By Nick Heath, 8 August 2008 16:58
NEWS
London is to use pedestrian counting technology to help turn the capital into "one of the most walking friendly cities in the world".
An intelligent camera system will count people on foot in 40 sites in Greater London, focusing on key shopping, financial, tourist and education sites.
Walking around the London could become much easier as the system helps city planners match paths, crossings and pestrianised zones to areas of the heaviest footfall.
Transport for London (TfL) says the system will boost public health and reduce stress on buses and the Tube by providing a benchmark to measure the success of schemes to promote walking.
The Springboard pedestrian counter uses cameras linked to PCs that use software to count the numbers of pedestrians in shot 24/7 and is in the early stages of being deployed around the capital.
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The system will help TfL achieve its goal of increase the average number of trips on foot by 10 per cent per person per year by 2015 and the aim of the Mayor's Transport Strategy in 2001 to make London "one of the most walking friendly cities for pedestrians".
A spokeswoman for Transport for London said: "The population of London is projected to grow by 800,000 by 2025.
"Increasing walking journeys is an important way of helping to manage the demands this increase would otherwise place on the transport system.
"Having a baseline figure of walking journeys will allow us to monitor walking journeys and identify trends."
Diane Wehrle, of Springboard Research Ltd, said: "It will provide access to a database of the number of people walking through the zone 24 hours a day, 365-days-a-year."
The Springboard system is in use in 50 towns and cities around the UK.
Comments
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1. Radical Meldrew
London has acquired a charm all of its own as most of the main routes were initially built by necessity rather than design. I will admit that it is not 100% walker friendly but, like most capital cities, that’s part of its heritage! Are they proposing to demolish or redesign chunks of it to create new walk zones? The harsh reality is that redesigning London bit by bit is probably easier than attempting to get its transport system working efficiently and there will no doubt be a commercial plan behind any revamp so that various businesses will invest in the project as well..... Walk and prosper is the motto but the truth is - you will walk far and we will prosper heavily.