Transport for London (TfL), working with the Mayor, Bloomberg and Living Streets today held their first ever major walking conference – following the publication of the Healthy Streets for London vision last month.

International experts, health professionals and representatives from London’s boroughs all joined together at ‘Healthy Streets for London – making a great city for walking’ to discuss how London can be made a better city for pedestrians. 

To mark the conference, TfL has launched two extended versions of the popular Walking Tube map to help those travelling outside of central London. The maps include Zone 3 stations for the first time with estimated walking time and steps between stations. They now also include National Rail stations - giving people even more opportunity to easily save time on everyday journeys on foot. The maps are available for download here: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/

Deputy Mayor for Transport, Val Shawcross, and Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, will both speak at the conference to outline the Mayor’s commitment to encourage more Londoners to walk and cycle by making London’s streets healthier, safer and more welcoming.

They will highlight the benefits that higher levels of walking can deliver for London, including reduced car use, better air quality and helping reduce rates of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. 

International expert speakers including, Bloomberg Associates’ Janette Sadik-Khan, New York City’s former Transportation Commissioner, Christophe Najdovski, Deputy Mayor for Transport in Paris and Dr Xand van Tulleken will also share their expertise and experience on the role high quality streets and public spaces can play in making cities more inclusive, liveable and prosperous.

Val Shawcross, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “We are committed to improving the health and quality of life for all Londoners, and know that this can happen if we create a cleaner, better environment where people want to walk and cycle. By improving our streets to encourage active travel, we can reduce the impact of transport on our environment - leading to cleaner air and a greener, quieter and less traffic dominated city for all to enjoy.”

Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “For the good of our health and for the good of our environment, we urgently need to design physical activity back into our everyday lives. That’s why we’re investing record levels to improve our streets. Almost all journeys start with a walk, but by making streets right across the Capital easier and safer to walk further, we can help build stronger and healthier communities for the benefit of all.”