrain) and individual factors (e.g. age, sex, education levels). The lack of connectivity of cycling routes, zoning and land use distribution, and low petrol prices encouraged individuals to use cars. [ de Carvalho 2012 ]

Factors that both encouraged and discouraged active travel were dependent on socio-economic conditions and economic development, which drove the adoption of public policies. [de Carvalho 2012 ]. For example, in Australia, lower economic status was a factor that reduced the use of bicycles by children attending schools, whereas, in Brazil, lower socio-economic profiles were linked to higher rates of active travel when commuting to schools. 

For children and young people, multi-component and single-component interventions deployed at schools increased students’ activity levels and reduced parental driving [ Audrey 2015 ]. Factors such as distance from home to school, infrastructure improvements (e.g. cycle lanes, calming traffic schemes), education, and non-car use at baseline influenced active travel. 

For older adults, neighbourhood walkability, access to destinations and services and recreational facilities, crime/personal safety, residential density, walk-friendly infrastructure, street lighting, the presence of greenery and aesthetically pleasing scenery were positively associated with physical activity and walking. [ Barnett 2017 ; Rachele 2019 ]. In the UK, cost, availability, connectivity and infrastructure, such as benches and bus shelters, were crucial in enabling active travel among elderly individuals [ Graham 2020 ].

One review identified positive effects for people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer, and dementia, as well as all-cause mortality and the incidence of overweight and obesity [Xia 2013 ].

One review focused on mental health and found that people who actively commuted to work (cycling/walking) reported improved mental health outcomes, but this effect was reduced after baseline mental health was accounted for [Moore 2018 ].

One review examined policies to promote active travel, which found that infrastructure is at the core of promoting active travel, but policies may work best when implemented in comprehensive packages [ Winters 2017 ].

Strength of the evidence

Strength of the evidence 

Three reviews used a tool to assess the risk of bias or quality, which had moderate [ Barnett 2017 ], low [Moore 2018 ] and very low-quality evidence [ Audrey 2015 ].

The remaining 11 reviews were ranked uncertain, giving an overall rating of uncertain evidence.

Despite the uncertainty in the quality of the evidence, action should not be postponed until stronger evidence is developed, as the health, environmental, and economic benefits of active travel are clear.

Searches for evidence were conducted between 2010 and 2019 in a median of six databases. Ten of the included studies were formal systematic reviews (two with meta-analyses, one using mixed methods, and one with qualitative studies), three were literature reviews, and one was an overview of systematic reviews. 

Resource Implications

Resource Implications 

Resource implications were graded low because of the extent of the co-benefits afforded by active travel. In addition to positive health outcomes, reviews reported the economic and environmental benefits, including reducing traffic congestion, accidents, and air and noise pollution [ Graham 2020 ; Sallis 2015 ; Smith 2017 ; Winters 2017 ; Xia 2013 ].

One review estimated the combined economic benefit of eliminating short motor vehicle trips in 11 metropolitan areas in the upper mid-western USS to exceed $8 billion/year [ Xia 2013 ].

Micro-level interventions that increase attractiveness and convenience for active travel are low-cost and easier to implement than macro-level interventions for street design and layout [ Barnett 2017 ; Winters 2017 )].

The rising costs of car transport and petrol prices have reportedly increased the uptake of active travel [ de Carvalho 2012 ; Mölenberg 2019 ]. The implementation of economic incentives, such as congestion and parking fees, was found to promote active travel and significantly improve health [Stankov 2020 ].

Recommendations

• Increase investment in infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists to promote active travel.
• Use interdisciplinary teams involving those from the transport, planning, public health, and policy sectors should embrace opportunities to implement and evaluate active transport interventions.
• Invest in high-quality research, adjusting for residential self-selection, conceptually-driven choosing of built environmental attributes, and adjusting for key socio-demographic covariates.
• Research is needed to identify the optimal density threshold that supports active travel, which is important for informing planning policy and practice. 

Related Resources

Related sources 

• WHO (2018): Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030 – More Active People for a Healthier World
• WHO (2020): Physical activity  
• UK Department for Transport (2022): Active Travel – Local authority toolkit (guidance)
• UK Department for Transport (2020): Cycling and walking plan for England (policy paper)
• UK Department for Transports (2019): Future of Mobility – urban strategy (policy paper)
• Public Health England (2016): Active travel – a briefing for local authorities  
• Healthy Places by Design (2001-2008): Active Living by Design
• Sustrans (2017): Active Travel Toolbox 
• Open Streets Project
• Active Living Research: Tools and Resources
• Living Streets: UK Charity for Everyday Walking
• Choose how you move: A smarter way to travel in Leicester and Leicestershire
• Transport Scotland: Walking and cycling
• Imperial College London: Active travel 
• National Walk to Work Day: UK Public Health Network

References to Reviews

References of Reviews

Audrey 2015. Healthy urban environments for children and young people: A systematic review of intervention studies. Health & place 36: 97–117.

Barnett 2017. Built environmental correlates of older adults’ total physical activity and walking: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 14(1): 103.

de Carvalho 2012. Cycling to achieve healthy and sustainable alternatives . Ciencia & saude coletiva 17(6): 1617–1628.

Gomez 2015. Urban environment interventions linked to the promotion of physical activity: a mixed methods study applied to the urban context of Latin America. Social science & medicine 131: 18–30.

Graham 2020. Older people’s experiences of everyday travel in the urban environment: a thematic synthesis of qualitative studies in the United Kingdom. Ageing & Society 40(4). Cambridge University Press: 842–868.

Kim 2019. How Does the Built Environment in Compact Metropolitan Cities Affect Health? A Systematic Review of Korean Studies. International journal of environmental research and public health 16(16). DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16162921 .

Mölenberg 2019. A systematic review of the effect of infrastructural interventions to promote cycling: strengthening causal inference from observational data. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 16(1): 93.

Moore 2018. The effects of changes to the built environment on the mental health and well-being of adults: Systematic review. Health & place 53: 237–257.

Rachele 2019. Neighbourhood built environment and physical function among mid-to-older aged adults: A systematic review. Health & place 58: 102137.

Sallis 2015. Co-benefits of designing communities for active living: an exploration of literature. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 12: 30.

Smith 2017. Systematic literature review of built environment effects on physical activity and active transport – an update and new findings on health equity. The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 14(1): 158.

Stankov 2020. A systematic review of empirical and simulation studies evaluating the health impact of transportation interventions. Environmental research 186: 109519.

Winters 2017. Policies to Promote Active Travel: Evidence from Reviews of the Literature. Current environmental health reports 4(3): 278–285.

Xia 2013. Co-benefits of replacing car trips with alternative transportation: a review of evidence and methodological issues. Journal of environmental and public health 2013: 797312.

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Active Design

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Active Design sets out how the design of our environments can help people to lead more physically active and healthy lives - it's about helping to create 'active environments'.

• Active Design guidance
• What is new?
• Foundational principle - activity for all
• Applying the principles
• Further resources
• Theme 1: supporting active travel
• Theme 2: active, high-quality places and spaces
• Theme 3: creating and maintaining activity

Where we live, work, travel and play has a major role in shaping our activity choices.

By applying Active Design’s 10 principles to our built and natural environments, we can create active environments that encourage people to be active through their everyday lives. 

With a shared belief and commitment to the great value that well designed places can have on health and wellbeing, we've worked with Active Travel England (ATE) and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) to produce this updated version of the Active Design guide.

What is Active Design?

The video consists of a series of animated scenes showing how the Active Design principles can positively impact physical environments and peoples’ lives, set to a gentle music track with voiceover narration.

Voiceover: We know that being active is important for our physical and mental health.

A woman walks happily through a park in an urban area.

Voiceover: But modern day living often makes it difficult to fit activity into our daily lives.

The same woman is shown looking less happy in three scenarios:

Stuck in a traffic jam.

Working on her laptop.

Flicking through TV channels while sat on a sofa.

Voiceover: Creating environments that encourage us to be active can help us all to move more and reach the Chief medical officer’s recommended amount of weekly physical activity.

The woman appears again, standing in a blank abstract space next to a signpost, while four scenarios appear around her:

A man with a prosthetic leg using an adapted bike on a dedicated bike lane.

An elderly man leading a yoga class in a park.

A young boy flying a kite in a park, while other people ride scooters and play badminton in the background.

A young adult male and female walk a dog along a footpath.

The four scenarios move off the screen.

The camera zooms in on the woman next to the signpost.

She taps the signpost, which spins around to reveal the text ‘Physical Activity Guidelines’ at the top of the post. Three arrows on the signpost point in different directions; one with a tree icon, one with a cycling icon, and one with a running icon.

The woman and the signpost transition off-screen.

Voiceover: Active Design from Sport England, supported by Active Travel England and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities,

The text “Active Design” appears on screen, with 21 colourful icons representing different forms of activity shown underneath.

The Sport England, Active Travel England, and Office for Health Improvement and Disparities logos appear on the screen underneath the icons.

Voiceover: helps those involved in designing and adapting our local neighbourhoods to create active environments.

A map rolls over the logos showing a top-down street view.

Several hands begin to place pins with different coloured icons, from the Active Design icons shown previously, on the map.

Voiceover: As well as supporting people to get more active, the creation of active environments can also help with other important agendas.

The map rolls back up and disappears, revealing underneath a tree branch.

A butterfly gently lands on the branch.

Three text headings appear above the butterfly after it lands: ‘Decarbonisation’, ‘Equality’, and ‘Easing Travel Costs.’

The camera moves up quickly above the clouds, leaving a clear space on screen.

Voiceover: Active Design consists of 10 principles.

The 10 Active Design principle icons appear.

The ‘Activity for All’ icon is largest and shown at the centre, with the other 9 icons equally spaced around it.

The 9 icons orbit the Activity for All icon briefly, before being pulled into it and disappearing.

Voiceover: Activity for All is the foundational principle and is essential to the delivery of all the active design principles.

The words ‘Activity for All’ appear underneath the icon.

The other 9 principle icons re-appear.

A blue circle the same colour as the ‘Activity for All’ icon wraps around all 10 principles.

The blue circle is absorbed into the 10 principle icons, which rotate slowly.

Voiceover: It states that all environments should be designed to support physical activity equitably across all ages, ethnicities, gender and abilities.

The principle icons merge together.

A series of different character faces appear in small bubbles, representing different ages, ethnicities, genders and abilities.

A thin dashed line connects the different faces.

The faces merge together and the principle icons return to the screen.

Voiceover: The remaining principles are grouped into three themes: 1. Supporting Active Travel 2. Active, High-Quality Places and Spaces; and 3. Creating and Maintaining Activity.

The principle icons rotate slowly around.

As each theme is mentioned, the relevant icons rotate to the top of the screen.

The name of each theme appears as on-screen text in turn:

Supporting Active Travel.

Active, High-quality Places and Spaces.

Creating and Maintaining Activity.

Voiceover: Supporting Active Travel

The text ‘Supporting Active Travel’ appears on-screen, with the three icons showing the relevant principles displayed above the text.

Voiceover: In the past, many places have prioritised vehicles over people in their design, resulting in environments that can be unwelcoming or difficult to walk, wheel or cycle in.

A top-down view of a busy crossroads appears. There is lots of vehicular traffic. One car is parked partly on the road and partly on the pavement. Some people are waiting to cross the road.

Traffic sound effects (engine noise, car horns) are heard over the music.

We cut to a street-level scene, looking across the road towards an elderly lady waiting to cross. Lots of cars quickly drive past.

The camera zooms in towards the lady, who looks alarmed.

Voiceover: However, if a place is designed to support and encourage walking, cycling or wheeling we are more likely to do so.

The view returns to the top-down view of the crossroads.

A bar of light wipes across the screen, revealing the same crossroads with Active Design principles applied. The following differences can be seen:

Fewer car lanes, less cars, and slower traffic.

Dedicated cycle lanes and bike parking.

Pedestrian crossings and clear road markings.

Wider pavements, with planters, trees, benches and tables.

More pedestrians and more cyclists.

The level of background traffic noise is reduced.

Voiceover: It’s the simplest and most inclusive way of getting us to incorporate activity into our daily lives. And it has great benefits for the environment too.

We cut back to the street-level scene, where we can now see a zebra crossing and the dedicated cycle lanes. The road now has a central reservation.

The elderly lady from before is now crossing the road happily while traffic stops at the crossing.

Meanwhile, the lady from the first scene in the video walks across the foreground, while a cyclist on an adapted bike cycles past.

Other pedestrians and cyclists can also be seen.

Voiceover: Creating walkable communities, connected active travel routes and co-locating facilities are the key elements in supporting active travel.

A street map appears on screen.

There is an icon of a house in the top right of the map.

A group of other icons appear in a cluster on the left-hand side, to represent different co-located facilities.

Dashed lines appear on the map to connect the house to the different facilities, representing active travel routes.

The map shrinks to form part of a split-screen panel of three different scenes. The other two scenes are the elderly lady crossing the road, and a young cyclist smiling.

The relevant Active Design principle icon appears above each scene.

Voiceover: Active, High-Quality Places and Spaces

The Active Design principles briefly slide into view.

The text ‘Active, High-quality Places and Spaces’ appears on-screen, with the four icons showing the relevant principles displayed above the text.

Voiceover: We know that the places and spaces we interact with in our daily lives play an important role in how much activity we do. If designed well, this can support and encourage us to be more active.

A split-screen of three different scenes appears.

One scene is two adult females riding scooters through a pretty park.

Another scene features the lady from the start of the video jogging through the park.

The third scene features the young smiling cyclist shown moments before.

Yet the quality and the access to these areas can vary.

The split-screen panel is replaced by a view of an empty, messy park, with litter and an upside-down shopping trolley.

Voiceover: A network of open spaces and well-designed quality places offer chances to socially connect and take active journeys, especially if there are features throughout the trip such as, signage, bike parking, toilets and seating.

A bar of light wipes across the screen, revealing the same park with Active Design principles applied.

The scene slowly pans from right to left.

The following differences can be seen:

Park is clean and tidy.

There are benches, bins, and lighting.

People of various ages, ethnicities, genders and abilities partake in a range of different pursuits within the park.

The park now has signage, bike parking, toilets, seating, and a playground.

Voiceover: Creating a network of high-quality streets and open spaces, and ensuring that these are easy to access through active travel networks can encourage and enable us to be active.

The park shrinks down to form part of a split-screen view, incorporating three scenes.

One scene is a top-down street map view.

The second scene is the playground from the park, with children using the apparatus.

The final scene is a boy flying a kite in the park, watched by his grandfather.

Voiceover: Creating and Maintaining Activity

The text ‘Creating and Maintaining Activity’ appears on-screen, with the two icons showing the relevant principles displayed above the text.

Voiceover: It’s essential that once these spaces are created, they are well used and maintained and become part of the community.

We see a pretty park in an urban environment. There is no-one in the park.

A bar of light sweeps across the screen, revealing the same park being actively used.

A man sweeps the footpath.

A lady plants flowers.

A duck is swimming in the pond.

An elderly gentleman approaches a noticeboard, with a flyer in his hand.

Voiceover: Designing spaces to be flexible and to accommodate changing and varied uses over time, can stop a space from becoming unused.

The camera zooms in on the elderly gentleman as he places a poster on the noticeboard advertising a Yoga class.

We can see other posters on the noticeboard advertising a walking group and a ‘Buggy fit’ class.

The view slides across to reveal a scene in the same park, with the elderly gentleman now leading a yoga class with participants of various ethnicities.

Voiceover: Maintaining our high quality, flexible places and activating spaces is essential to encouraging physical activity for all. 

The yoga class scene shrinks down to form part of a split-screen view, incorporating one other scene.

The other scene features a young man sweeping in the park.

Voiceover: The 10 Active Design principles together can help develop active environments, supporting us all to be more healthy and active.

The lady from the first scene in the video is seen happily walking against an urban backdrop. The scene takes place within a small circular frame in the middle of the screen.

Around this circle, the Active Design principle icons float into view. Once all on-screen, they slowly orbit around the walking lady.

Voiceover: Active Design: making the active choice, the easy choice for all.

The entire scene moves off-screen.

The words ‘Active Design’ appear within the blank space that remains.

The full set of Active Design icons appear underneath the text.

The words ‘Making the active choice the easy choice for all’ appear underneath the icons.

The web address ‘sportengland.org/activedesign’ appears underneath the text.

The guide seeks to help planners, designers and everyone involved in delivering and managing our places to create and maintain active environments. 

The foundation principle of ‘Activity for all’ is supported by the remaining principles which are brought together under the three themes of ‘Supporting active travel’, ‘Active, high-quality places & spaces’ and ‘Creating & maintaining activity’.

The key documents

Launch webinar.

This video is a recording of the webinar used to launch the Active Design guidance. 

The chair was Fiona Howie from the Town and Country Planning Association, with speakers including the deputy chief medical officer Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy and Sport England chair, Chris Boardman.

Expert panellists included:

James Scott - Urban & Civic

Julia Foster - David Lock Associates

Dinah Bornat - ZCD Architects

This new edition of Active Design, published in May 2023, reflects the latest research and practice in encouraging physical activity in the built and natural environment. 

We undertook a literature review of recent publications and studies, policy and design guidance to identify gaps, new topic areas and usability improvements.

Following this, we ran extensive online and in-person stakeholder engagement sessions throughout the summer of 2022 to understand how Active Design was being used, where it could be improved, and what good practice could be shared. 

There are the key issues and changes we've made:

Foundational principle

We've made 'activity for all' the foundational principle for Active Design.

This is centred around a focus on early engagement, co-design and consultation with communities to ensure needs are properly understood before designing to meet those needs.

Listen, learn, co-design. 

Creating safe spaces

While this seems obvious, it’s sometimes that unintentional outcome of designing spaces with predetermined solutions that can make them unusable for some groups.

This is strongly linked to conducting good co-design. 

Principles grouped into themes

To help users understand the principles a little better, we've grouped them into three themes: 

• Supporting active travel 
• Active, high-quality places and spaces 
• Creating and maintaining activity 

A user-friendly guide

Partners are time and resource-pressured, and so we've simplified the guide to be more ‘actionable’ and show examples through case studies and illustrative places.

Connecting to other policy priorities

While being active is our focus, partners have other priorities, such as, climate change.

However, Active Design shows how implementing the 10 principles can have crossover benefits to achieve some of the other policy priorities.

Active Design 3 links physical activity to environmental sustainability, reducing inequalities and economic growth. 

Continuity with Active Design 2

We adopted an approach of don’t change for change’s sake.

While updating and adapting the content and elevating ‘activity for all’ as our foundational principle, we've retained the 10 principles. 

All environments should support physical activity equitably across all ages, ethnicities, genders and abilities - enabling everyone to be active and build long-term active habits and behaviours.

This is essential for the delivery of all the principles of Active Design and is its foundational principle.

This principle has two stages:

Listening and learning

• Understanding different experiences
• Engaging and listening effectively
• Using local data and evidence

Considering issues that affect physical activity participation

• Create safe places
• Consider a wide range of activities
• Consider different experiences of using spaces

The principles of Active Design can be applied anywhere in our built and natural environments.

They have the most effect when combined with each other and can be applied from the largest scales to smallest details. 

The mix of in-depth case studies and illustrative places presented below, show how the principles can be applied in a variety of places, from a city centre through to rural villages.  

Case studies

Illustrative places.

Alongside the case studies and illustrative places under the ‘Applying the principles’ tab, further useful resources will be added here over time to build up a library of resources to help with delivering Active Design.  

• UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines Physical activity guidelines: disabled children and disabled young people - DHS… Uniting the Movement - Sport England National Design Guide Everybody active, every day - Public Health England Voice Opportunity Power What makes a park feel safe or unsafe? - University of Leeds Improving access to greenspace - Public Health England What are play streets? - Playing Out Cycle infrastructure design (LTN 1/20) - Department for Transport Manual for Streets - MHCLG Healthy Streets - Transport for London Essex Design Guide What is Universal Design - National Disability Authority Community champion approaches: rapid scoping review of evidence - PHE This Girl Can - Sport England

Active travel is the simplest and most inclusive way of getting people to incorporate activity into their daily lives and has numerous benefits for physical and mental health, the environment, the places we live, quality of life and social inclusion.  

Principle 2 - walkable communities

Facilities for daily essentials and recreation should be within easy reach of each other by active travel means, making it more likely that people will make the journey by using other active travel modes.

Good active travel connections should be provided to extend the range of services that are accessible to people while remaining physically active. 

Principle 3 - providing connected active travel routes

Encourage active travel for all ages and abilities by creating a continuous network of routes connecting places safely and directly.

Networks should be easy to use, supported by signage and landmarks to help people find their way.   

Principle 4 - mixing uses and co-locating facilities

People are more likely to combine trips and use active travel to get to destinations with multiple reasons to visit.

Places with more variety, higher densities and a mix of uses also reduce the perception of distance when travelling through spaces.

They also generate the critical mass of travel demand to better support public transport services.  

All places and spaces should encourage physical activity, not just buildings and facilities for sport, activity and leisure, but open spaces, green infrastructure, urban public realm and streets - the range of places we use in our daily lives.  

Principle 5 - network of multi-functional spaces

Accessible and high-quality open space should be promoted across cities, towns and villages to provide opportunities for sport and physical activity, as well as active travel connections and natural or civic space for people to congregate and enjoy.  

Principle 6 - high-quality streets and spaces

Streets and outdoor public spaces should be active environments in their own right.

They should be safe, attractive, functional, prioritise people and able to host a mix of uses, with durable, quality materials, street furniture in the right places and easy-to-use signage.

High-quality streets and spaces encourage activity, whereas poor quality streets and spaces are much less likely to be used to the same degree. 

Principle 7 - providing activity infrastructure

Infrastructure to enable sport, recreation and physical activity to take place should be provided across all contexts including workplaces, sports facilities and public space, to facilitate activity for all. 

Principle 8 - active buildings, inside and out

Buildings we occupy shape our everyday lives, both when users are inside and outside.

Buildings should be designed with providing opportunities for physical activity at the forefront, considering the arrival experience, internal circulation, opportunities to get up and move about, and making the building an active destination.

It is essential that once delivered, spaces are utilised effectively and can be relied upon to be useful for years to come.

To achieve this, how spaces will be used and maintained should be factored into the design process at the outset, and opportunities for activation of theses spaces should be explored.

Often, designing spaces to be flexible and able to accommodate multiple different uses can prevent a space becoming disused and allow it to respond to evolving and changing needs of a community, as well as changing activity trends.

Principle 9 - maintaining high-quality flexible spaces

Spaces and facilities should be effectively maintained and managed to support physical activity.

These places should be monitored to understand how they're used and flexible so they can be adapted as needed. 

Principle 10 - activating spaces

The provision of spaces and facilities which can help to improve physical activity should be supported by a commitment to activate them, encouraging people to be more physically active and increasing the awareness of activity opportunities within a community. 

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• Driving and road transport
• Cycling and walking

Active Travel England design assistance tools

Route cross-section and crossing selector tools to support users during the design process of active travel interventions and schemes.

Applies to England

Ate crossing selector tool.

MS Excel Spreadsheet , 4.71 MB

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

ATE crossing selector tool user manual

PDF , 668 KB , 16 pages

ATE route cross-section tool

MS Excel Spreadsheet , 1.81 MB

ATE route cross-section tool user manual

PDF , 981 KB , 16 pages

Active Travel England ( ATE ) has developed a suite of tools to support the development of designs and the assessment of design quality for active travel interventions and schemes.

These design assistance tools should be used in conjunction with ATE scheme review tools .

Crossing selector tool

Provides a range of suitable design options when considering how to connect walking, wheeling and cycling routes over a main road between 2 side roads.

Route cross-section tool

Assists in confirming whether a corridor is suitable for different kinds of active travel infrastructure, given constraints such as carriageway width.

Both tools are based on national guidance such as:

• Cycle infrastructure design  LTN  1/20
• Inclusive Mobility: making transport accessible for passengers and pedestrians  
• Manual for streets 2007  and  Manual for streets 2010
• existing street assessment tools, such as Cycling Level of Service (appendix A in  Cycle Infrastructure Design  LTN  1/20  and  Healthy Streets
• best practice and further evidence

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Home » Online: Active Travel – Planning & Design

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Online: Active Travel – Planning & Design

• CPD Value: This course is awarded 24 CPD hours.
• Full details

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Full details.

This course provides delegates with the information and skills to develop designs for walking and cycling infrastructure within the UK regulatory framework. It also leads to the Professional Certificate or Diploma in Active Travel. The Department for Transport Cycle Proofing Working Group has listed the IHE Professional Certificate & Diploma in Active Travel as an acknowledged product for engineers planning and designing active travel infrastructure.

Learning Outcomes

Delegates will be able to understand the role of walking and cycling as modes of transport; plan spatial route networks; and, design appropriate links, crossings, junctions and other infrastructure to accommodate these modes.

Aims and Objectives

On completion of this course, delegates will be able to:

• Describe the role of walking and cycling within the wider context of transport planning;
• List the main sources of design guidance for these modes in the UK;
• Understand how to use an evidence-based approach for planning local route networks;
• Describe the 5 main design criteria that underpin walking and cycling infrastructure;
• Apply the design criteria in different types of road environment (links, crossings, junctions);
• Understand the regulatory signs and markings associated with different types of infrastructure;
• Plan and design direction signs for walking and cycling;
• Plan and design cycle parking;
• Undertake a review of existing or planned infrastructure to identify the design requirements;
• Develop design solutions in accordance with national design guidance.

Course Outline

The course takes place over four days which are split into two, two-day classroom sessions. Delegates will also be asked to bring their own local case studies for discussion and to undertake a practical design exercise at home.

The course content includes:

• Active Travel Policies
• Design requirements for pedestrian and cycle traffic
• Design Criteria
• Network Planning and Planning Tools
• Sources of Design Guidance
• Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
• Bus and Cycle Lanes
• Priority, signal controlled and grade separated junctions and crossings
• Cycle Parking
• Cycle Audit and Review (Level of Service) Tools

You will receive a Certificate of Attendance with CPD just for attending the course.

Intended for

This course is intended for local authority staff, transport planning consultants and contractors working in the design of highway infrastructure.

Achieving the Certificate or Diploma

If you wish to go on to gain the Professional Certificate or Diploma then you will need to submit an Individual Portfolio of Evidence, which documents how you have achieved the competencies required.  Click here  to view the guidance document and application form.  Please note:  the fee to submit your application is included in the cost of the course.

Achieving Professional Registration

In addition, you can also make an application for EngTech Professional Registration if you meet the requirements.

If you have any questions regarding the course email us at:  [email protected]

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Greater Manchester publishes first Active Travel Design Guide

• Post author By Anthony
• Post date 28th April 2021

Transport for Greater Manchester and the region’s Combined Authority have completed an important step in the implementation of their Bee Network walking and cycling plans, publishing an Active Travel Design Guide that sets out the key rules for designing future schemes in its ten boroughs.

The document is 27 pages (PDF) of perfect bedtime reading for anyone who dreams of protected cycle lanes, well-lit walking routes and Cycle Optimised Protected Signal (CYCLOPS) junctions. Which is all of us who like getting around without a car, right?

So far only an “interim” guide, it references several existing publications, but notably the Department for Transport’s surprisingly excellent LTN 1/20 . If you’re not up to speed, that’s a local transport note document published last year which sets out the new standards for cycling infrastructure design, now quoted endlessly by cycle geeks.

The Greater Manchester design guide spurs from this slightly to focus on both cycling and walking, with 18 “key issues” including width of facilities, surface quality, gradients and even things like headroom on cycle facilities that can otherwise be overlooked.

Including pedestrians means that clear guidelines are also set out for dedicated walking facilities, such as the width: 2 metres or 1.4 metres as an absolute minimum where necessary, in case you’re wondering. In fact, “a width of less than 1.4m will not permit use by a double buggy user and is unacceptable on the Bee Network,” it says. Nice one.

It’s also wonderfully clear that, while we use “pedestrians” and “cyclists”, we’re actually talking about huge sub-sets of users within each of those (from wheelchair and pram users to tricycles and cargo bikes), and that new schemes need to be completely inclusive.

The tone is simple and frank, which is good since all ten councils need to follow these guidelines if they’re to receive funding for future schemes. (That’s an important point too, because Stockport for one when presented with LTN 1/20 guidelines have countered by quoting back a line contained within that, ultimately “local authorities are responsible for setting design standards for their roads”. Ie. they can ignore the whole damn thing if they want to.)

Lighting is one point where the Bee Network seems to want to put itself a cut above your average right of way, even stating “off-road Beeways should also be provided with full ambient lighting, ideally to the same standards referenced above.” It goes on to state in sensitive areas this could mean low-level bollards or solar studs in the path.

The one issue where some have noticed the guide stumbles a bit is with that old favourite: access control barriers on traffic free routes.

LTN 1/20 states quite fiercely “access control measures, such as chicane barriers and dismount signs, should not be used.”

Greater Manchester’s guide on the other hand wavers to say that, actually, they can be used but “must have clear, specific, local justification agreed through the Cycling and Walking Design Review Panel.”

“Acceptable solutions will usually either use bollards or offset barriers/gates with sufficient clearance to permit use by all legitimate users.” (The sufficient clearance apparently being just 1.5 metres.)

So, while awful a-frames, k-frames and kissing gates are all outlawed, we may yet see a Bee Network filled with frustrating pinch-point chicanes — sorry, “offset barriers” — when actually, a humble bollard or two would do.

And a new Active Travel website, too

Transport for Greater Manchester have also launched a new, dedicated website for active travel . Along with tips on how to start walking and cycling, it provides a good single resource for all the many Bee Network schemes.

A complete map and dedicated pages for each project give a brief overview with links to the local council websites for plans and further updates. This information used to be quite scattered and hard to get an overview on, so it’s a very welcome improvement.

One thing notably missing, however, is a link to TfGM’s really useful online cycling maps . They don’t seem to be referenced anywhere and, given the online version hasn’t been updated since 2019 , let’s hope they’ve not fallen by the wayside altogether.

Bee Network buses, trams and trains?

It was reported recently by WalkRideGM that Andy Burnham “plans to rebrand” the whole of Greater Manchester’s public transport network as the “Bee Network” if he wins the upcoming mayoral election.

This likely follows on from the welcome decision to progress with taking back control of the region’s buses , which included a teasing video showing bumble-bee yellow buses — and cycle hire docks.

But then, what is the cycling and walking network? It’s already been through one rebrand, after the original Beelines name was dropped due to a trademark issue . TfGM do now own the use of “Beeways” , which is a rather nice, succinct alternative, so perhaps we could see that brought into widespread use.

• Places Greater Manchester , Manchester , Stockport , Tameside
• Tags Bee Network , Guidance , Route Design , Transport for Greater Manchester , Websites

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About Peaks & Puddles

Hello, I'm Anthony. I started Peaks & Puddles to chart the ups and downs of cycling and walking the edges of the Peak District around Buxton, Macclesfield and Stockport, and to help more people explore this brilliant landscape between town and country. Find out more about me and Peaks & Puddles here .

We’ve just released our new Impact Report for 2022-23! Take a look here.

For Organisations

Activity and health, active travel & design, insight and evaluation, active travel & design.

The term Active Travel is when you use alternative forms of transport for shorter journeys to the car, be it a trip, commute or the school run. Active Travel could be walking or cycling, or any other physically active means of transport for part or all of your journey.

Some parts of the UK will find this easier than others. This is because some neighbourhoods are built a lot safer for cyclists and walkers, whether these are cycle lanes, or limited traffic areas.

The insight below shows the benefits of this, as well as highlighting ways in which we could transform our local communities to make it easier for people to take up active travel in their daily lives. You can also read more about the concept of Active Travel here.

Active Design: How can we achieve this?

The below reports outline a range of recommendations for transforming the street environments. This focuses particularly around schools and other areas where physical activity could provide the most widespread benefits.

The necessity of green spaces for children’s development (pdf, 2.61 MB)

Unicef report showing the importance of green spaces for children’s development

RSPH: Routing Out Childhood Obesity (pdf, 10.86 MB)

Report on the benefits of active travel and how transforming areas around schools could benefit children and young people.

Spatial Planning for Health: Planning and Designing Healthier Places (2018) (pdf, 1.94 MB)

The built and natural environment is a key environmental determinant of health and wellbeing. This report will explore their relationship.

Active Design (2015) (pdf, 26.16 MB)

A fresh look at the opportunities to encourage and promote sport and physical activity through the design and layout of our built environment.

Cycling for Everyone (pdf, 18.56 MB)

Supporting people in local government and the transport sector to make cycling a more inclusive activity for everyone.

Active Travel: What are the benefits?

The following reports explore the benefits, and the walking and cycling statistics for previous years across the country.

In highlighting the evidence linking healthier lifestyles and movement, as well as the challenges faced, they can support not only the public in deciding to adopt a more physical mode of transport, but decision makers when building walking and cycle-friendly infrastructures.

Cycling and walking for individual and population health benefits (pdf, 762.07 KB)

This review found that walking and cycling benefit health in a number of ways.

Norfolk Cycling and Walking Plan (pdf, 21.24 MB)

To encourage Norfolk to travel more actively Norfolk County Council has developed a Cycling and Walking Action Plan.

Cycling: Near Misses (pdf, 938.16 KB)

This report explores the effects of near misses, including how people say they will affect their future cycling.

Walking and Cycling Statistics (2019) (pdf, 829.50 KB)

Reported annual walking activity, in terms of trips made and miles walked.

Useful links and tools

The following tools provide useful insight, and show the benefits of active design. These include walking and cycling scores, and a strategic planning tool.

If you’ve been unable to find what you’re looking for, get in touch to see if we can help. Alternatively, check out the rest of our insight section. There are several studies and insight reports that are sure to be useful to your project or delivery.

Walk Scores: Measure the walkability of any address

Propensity to Cycle Tool: Strategic Cycling Planning Tool

Bikedata: Cycling route mapping tool

HEAT: Estimate the value of increases in walking or cycling

Sustrans: Making it easier for people to walk and cycle

Keep updated.

Keep up-to-date with the latest physical activity information, insight, and resources by signing up to one of our newsletters.

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Active Travel Act guidance

Guidance for local authorities planning and designing networks of walking and cycling routes.

Read details on this page

• Active Travel Act: guidance and forms and
• Walking and cycling (Sub-topic)

Active Travel Act guidance , file type: PDF, file size: 43 MB

Includes best practice on infrastructure design and gives guidance on how to provide related facilities such as cycle parking.

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Walking, wheeling and cycling

Transport Scotland is committed to increasing levels of walking, wheeling and cycling for transport and leisure.

Photo courtesy of Sustrans Scotland

Developing an Active Nation

Read about our commitment to Active Travel including how we work with partners and fund projects throughout Scotland.

Walking and cycling policy

We're committed to making it easier to choose cycling and walking

Cycling by Design

Guidance for permanent cycling infrastructure design on all roads, streets and paths in Scotland

More on Active Travel

Key publications.

• Active Travel Framework
• Cycling Framework for Active Travel
• Local Authority Active Travel Strategies
• Active Travel Strategy Guidance
• Active Travel funding opportunities

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Severe storm threat to continue into early week

In the aftermath of the powerful storms and catastrophic damage from late last week into the start of the weekend, AccuWeather forecasters say that the severe weather threat will not cease just yet.

By Alyssa Glenny , AccuWeather Meteorologist

Published Apr 28, 2024 8:10 AM PDT | Updated Apr 28, 2024 12:33 PM PDT

Damage from an intense tornado on April 27 was seen the morning after in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Video shows shredded buildings, thrown vehicles and huge piles of debris.

As an expansive storm continues to roll eastward across the Plains this weekend, it will spark yet another day featuring severe weather hazards for roughly a 900-mile stretch of the country.

Through Sunday night, the primary corridor at risk for severe thunderstorms will range from population centers like San Antonio to Omaha , Nebraska, and St. Louis , Missouri. Some of which are areas that have already faced one or several rounds of impacts from destructive storms over the last few days.

Storms continue to roll across the Plains

AccuWeather forecasters highlight that although residents should stay weather aware in the coming days as the threat for severe weather continues across portions of the Central U.S., conditions into early this week are not expected to ramp up quite as much as the widespread destruction observed previously on Friday and Saturday.

"The threat for severe weather will continue into the workweek, albeit at a slightly lower tenor, thanks to a lower risk for tornadoes," explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bill Deger.

Throughout the day on Sunday, the main push of storm energy will advance northeastward from the nation’s midsection into the midwestern states. Along its southern flank, a cold front will trail behind across Oklahoma and Texas, ushering moisture northward out of the Gulf of Mexico and into the South Central states.

"On Sunday, while much of the Plains catches their breath, the Mississippi Valley will become the focus for flooding downpours, strong winds and hail. A tornado or two still cannot be ruled out," noted Deger.

View of the AccuWeather Radar across Texas around 7:30 a.m. CT, Sunday, April 28th.

By Sunday morning, thunderstorms and hefty downpours were already spreading across central Texas to eastern Oklahoma. Morning hourly rainfall reports in Texas between Austin and Waco soared upwards of 1.50-2.00 inches in spots as pockets of intense rainfall spread from west to east in a concentrated line of storms.

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Into the overnight period, the threat for flooding downpours will continue as the line of thunderstorms redevelops and advances eastward toward the Mississippi Valley. Ponding on roadways, travel disruptions and flash flooding will be a concern across a wide swath from northeast Texas into Arkansas and northwest Louisiana.

Activity shifts to the Gulf Coast

Into Monday, the corridor of rain and storms are projected to track south and eastward to the Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast. As energy swings across southern Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, far southwestern Tennessee and western Alabama, storms that develop from Monday to Monday evening will pose some risk for severe weather.

"By Monday, the risk will shift to the Lower Mississippi Valley and South. With a greater amount of moisture available in the atmosphere here, the primary concern will be from torrential rainfall. A few storms could still, however, bring gusty winds and hail," explained Deger.

Cities such as Jackson, Mississippi, New Orleans , and Mobile , Alabama, will fall within the hazard zone on Monday. Forecasters warn that thunderstorms may reach coastal locations like New Orleans by the late afternoon or evening hours.

A new storm emerges into the central states

As locations from Omaha, Nebraska, and Des Moines , Iowa, to Oklahoma City recover and cleanup efforts continue from the impacts severe storms brought last Friday and Saturday, AccuWeather meteorologists caution that another day containing risk will arise in the region early his week.

"A new storm emerging in the northern Plains on Tuesday will bring a damaging wind risk to the upper Midwest. Again, the threat for tornadoes will be lower than with the last storm on Friday and Saturday, but a rogue twister cannot be ruled out," added Deger.

Forecasters outline that metro areas such as Kansas City , Missouri, will also face some risk for severe weather late Tuesday. Motorists along interstates 20, 35, 40, 44, 70, 80 and 90 may contend with gusty crosswinds and localized downpours if traveling late in the day on Tuesday.

Midweek severe concerns

By Wednesday, yet another piece of energy will barrel into the Plains, elevating the chances for potent thunderstorms packing gusty winds, hail and downpours capable of producing flash flooding.

The risk from Wednesday to Wednesday night will extend from central Kansas on southward through central and even west-central Texas. Lone Star State residents in cities such as San Angelo, Wichita Falls and Dallas should be on the lookout come Wednesday for potent thunderstorms. Farther north, key metro areas that will contend with severe weather chances once again will include Oklahoma City and Wichita.

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21 Jan 2020

Ilim Group invests $120m in Siberia

Ilim Group , one of Russia’s largest pulp, paper and corrugated board producers, has officially completed a large-scale modernisation of its paper machine at its mill in the city of Bratsk (Irkutsk region).

As part of the project, the company invested more than US$120m to increase the output of the mill, by as much as 50% — from 198,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes per year.

Thanks to the modernisation project, the speed of the paper machine increased from the 550 to 800m per min, while productivity has now risen to 830 tonnes per day.

At the same time, the company is continuing reconstruction of its pulp line, which is expected to be completed next year and will result in the increase of its capacity up to 173,000 tonnes per annum.

World class

Denis Russkikh, Head of Production Department at Ilim Bratsk, comments, “The project has allowed us to change the paper machine dramatically. In fact, this is now essentially a new machine, as we have replaced almost all the key components and units, using some of latest technology available. We reviewed the data from many installationas around the world to ensure we were using the best systems possible.”

In addition to the paper machine, the company plans a complete reconstruction of the existing chemical water treatment plant and the installation of a new water treatment plant that will have a design capacity of 400 m3 per hour.

Over the coming 12 months, Ilim Group will commission a new woodyard at the Bratsk plant. It is planned that the new woodyard will include three lines with a total capacity of five million cubic meters of chips per year. The technology that will be used in its operations will contribute to a significant improvement of the quality of wood chips and reduce the consumption of resources, including electricity and water.

Group plans ongoing

According to Ksenia Sosnina, CEO of Ilim Group, the expansion of the Bratsk mill is part of Ilim’s large-scale investment program, which has a total cost of more than US$3bn.

Sosnina comments, “The modernisation at the Bratsk mill has affected the entire technological chain of paper production at the facility – from pulping operations to the packaging of finished products and logistics issues.”

The allocated investments will also allow the company to significantly improve the quality of finished products.

Wide product range

At present, the Bratsk mill is one of the largest paper and board producers in Russia. The mill has a diverse portfolio of products, including pulp, kraftliner, fluting, wood chemical products and round timber.

As part of Ilim’s plans, the expansion of the Bratsk mill will provide an opportunity to significantly strengthen its positions in the growing Asian market, particularly in the segment of packaging materials.

Particular hopes are put on the increase of exports to the Chinese market, with the Shandong Province being one of the most important export destinations in China, if not the entire Asian region.

Alexander Lykhin, Vice President of Ilim Asia and head of the Chinese branch of the company, comments, “The recent tightening of legislation in regard to food packaging safety in China will create a shortage of packaging materials in the local market. This is coupled with the introduction of a ban on fluorescent substances, as well as the expected shortage of raw materials for the production of testliners, particularly due to restrictions on the import of recovered fibre and the closure of old, environmentally problematic mills.”

International growth

In addition to the expansion of the Bratsk mill, the more active expansion of Ilim into the Asian region will be supported by the construction of a new pulp and paper mill at its other Siberian facility, which is located in the city of Ust-Ilimsk. It is planned that capacity of this mill will reach 600,000 tonnes per year. The volume of investment at the Ust-Ilimsk mill will amount to US$1bn, while its official commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2021. By this time, the volume of pulp production at the plant will also increase, reaching 130,000 tonnes annually. As a result of the project, total capacity of the Big Ust-Ilimsk branch of the company will reach 1.5m tons of finished products per year.

As a result of this significant investment project, the total output of the company will grow by 40% by 2024 and amount to 4.4m tons of various products.

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Angara village , an open-air museum in some distance from Bratsk featuring Russian houses, the church and utensils of XVII—XX centuries as well as Evenk chums .

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