The Barbican Podium

This plan shows the original idea that pedestrians would circulate one storey up, at podium level, safely separated from traffic at street level. Sometimes this idea is called the ‘pedway’ – as in pedestrian walkway.  On this plan, the area is coloured in yellow.

In practice this has rarely been the case, with people ignoring the signs and walking through the Beech Street tunnel, or arriving at the Silk Street entrance. 

It was a popular feature of large developments of the era, and they were often referred to as ‘streets in the sky.’

These walkways are sometimes also referred to as 'highwalks'.