Doncaster walking maps: a multi-purpose case study

By 2005, Doncaster Council realised that with no less than sixteen buildings spread across the town centre, a great deal of staff time and money was being spent on travelling between the central council office and outlying buildings. Staff and visitors were often choosing to drive between offices, unaware of how close they were to each other.

“Walk the First Mile” (WtFM) is a joint initiative between Doncaster Council and the local Primary Care Trust, following a successful pilot scheme by the Pollution Control Section. The project aims to promote walking as part of a healthy lifestyle, focusing initially on council staff working in the town centre. Staff are encouraged to consider alternative modes of transport to get to work, as well as walking to the shops at lunchtime and to meetings, site visits etc. within their working day.

Cyclecity Guides designed a large-scale A4 walking map which folds inside a pocket-sized stiff cover. The map includes phone numbers and other useful information about the location of Council buildings, and a table of walking distances and times between buildings.

The map has been a valuable tool in encouraging staff and visitors to walk rather than drive between offices. The table of walking distances and times is an excellent way of demonstrating the time savings that can be achieved by walking. The mapping is clear and user-friendly, helping those unfamiliar with maps to find their way between offices. It is expected to give rise to cost and time savings as well as health benefits to staff as they incorporate walking into their daily routine.

Building on the success of the first edition, the town centre maps have recently been revised and reprinted with a new focus on reducing emissions and improving air quality. They will be distributed to shoppers and local residents as part of the Natural Environment Section's promotional work in the town centre.

The Doncaster maps are an excellent example of using a relatively small amount of digital mapping information as a tool for travel planning in a variety of contexts. Site-centred maps for businesses and schools, and individual journey to work maps are other ways in which this technology can be exploited. Interactive web-based mapping extends the possibilities even further!