People can decide to change direction, cross the road to a shop, or go away from the main road on footpaths, cutting across parks, choosing where and how to travel. The management of walking as a traffic problem often frustrates this, removing one of the main incentives to walk. Urban design should not assume that the obvious way to walk is the way people do walk. In addition, perceptions of distance are influenced by the quality of route. In all the case studies, respondents highlighted concerns with the physical environment around them.
Street lighting is often the most consistent pedestrian concern.
Nervousness caused by traffic extends to traffic speeds, noise, pollution, segregation, delay and the general feeling that cars are more important than pedestrians in many of the case studies, people said that not only traffic safety but traffic convenience seems to be given priority, particularly where pedestrians are required to use subways or split crossings. Parked vehicles cause problems with crossing streets and in some areas pavement parking makes walking difficult or hazardous. In addition, the pedestrian is increasingly competing for space with buses and cycles. In many areas, the pedestrian has already lost footway width to the car. More recently, bus lanes and shared pedestrian and cycle routes have encroached on pedestrian space.