| Revised edition February 2025 |
The New Zealand Pedestrian Network Guidance (PNG) sets out ways to improve New Zealand’s walking environment. It outlines a process for deciding on the type of provision that should be made for pedestrians – including those with a wide range of disabilities – and provides design advice and standards. It provides a ‘one-stop-shop’ of best-practice guidance, specifically suited to New Zealand’s regulatory and operating environment.
The guidance is an update of the Pedestrian Planning and Design Guide (PPDG) (2009) and based on research and an industry survey in 2018 helped inform what guidance needed updating and what new guidance was needed.
The PNG content was developed collaboratively by a NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and multi-consultant team. Input from the disability sector was sought to ensure that the walking environment caters for everybody. The Active Modes Infrastructure Group provided feedback on key topics and reviewed some material. The Active Modes Infrastructure Group (AMIG) is a working group consisting of representatives from various local authorities and NZTA to foster best practice in planning, designing and building for active modes in New Zealand.
Active Modes Infrastructure Group
We fully finalised and approved the guidance in February 2025.
Pedestrian friendly environments are places where it’s easy and safe to walk, where there are plenty of places to cross the street, enough space for everyone and people, regardless of their age, ability or background, can generally feel relaxed. Providing such environments is key to the vibrancy, accessibility and social connectivity of our communities.
In doing so, it encourages walking as a viable mode of transport for short trips in and around our communities and recognises the important role walking also plays in many public transport and car journeys, as walking is usually the first and last mode used in these journeys.
Providing a Safe System for people walking and the interventions developed, based on the principle of harm minimisation, will depend on the circumstances at each location. The guidance does not prescribe a single approach or intervention, but presents a variety of options, along with their advantages, disadvantages and limitations, and the circumstances when each would be most appropriate. It recognises that financial and technical factors may affect what can be achieved at any location or time.
For more information, refer to section 1.5. A Safe System for walking in:
PNG: Walking in New Zealand [PDF, 2.4 MB]
The guidance promotes a consistent ‘world’s best practice’ approach to planning, designing, managing and maintaining pedestrian infrastructure and networks suited to New Zealand’s regulatory and operating environment.
Walking mostly takes place within a transport system that must work for a range of road users. This requires effectively integrating safety and convenience into the provision for walking along and across roads and streets. This guidance also applies to all places used by pedestrians, including shared zones, plazas, paths through parks and recreational areas, or on private land where public presence might reasonably be expected. It applies to new developments, facility changes and existing environments.
This guidance is also a useful tool for those with an active interest in pedestrian environments, such as community leaders, local councillors, business associations and advocacy groups. As research into planning and design for walking increases, the guidance will be updated and augmented.
The PNG complements other guidance related to land use and transport planning integration, urban form, urban design, sign and markings, and street design (including speed management) – all of which have a profound impact on the walkability of our towns and cities.
Guidance sources such as local NZ guides and Austroads as well as other NZTA guides are referenced where relevant:
Innovative and relevant research is important to make walking a safer and more attractive transport choice.
View research on walking experiences and providing for walking in New Zealand at the link below.
The PNG is envisaged as a live document, subject to updates and enhancements as required to incorporate emerging best practices and insights derived from user feedback. Accordingly, users of the guidance are advised to consult the NZTA website to ensure they are referencing and accessing the most current version of the PNG.
This version of the PNG is published in a hybrid format comprising both HTML (ie webpages) and PDF components, marking a departure from the previous version, which was available solely in HTML. The PDF documents, each addressing discrete sections or thematic areas, are designed to complement the overarching HTML structure, which presents the guidance in a cohesive and navigable format. Together, these formats are designed to function as an integrated whole, ensuring that users can access and engage with the content in a manner that is both flexible and coherent, while preserving the integrity and consistency of the guidance.
The PNG chapters and sections are numbered and date stamped for referencing purposes.
If you have any feedback, questions regarding the PNG or innovations you would like to share, we would love to hear from you.
Email: png@nzta.govt.nz
