Analysing how continuous footways influence driver behaviour in London

Steer was commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) to assess driver behaviour at junctions where continuous footways had been installed in London. A continuous footway refers to a priority junction at which the footway parallel to the major road continues uninterrupted at the same grade and with the same surface.

The main aim of the study was “to determine how continuous footways influence driver behaviour and the consequent level of risk for pedestrians and cyclists.”

How we helped

Our approach was to provide a detailed analysis of seven case study sites in inner London.

First, we undertook site visits to make initial observations. We then commissioned a traffic survey subcontractor to record video footage for a three-day period at each site. From this footage, they provided classified counts of pedestrian, cyclist and drivers.

We then analysed the video footage to code interactions between pedestrians and drivers, and cyclists and drivers. Interactions were coded into matrices according to pedestrian/cyclist location, driver behaviour and pedestrian/cyclist response.

Successes & outcomes

The results showed that:

• Overall, there was a low level of interaction between drivers and pedestrians. The majority of drivers gave way to pedestrians who were already crossing or near to crossing the continuous footway.
• Similarly, the vast majority of drivers gave way to cyclists crossing the junction mouth.
• Drivers were more likely to give way to pedestrians when pedestrian flows were higher.
• Drivers were more likely to give way to pedestrians when turning out of a side road than when turning in from the main road. And they were also more likely to give way when turning left than when turning right.

This research provided TfL with valuable evidence to update their streetscape design guidance to include recommendations about appropriate use of continuous footways.