UK Walking Summit
THE FUTURE OF STREETS: PUTTING PEDESTRIANS FIRST
The 2026 UK Walking Summit will take place in-person at St George's Hall, Liverpool on Wednesday 25 March.
The changes we make to our streets today will be with us for decades. The Summit will focus on how we plan today for streets that are fit for the future.
We will discuss how to ensure that people walking benefit from emerging technologies which are forging new ways for people to move around towns and cities. We'll be considering how we put pedestrians first and create smarter streets for all.
Showcasing work in the region which is putting walkers at the heart of change, we'll also hear from trailblazers who are looking to make walking safer and easier as our streets change and evolve.
Kirsty McCaskill-Baxter
Head of Communications and External Affairs, Active Travel England and Living Streets Non Executive Director
Kirsty is a communications and external affairs expert with more than twenty years’ experience. Kirsty has spearheaded a number of national campaigns from British Cycling’s women’s strategy to the development of Greater Manchester’s walking and cycling strategy, now known as the Bee Network. She has worked alongside National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, since 2012.
Kirsty is Head of Communications and External Affairs at Active Travel England, a government agency dedicated to enabling people across England to walk, wheel and cycling for everyday trips. Since Active Travel England was created in 2022, the agency has established itself as the leading delivery and expert body for all things active travel. Under Kirsty’s leadership the agency has developed its own website, a growing social media following and has helped to train more than 10,000 local authority officers in high quality design.
Adam Tranter
Founder and CEO, Fusion Media and Living Streets Trustee
Adam’s career is rooted in finding practical and political ways to enable more people to choose active travel. As Cycling & Walking Commissioner for the West Midlands, he secured over £35 million in funding, ensured that 25% (£254m) of the West Midlands’ City Region Sustainable Transport Funding (CRSTS) involved active travel improvements, guided the Combined Authority to one of the highest national capability ratings, and worked across political boundaries to turn ambition into delivery.
Beyond public office, he founded and leads Fusion Media, a marketing and public affairs agency dedicated to cycling, walking, and sustainable mobility, who recently partnered with Living Streets and Bikeability on the Safer Streets For All report. Adam served on the Department for Transport’s Capital Review Panel, advising then-Secretary of State Louise Haigh MP on how national transport investment can deliver better outcomes. Adam is one of three hosts on the popular podcast, Streets Ahead.
Keynotes
Simon O'Brien
Active Travel Commissioner, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Simon is known for his roles in Brookside as well as a number of other series including Rough Guide and Find It, Fix It, Flog It.
He is an active pedestrian and cyclist user and has operated a cycling café in Liverpool City Centre for a number of years.
As Active Travel Commissioner, Simon works to deliver the Metro Mayor's vision for an Active Travel revolution across all six districts of the City Region – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral.
Agustina Martire
Reader in Architecture, Queen’s University Belfast
Agustina studies everyday streets, their structure, uses and changing life. She leads the StreetSpace project, which brings together architecture, urban studies and community engagement to imagine more inclusive and equitable mixed-use streets.
In her keynote she will explore how processes of participation can lead to more accessible and inclusive streets that support walking, liveability and social cohesion in today’s cities.
Catherine Woodhead
Chief Executive Officer, Living Streets
Catherine has worked in the charity sector since 2000, with her strategic and operational roles spanning large to small charities, from Save the Children for the Lord Mayor's Appeal to Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Catherine joined Living Streets in August 2024, excited about the prospects ahead for the charity. As a former team member of The Prince's Foundation for Building Communities spanning seven years and projects from London to New Orleans, coupled with her lifelong passion for walking, she is keen to put pedestrians firmly at the heart of the UK's plans for healthier, cleaner, safer and happier communities.
Agenda
All takes place in the Concert Hall, St George's Hall unless otherwise stated.
10am: Registration opens
10:30am: Morning session launched by our Co-Chair's, Kirsty McCaskill-Baxter & Adam Tranter, featuring Simon O'Brien, Agustina Martire, Catherine Woodhead and others.
11:30am: short comfort break
11:40am: Panel - Emerging trends and technologies. Panellists TBA.
12:45pm: Creating streets for all in Bootle - An overview of the project and how the work is engaging communities to design the future of streets
1pm: Lunch
13.50pm
Group Green: Choice of a series of up to 10 walkshops
Group Pink: A series of workshops/speed discussions focused on The future of streets – the Pedestrian Experience. What do pedestrians need? Led by people with different protected characteristics. Details TBC
3pm
Group Green: A series of workshops/speed discussions focused on The future of streets – the Pedestrian Experience. What do pedestrians need? Led by people with different protected characteristics. Details TBC
Group Pink: Choice of a series of up to 10 walkshops
16:10pm: Closing address - Reflections and what's next?
16:30pm: Summit Close
Keep your eyes peeled for programme updates and more speaker announcements!
Be part of the movement for the future of our streets
Join us at Living Streets’ UK Walking Summit – a unique opportunity for corporate leaders to engage directly with policymakers, showcase your commitment to sustainability and active travel, and support our mission to make walking safer and more accessible for everyone.
Showcase your work. Shape the future. Support the cause.
Get in touch today to find out how your organisation can be part of this exciting national event.
We thank the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for hosting the 2026 Walking Summit
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is led by Mayor Steve Rotheram and brings together region’s six local councils – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral – to tackle the big issues that matter to the region, together.
The authority has taken powers and funding from the national government to through a ‘devolution’ deal. This means they can take decisions and make investments locally, where we know what the region needs, instead of them being taken by politicians and officials in London.
Liverpool City region work together to make investments in areas that have a real impact on their communities, like transport, employment and skills, culture, digital and housing.
We thank our Headline Sponsor AtkinsRéalis for making the 2026 Walking Summit possible.
AtkinsRéalis is dedicated to “Engineering a better future for our planet and its people,” with a national team of active travel experts driving innovation across the UK. Their work spans the full project lifecycle. From policy and behavioural change to planning, design, and construction, we deliver inclusive, safe, high-quality infrastructure that encourages people to walk and cycle.
They invest in developing approaches and toolkits to demonstrate our commitment to inclusive design, community engagement and creating safer, more accessible public spaces for all.
We thank our Sponsor Mott MacDonald for making the 2026 Walking Summit possible.
Mott MacDonald are an engineering, development and management consultancy and one of the largest wholly employee-owned firms of its kind. They plan, design, deliver and maintain the transport, energy, water, buildings and wider infrastructure that is integral to people's daily lives. They use their expertise to overcome complex challenges to deliver benefits for our clients and the communities they serve.
We thank our Sponsor Voi for making the 2026 Walking Summit possible.
Voi are focussed on transforming urban transport. Since 2018, they've been on a mission to challenge the car-centric culture and bring in mobility solutions that make city life smoother, greener and more enjoyable. They believe shared electric micromobility is the future. Why? It eases traffic congestion, cuts emissions, minimises noise pollution and provides an affordable, flexible solution for last-mile connectivity and urban trips in general – helping to create more vibrant, liveable cities.
We thank our Sponsor Waymo for making the 2026 Walking Summit possible.
Waymo — formerly the Google self-driving car project — focusses on making it safe and easy for people & things to get around with autonomous vehicles. They believe the status quo is not acceptable and their mission is to innovate beyond the impossible in order to save lives that are tragically lost to traffic crashes. They are driven to provide inclusive mobility that offers freedom of movement for all, working with our partners and communities to create an ecosystem that is sustainable, efficient, and audacious.