Step Away from the Car

Children want to ride bikes to get around independently. All the research confirms this, and it is the driving goal of a growing movement called Kidical Mass.  It’s being nurtured in Adelaide by a parents group called Middleground Motherhood. Their logic and their strategy are first class and Sarah Cleggett is the founder.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  Commuter cyclists love long bikeways, but NOT when they are shared with pedestrians, strollers and dogs on leads. James Laing leads Australian cycle planning at Stantec and has some of the answers to this important urban planning dilemma.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is Equity in Transport? Turns out it’s a UN Sustainable Development Goal, and an Australian project aims to “ transform planning practices towards   planning for ALL people ”. Project lead Dr Lisa Stafford from the University of Tasmania has the added expertise of getting around in a wheelchair. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jerryn Zwart from Zwart Transport Planning and Shifani Sood from WSP are two urban planners calling for smarter planning for the growing number of better micromobility vehicles. Including, but not only, e-scooters and e-bikes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electric cars are a helpful but completely inadequate step towards reducing Australia’s carbon emissions. We need to take a step AWAY from private cars altogether. That’s the official view of the Climate Council and of the Australian Walking and Cycling Conference. Gill King specializes in faith leadership, investment & urban design. She explores some important but less mainstream strategies....

The 2021 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference wrapped up with a panel of keynote speakers, sharing some key lessons around funding, partnerships and public health. Dr Meredith Glaser is Director of the Urban Cycling Institute at the University of Amsterdam, Dr Dr Helen Donovan is from the City of Adelaide and Director of Walking SA, and Fiona Campbell is Manager of Cycling Strategy at the Cit...

E-bike and e-scooter hire is a growing business in cities and suburbs. Are people stepping away from the car to use them? More importantly how do we ensure that micro mobility vehicles are SAFE for users and for pedestrians? Hear the views of Tom Cooper, Australia & NZ General Manager of Beam Mobility, Dr Meredith Glaser of The Urban Cycling Institute in Amsterdam, Dr Helen Donovan, Adelaide C...

Two new trails will open up opportunities for extended walking and cycling adventures around Adelaide and through South Australia’s world-famous wine regions, with benefits to health, community and business. Bim Lange is Mayor of the Barossa Council, Jim McLean and Dr Ian Radbone are Walking SA Board Members. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to understanding the active transport needs of communities. Seeking ideas and feedback is key, and that can be done in many different ways. Kylie Nixon is the Australian Walking and Cycling lead for global design and business consulting firm ARUP, and Giulia Vigneroli is a Senior Urban Designer at AECOM. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...

The Heart Foundation’s ‘What Australia Wants’ survey has asked over 2800 people to describe what their ideal neighbourhood would look like if the priority was opportunities for healthy living and active transport. Trevor Shilton is the Director of Active Living at the Heart Foundation See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Advocacy requires ambition, and that is exactly what underpins the Safe Roads to School and 30please campaigns. Through clear messaging and an effective publicity campaign, Matthew ‘Tepi’ McLaughlin, from the University of Newcastle School of Medicine & Public Health, and Lena Huda, the woman behind 30please.org and safe-streets-to-school.org, have put their campaigns on the agenda...

NINE kilometres of pop-up separated cycleways appeared in the first round of Covid19 in Sydney. All the. plans were already in the pipeline, and the paths will become permanent. All thanks to a creative, skilled multidisciplinary team at Sydney City Council. Fiona Campbell is the council’s Manager of Cycling Strategy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many transport planners now aim to improve the way children can move around in cities and suburbs. Matthew Root is CEO of Flyt Consulting and brought two of his own small children into his research, listening in to their experience as they ride around Perth in his cargo bike.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Local government may seem to be the key to getting things done. But convincing a disparate collection of councillors to support an active transport agenda can be tricky. Helen Donovan is an Adelaide City Councillor and Director of Walking SA.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Dutch are world leaders in supporting a culture of active transport within their communities. Good design principles ensure cycling and walking spaces are prioritised over cars in built up centres, with links to excellent public transport opportunities. Meredith Glaser is Director of the Urban Cycling Institute at the University of Amsterdam. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Not everyone can instinctively learn to ride a bike. Unable to tolerate the thought that children, particularly children with additional needs, would never know the excitement and fun of cycling, former primary school teacher Lee-Anne Fleming set up Ride A Bike Right. She explains the basic principles of teaching children (and often their parents) how to ride.  See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Nicholas Fogerty changed from bussing to work to cycling and arrived in half the time. Now he's searching for causes and cures of Sydney's seemingly intractable traffic congestion issues, researching a variety of road users in an ASRC funded project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That’s the ambitious goal of mechanical engineer Andrew van den Berg. He works on car design and has seen them become “softer” on impact for bodies. But it takes a systems approach, involving the whole team at the Centre for Automotive Research of Adelaide University.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twenty years ago, some visionary Sydney cyclists, bush care enthusiasts and community representatives laid claim to an abandoned freight-rail corridor with an eye to creating a haven for nature, cyclists and the wider community in general. Their determination in the face of setbacks finally won funding for Sydney's Greenway project. Environmental engineer Alexa McAuley has the story. See omnystudi...

How much fun and happiness can a primary school have before, during and after a National Walk to School Day? The ScRamble project in Adelaide pushed the envelope, and the schools are still reaping the benefits. Bridgette Minuzzo was lead artist with the project. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone lucky enough to travel in developing countries knows the extraordinary loads that a single bike can carry. Daniels Langeberg has based his business on that technology for some years now. He started EcoCaddy as an electric trishaw fleet in the relatively small Adelaide market and is moving into the Melbourne market too.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia still grapples with how to encourage more walking and cycling, but many cities overseas have already come up with some answers. Churchill Fellow Jo Cruickshank is a Senior Policy Officer with the NT Government and learnt much from researching European cities that have wholeheartedly embraced cyclists.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walkability is easy to quantify thanks to modern data methods, and its good business too according to transport planners Alicia Holman and Daniel Osborne from ARUP, a multinational engineering company. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Living where you can get to your work, support services, entertainment and shops without a long car drive is good for the health of individuals, families and the planet. Professor Billie Giles-Corti is a public health researcher gathering the evidence to drive that change. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For over a century, we've been told that Faster Is Better, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Over reliance on cars steals our time, money and health according to Paul Tranter from UNSW.  Slowing down whole cities can improve public health, drop infrastructure costs and increase our sense of community.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.