Draft Active Travel Strategy Consultation
Ends on 23 November 2025
(29 days remaining)
11. Glossary of Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Active travel | Means of getting about that involves being physically active, including walking, wheeling, cycling, and running. |
| Active Travel England (ATE) | Executive agency set up by government and responsible for making walking, wheeling, and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England. |
| Bridleway | Path or track along which horse riders have right of way. Most bridleways are designated as public rights of way and are recorded on the Definitive Map and Statement. |
| Controlled and uncontrolled crossings | Controlled crossings give priority to pedestrians or cyclists crossing a road and typically take the form of a Zebra, Pelican, or Toucan. These contrast with uncontrolled crossings, where traffic has priority. |
| Desire line | Route that reflects people’s preference, often evidenced by a distinct path across a grassy surface that is formed by repeated foot traffic. Desire line paths show that pedestrians and cyclists will take short cuts whenever these are available. This is often the case at road junctions where a pedestrian will prefer not to deviate but to remain on a straight line. |
| Dropped kerb | Where the kerb is lowered to designate a suitable location for pedestrians to cross. A dropped kerb will often be located at a junction but may also be located elsewhere, for example where a path crosses a road. |
| Footways and footpaths | A footway runs alongside a road (sometimes referred to as a pavement) whereas a footpath is a path separate from a road. Footpaths are sometimes designated as public rights of way. |
| Green wheels | A green wheel is a network of publicly accessible paths that connect people to local green spaces. They are constructed by linking existing and new paths to create an outer ‘rim’. This is supported by ‘spokes’ radiating out to the rim and beyond. Wheels are ‘green’ due to their natural setting and because they promote trips using sustainable transport. Green wheel routes are designed to be shared by walkers and cyclists, whilst also providing links to the wider bridleway network for horse riders. |
| Highway Code | Government published document that provides a comprehensive guide to the rules of the road with the aim of making roads safer for everyone. |
| Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) | Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs), as set out in the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, are a strategic approach to identifying cycling and walking improvements required at the local level. They enable a long-term approach to developing local cycling and walking networks, ideally over a 10-year period, and form a vital part of the Government’s strategy to increase the number of trips made on foot or by cycle. |
| Micromobility | Micromobility refers to short-distance transportation using small, lightweight vehicles, including e-bikes, e-scooters, and cargo bikes. These vehicles are often powered by human or low-power electric motors and can be either privately owned or part of a shared system. |
| Public right of way | Public rights of way are the main means, other than roads, of getting about in the countryside. They are minor highways, protected in law like all other public roads. There are four types:
|
| School Streets | Programme where motorised traffic is restricted from using roads outside schools during drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic but not to residents. |
| Shared use path | Footway where cycling is legally allowed. |
| Street furniture | Facilities and structures which are not intended primarily for advertising. These include (but not limited to) seating benches, planters, bins, bus shelters, utility cabinets, telephone boxes, i.e., everything cluttering the highway excluding road signs, traffic signals, streetlights, and other road-related structures. |
| Structural maintenance | The collective term for activities which maintain the integrity of the carriageway and footway structure. The main activities include resurfacing and reconstruction, surface dressing, patching and drainage. |
| Sustrans | British charity whose purpose is to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport rather than private cars to reduce motor traffic. |
| Tactile paving | Paving slab where on the surface there is a pattern of raised bumps which can be dots, bars, or lozenge bumps. The purpose is to warn people with sight loss to dangers or obstacles they may be approaching, such as a crossing, steps, or the edge of a train station platform. The paving also serves to guide people crossing a road where the paving is set opposite each other so that the pattern of dots align. |
| Traffic Calming | Measures purposefully designed to slow the speed of traffic. These can include horizontal and vertical deflection (narrowing the road / installing chicane arrangements or raised features such as tables, humps or cushions). Measures can also include creating uncertainty by removing road marking. |
| Traffic Regulation Order | A legal document that specifies speed limits, waiting limits and parking and other restrictions including, but not limited to, no entry, banned turns, no stopping. |
| Trip attractor | Place that attracts a range of regular visitors, such as a leisure centre, school, shopping centre or hospital. |
| Wayfinding | Provision of signs to help people navigate to a specified destination. |
| ‘Wheeling’ | Use of wheeled mobility aids including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walking frames, prams or buggies. |
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