The Council has already adopted a number of principles which will guide the development of the walking strategy. These include:

• the need to reinforce natural corridors of movement. This could be, for example, through providing further crossing places or pedestrian priority   
• making the strategy destination-based – in other words, building it around existing or potential nodes of pedestrian concentration such as offices, suburbs etc    
• incorporating it more formally within development control procedures (e.g. ‘how does this proposal assist walking?)    
• ensuring that those without access to a car have real choice (e.g. linking residential areas to shops with uninterrupted pedestrian links, providing good walking access to bus stops and railway stations).

The result will be a great encouragement to walk with all the health and social benefits which that confers. It is likely that the strategy will create a particularly significant potential for increased walking in the following areas:

• Education – schools, colleges and universities    
• Employment – walking to work    
• Local shopping – reducing dependency on the car    
• Leisure.

The priority given to walking is particularly important within the central areas of Bath, Keynsham and Norton–Radstock. Bath’s CI:TE team is putting forward a programme of schemes for Bath City Centre which are developed around the principle of reallocation of road space to pedestrians. Keynsham and Norton-Radstock also have planned or approved schemes to improve the safety, convenience and attractiveness of the centres for pedestrians.

In comparison with other major historic cities, Bath already has heavy reliance on walking as a means of everyday transport (see table below). It is the aim of the Walking Strategy to maintain the importance of walking as a mode of transport not just in Bath but throughout the authority’s area.