Walking is an integral part of the transport system and day-to-day mobility. Walking provides an important role in bringing people out into the community for a wide range of reasons, be it travelling to work, school, visiting local facilities, getting to public transport or walking for fitness and recreation. Walking is one of our most social, accessible and sustainable modes of transport. Most individual trips, whatever the primary mode used, begin and / or finish with a walk section, so that walking is a fundamental component of all travel. Thus, pedestrians form the largest single road user group.
Walking provides a range of benefits to both individuals and society as a whole ranging from health and fitness, economic including tourism, and environmental. Walking is a form of transport that has a negligible environmental impact. Outlined below is a summary of some of the benefits.