1. Halifax Regional Trails Association, March 2013
Walking for Transport in the Halifax Region: Destinations, Distances, and Policy Implications   Hugh Millward Department of Geography, Saint Mary’s University

2. Purpose & Approach
Walking is an important component of healthy exercise
Active-transport (AT) walking is an important component of walking
AT walking should also be encouraged for environmental & urban-design reasons
This research:
investigates AT walking behaviour
emphasizes trip (not participant) characteristics
identifies the major types of attractors (destinations)
gauges their attractive power (percent of trips)
assesses the extent of their walking catchment areas
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

3. The Halifax STAR project
STAR (Space-Time Activity Research)
Combined time use & travel survey,
Funded by ACOA
PI Andrew Harvey, Co-PI Hugh Millward
Respondents sampled randomly throughout HRM
Time diary & GPS tracking for ~2,000 primary respondents (age 15+), for 48 hours
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

4. Walking for Transport vs. Recreation (all trips, incl. round-trip)
Statistic
Walking for Transport
Walking for Recreation
Participation Rate (% respondents/day)
31.7
21.8
Average Time Walking (mins/day/participant)
23.3
50.6
Average Walks per Participant
3.1
1.4
Average Walk Duration (mins)
7.7
39.1
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

5. AT Walking Trips versus Trips by Other Travel Modes (single-episode trips only)
Trip Type
Statistic
Count
Duration (mins)
Distance (km)
Speed (km/h)
AT walks
Mean
1,790
9.0
0.67
4.8
Median
6.0
0.48
4.5
25th percentile
3.0
0.23
3.4
75th percentile
12.0
0.86
5.9
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

6. AT Walking Trips versus Trips by Other Travel Modes (single-episode trips only)
Trip Type
Statistic
Count
Duration (mins)
Distance (km)
Speed (km/h)
AT walks
Mean
1,790
9.0
0.67
4.8
Median
6.0
0.48
4.5
25th percentile
3.0
0.23
3.4
75th percentile
12.0
0.86
5.9
Bicycle
147
18.3
3.47
11.2
10.0
2.04
11.1
Car
20,680
13.7
7.97
33.3
3.86
25.3
Bus
158
26.9
6.26
16.2
20.0
4.96
15.0
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

7. Origin and Destination Categories Percentage of 1,790 AT Walking Trips
Origins
Destinations
Home
Work
place
Other's Home
School
Outdoors
Other Place
Total
0.0
3.5
4.2
0.1
6.1
10.9
25.0
Workplace
2.8
0.4
2.7
13.3
19.3
4.1
0.2
0.3
0.9
6.0
0.6
1.3
2.1
1.5
1.6
5.6
11.1
11.5
0.8
0.7
2.5
16.3
42.8
20.5
17.0
5.7
1.2
12.0
43.6
100.0
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

8. Mean AT Walking-trip Durations (Minutes) by Origin and Destination Categories
Origins
Destinations
Home
Work
place
Other's Home
School
Outdoors
Other Place
Total --
14.6
7.4
15.0
13.5
11.1
Workplace
14.8
8.5
6.6
7.8
8.7
6.3
27.3
8.4
18.0
5.8
9.7
7.6
19.8
21.0
3.8
10.3
7.3
6.9
5.5
5.0
3.3
6.7
12.9
6.4
8.3
11.2
7.7
7.0
8.9
9.0
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

9. Mean AT Walking-trip Distances (km) by Origin and Destination Categories
Origins
Destinations
Home
Work
place
Other's Home
School
Outdoors
Other Place
Total --
1.19
0.59
1.15
0.54
0.95
0.82
Workplace
0.61
0.48
0.66
0.47
2.61
0.79
1.26
0.65
0.58
1.65
1.27
0.42
0.51
0.64
0.78
0.44
0.36
0.39
0.28
0.50
0.96
0.63
0.49
0.62
0.85
0.60
0.67
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

10. AT Walking Trips, by Specific Destinations (destinations with at least 1% of trips, single-episode trips only)
SIC-Based Destinations
% of AT Walking Trips (n=1,790)
AT Walking Trips as % of All Trips
Mean Walk Duration (mins)
Mean Distance (km)
TOTAL
100.0
8.3
9.0
0.67
Respondent’s home
20.8
6.0
11.1
0.84
Workplace
17.0
17.2
0.66
Bus Stop or Ferry Terminal
9.1
44.3
7.0
0.51
Restaurant or Bar
7.8
10.7
7.7
0.52
Someone else’s home
5.7
4.8
0.60
Grocery store
5.2
6.7
8.4
0.63
Other Retail
3.7
7.4
8.1
0.59
Shopping Centre or Mall
3.3
12.4
10.6
0.75
Outdoors away from home
2.7
20.2
7.5
0.56
Bank
0.78
School
2.4
10.4
0.76
Other Services
2.3
6.3
8.6
College or University
1.6
19.6
7.9
Fast food
1.5
7.1
0.45
Drug Store
9.9
Government Services
1.3
9.2
10.0
Park or Beach
1.1
11.2
12.0
0.80
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

11. Distance-Decline Gradients 1
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

12. Distance-Decline Gradients 2
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

13. X = Time Duration (mins)
Log/Linear Regressions (Negative Exponentials): Log Percent of AT Walking Trips to Destination (Y) against Distance / Duration (X)
Major Destinations
X = Distance (km)
X = Time Duration (mins) r*
a (peak)
b (slope)
r** a b
All Destinations
.99
1.456
-.643
.94
1.282
-.048
Respondent’s home
.95
1.359
-.519
.91
1.193
-.037
All Workplaces
.92
1.328
-.543
.88
1.111
-.039
School
.85
1.248
-.401
.57
1.014
-.020
Bus Stop or Ferry Terminal
1.351
-.569
1.277
-.052
Restaurant or Bar
.93
1.427
-.652
.81
1.035
-.032
Grocery store
.96
1.458
-.614
.80
1.078
-.028
Bank
1.343
-.355
.39
0.987
-.010
* all significant at a = .01
**all significant at a = .01, except School at .04 and Bank at .21
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

14. Major Employment Nodes
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

15. AT Walking to Destinations in Major Employment Nodes (single-episode trips only, to non-home destinations)
Major Employment Node
% of Non-home AT Walking Trips (n=1,423)
AT Walking as % of All Non-home Trips to Node
Mean Walk Duration (mins)
Mean Distance (km)
Downtown Halifax
41.5
38.0
8.0
0.59
Downtown Dartmouth
6.4
14.0
8.8
0.62
Halifax Isthmus Shopping Centres
2.5
8.9
10.7
0.83
Bedford Sunnyside
2.3
7.2
9.1
0.58
University Avenue (Hospitals & Dalhousie U)
2.0
26.2
7.1
Stadacona Base and Dockyard (military)
1.5
16.8
0.67
Burnside Business Park
1.4
3.4
9.4
0.87
Bayers Lake Business Park
1.3
3.2
3.1
0.31
Woodside BP and Imperial Oil Refinery
0.8
7.0
10.8
0.98
Other Employment Nodes
0.7
2.2
5.7
0.42
H. Millward HRTA March 2013

16. Key Findings & Policy Implications
Most AT walks have origins other than home or work. Ditto for destinations
Avoid excessive focus on walkways/trails in residential neighborhoods
Shopping travel is the most common travel purpose
More attention to walkways/trails within and to retail areas
Only 3% of trips to Burnside and Bayers Lake are AT walking trips
More trails within and to business parks. Locate high-density housing adjacent to these trails
most walks are less than
600m and very few exceed 1200m
Inside development boundary, locate transit stops & local amenities (playground, first schools) within 1000m of all homes
New housing should be within 1000m of local retail/employment centres, and local centres should have high-capacity transit to district centres

17. Key Findings & Policy Implications
Most AT walks have origins other than home or work. Ditto for destinations
Avoid excessive focus on walkways/trails in residential neighborhoods
Shopping travel is the most common travel purpose
More attention to walkways/trails within and to retail areas
Only 3% of trips to Burnside and Bayers Lake are AT walking trips
More trails within and to business parks. Locate high-density housing adjacent to these trails
most walks are less than
600m and very few exceed 1200m
Inside development boundary, locate transit stops & local amenities (e.g. playground, first schools) within 1000m of all homes
New housing should be within 1000m of local retail/employment centres, and local centres should have high-capacity transit to district centres

18. Questions, Comments? Contact: Hugh Millward Department of Geography Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 3C3
H. Millward HRTA March 2013