Durham City Vision

A Strategy for Walking

In the Durham City Vision, great emphasis is placed on the quality of the experience of the City centre for people on foot. This is the means by which the majority of the City centre’s users experience the City centre, and as the proposed improvements to the public realm and the main access points are implemented, this majority will increase. The needs of walkers in the City centre should have priority over all other modes of transport, both on routes to the City centre and routes within.

RANGE OF WALKERS
The users of the City centre have many different purposes, among them:

• Shoppers, requiring access to the main shopping areas within the City centre.
•  Workers making their way from the point of entry to their place of work, around the City centre for lunch and staying on into the evening.
•  Evening visitors looking for a meal or entertainment.
•  Visitors visiting the City’s sights and making their way from car park or coach drop-off around the City centre.
•  People walking just for the fun, or for the exercise, or because they are inquisitive.
•  Students walking from college to classes. These groups will have different needs of the City centre at different times of the day or the week, but in the routes they share their experience of the walking environment.

RANGE OF WALKS
A network of walking routes has been defined that meets the key requirements of walkers in the City centre. This involves approaches to the City centre, including new walking approaches along the River corridor as part of the wider Necklace Park concept and routes within the City centre.

This network has also identified points where pedestrian priority is lost and the attractiveness of the route for walking impaired. The network is identified on the plan and the main problem points marked. There will need to be a consistent approach across the City centre to:

• signage and way-marking
• the priority afforded to pedestrians at the key crossing points of the main road network
• the quality of the walking surface in terms of functionality, legibility, design and use of materials
• the environmental quality and perceived security of the Vennels throughout the City centre