Walkability Evaluation: The Case Studies of Veroia and Igoumenitsa, Greece

The subject of this paper is to evaluate the quality of walking, or else walkability, in two provincial cities of Greece, namely the cities of Veroia and Igoumenitsa. This paper aims to investigate and evaluate the characteristics of the pedestrian environment in the two cities and to draw conclusions regarding the elements that encourage walking in the two cities in order to propose necessary measures and future research. The methodology which was followed for the elaboration of this work consists of two parts. The first part concerns a literature review, and the second part consists of two questionnaire surveys conducted in each one of the two cities. The participants were 166 for the case of Veroia and 138 for the case of Igoumenitsa. Some of the proposals that were derived from the results of the questionnaire surveys are the following: i) the sidewalks’ infrastructure, e.g., width, ramps, etc., is not considered satisfactory in both cities; therefore, it should be improved, ii) illegal parking is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed by better signage as well as a more regular policing, iii) the sense of security and safety should be increased, and for this reason, the appropriate measures should be taken by the respective municipalities, e.g., increasing lighting levels, taking special care of stray animals, and reducing vehicles’ speed with suitable measures, iv) emphasis should also be given to the aesthetics of the pedestrian environment in ways such as caring for their cleanliness and increasing the planting of trees and flowers.