A computer implemented method of operating a navigation system to provide a pedestrian route, the method comprising: receiving an origin and a destination; determining an origin waypoint and a destination waypoint based on the received origin and destination, determining a plurality of candidate solution routes, each candidate solution route comprising a plurality of sidewalks and crosswalks that form a continuous pedestrian-navigable route between the origin waypoint and the destination waypoint, wherein sidewalks are associated with road segments and motor vehicles are prohibited from traveling on sidewalks; for each of the candidate solution routes, accessing data representing the respective plurality of sidewalks and crosswalks from a geographic database to determine a cost associated with including the respective plurality of sidewalks and crosswalks in the candidate solution route, wherein the cost indicates a safety risk for a pedestrian travelling along the candidate solution route; providing an option for safety considerations to be turned off by a user via a user interface; selecting the candidate solution route that minimizes the cost; and generating route guidance for the selected candidate solution route, wherein the route guidance includes a safety advisory, wherein determining the plurality of candidate solution routes takes into account whether the safety considerations have been turned off by the user such that when safety considerations have not been turned off, the origin waypoint and the destination waypoint are determined to be respective points on respective sidewalks which are closest to the respective received origin and destination without requiring crossing a road segment. receiving an origin and a destination; determining an origin waypoint and a destination waypoint based on the received origin and destination, determining a plurality of candidate solution routes, each candidate solution route comprising a plurality of sidewalks and crosswalks that form a continuous pedestrian-navigable route between the origin waypoint and the destination waypoint, wherein sidewalks are associated with road segments and motor vehicles are prohibited from traveling on sidewalks; for each of the candidate solution routes, accessing data representing the respective plurality of sidewalks and crosswalks from a geographic database to determine a cost associated with including the respective plurality of sidewalks and crosswalks in the candidate solution route, wherein the cost indicates a safety risk for a pedestrian travelling along the candidate solution route; providing an option for safety considerations to be turned off by a user via a user interface; selecting the candidate solution route that minimizes the cost; and generating route guidance for the selected candidate solution route, wherein the route guidance includes a safety advisory, wherein determining the plurality of candidate solution routes takes into account whether the safety considerations have been turned off by the user such that when safety considerations have not been turned off, the origin waypoint and the destination waypoint are determined to be respective points on respective sidewalks which are closest to the respective received origin and destination without requiring crossing a road segment.