Every Council in NSW is reviewing its Community Strategic Plan. Now is the time to speak up for streets that are safe, inclusive, and climate-friendly — not just roads for cars.
Email today to tell your council that the Community Strategic Plan needs to set Council objectives to:
1. Address the Climate Emergency
Don't just declare a climate emergency. Take meaningful action to cut emissions now: stop expanding and building new roads, and invest more on footpaths, cycleways, traffic calming and street greening.
⚠️ The Facts: 🚗 Breakdown of Transport Emissions (latest data, 2023):
19% of Australian greenhouse emissions are transport emissions
Road transport alone is 85% of transport emissions - passenger vehicles alone contribute roughly 8–9% of Australia’s total emissions.
Transport is one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions, especially in urban areas and emissions are trending upwards and have not declined over the past decade.
You can't build your way out of congestion. Places that are calming traffic provide good alternatives to driving. If you make driving easier you not only make it noiser and more unsafe, but you encourage more people to drive.
Council should:
Adopt a zero emissions target for Council - and embedded vehicle emissions as part of the policy. Zero emissions is more that just green energy, the second largest emitter is transport.
Invest in a Council e-bike fleet - most trips are local ( less than 5 km) e-bikes are perfect for short trips
Embed a carbon budget into Councils road budget - including a carbon budgets will shift investment from being all about roads to considering footpaths and cycleways
2. 🚶 Prioritise Streets for Everyone – Aged 8 to 80
Make walking and riding safe and comfortable not everyone drives, and not everyone should have to. Councils must plan for everyone, not just drivers.
⚠️ The Facts:
35–40% of people in our community don’t have a driver’s licence.
17% of household income goes toward car ownership — a major cost burden.
Children walking and cycling to school are not only more independent and spatially aware, they perform better at school.
Council should:
Follow NSW Guidelines Use the Movement and Place Framework, Walking Space Guide, Cycleway Design Toolbox, and the Road User Space Allocation Policy – which puts people first, not cars.
Build a Connected, Safe Cycling and Walking Network Apply for more state funding, and make footpaths and bike lanes part of all road asset renewal projects. Councils spend millions every year on roads — it’s time the 40% of non-drivers got their share too.
Upgrade or Build 20+ Pedestrian Crossings Every Year Local governments now have the power — no warrant or TfNSW approval needed. Every leg of every intersection, and every route to schools, shops, hospitals and town centres should be safely crossable.
TfNSW guidance is for crossings every 100m or less on busier local roads, particularly around schools, shops and parks. Most roads fall short of this.
3. 🚧 Use Road Safety Funding for People-First Projects
Build safer streets — not wider roads. Let’s stop funding harm and start building safety.
⚠️ The Facts:
🚶 50 people walking are killed every year in NSW — and that number hasn’t changed in a decade.
🚗 350 total road deaths per year, on average — the target is zero.
👶👵 2 out of 3 pedestrian victims are children or older adults. They make up less than half the population but suffer most because of their bodies - something we can’t change.
It’s Council’s job to make streets safe for everyone — especially the most vulnerable. Use safety funding for people-first design, not traffic flow, benefits the community.
Council should:
Adopt a Vision Zero target No one should die or be seriously injured on our streets. Every life matters — every crash is preventable.
Investin safe infrastructure ➤ Separated bike lanes on busy streets ➤ Pedestrian crossings ➤ Lower speeds, safer intersections
4. 🌳 Plant More Trees - including road tree planting
Tree-lined streets aren’t just pretty — they’re life-saving. On hot days, shade makes all the difference for children walking to school, and older people getting to the shops. Green streets are walkable streets. Let’s make our suburbs safer, cooler, and more resilient — for everyone.
⚠️ The Facts:
🌇 In 2022, Greater Sydney’s tree canopy was just 21.7%
🌲 The NSW Government’s target is 40% to mitigate heat island effects.
Council should:
Plant more street trees, especially in hot, exposed suburbs, Council should use tree canopy as a core planning target and report progress to the Community.
Include canopy shade along all walking and cycling routes
Set and measures targets to turn asphalt into urban forest
Ensure new developments and road upgrades including trees
🚦 Make 30km/h the Default on Local Streets
It’s time to calm traffic and protect lives. 30km/h streets are safer, quieter, and more people-friendly.
⚠️ The Facts:
NSW local speed limits haven’t been reviewed since the 1990s (Back when Paul Keating was PM and the internet was a university fad!)
50km/h is outdated — 30km/h is the international standard for local streets. Survival increases as speeds decrease.
30km/h is already being rolled out in Melbourne councils and is typical in global cities like Paris, London and Tokyo
🌍 Global Cities Have Already Acted:
✅ Paris – 30km/h ✅ London – 30km/h ✅ Berlin – 30km/h
✅ Tokyo – 30km/h ❌ Sydney? Still waiting.
Council should:
Modernise our streets and put people first – 30km/h has already been achieved in other Global cities – and proven to save lives and reduce insurance costs. Where is our 30km.h speed limit?
Actively ask TfNSW to review speed limits and implement 30km/h on local streets, High Pedestrian Activity Areas, School zones and around train stations
🚗 A few more facts to share with your local Council:
People feel forced to drive — many have no real alternative due to poor walking, cycling, and public transport options.
Children walking to school has dropped precipitously since the 1970s - if you are worried about children's autonomy, health, school performance and mental well-being, consider making kids walking easier and safer in your area
Two-thirds of car trips in cities could be walked, wheeled, or cycled in 15 minutes — but road design discourages it, causing unnecessary traffic.
Streets are 60% of urban space and dominated by heat-retaining black asphalt.
Just $3.61 per person is spent annually on walking and cycling — only 0.2% of the NSW transport budget — leading to fewer people walking, especially children.
340 people died on NSW roads last year, with 10,000 serious injuries. Pedestrian deaths (around 50 annually) have remained unchanged for a decade.
Transport injuries cost the health system $848 million in 2020–21.
Driving harms health: long hours behind the wheel are linked to less physical activity, more smoking and drinking, poor diet, and sleep issues.
Obesity cost $11.8 billion in 2018 and could reach $87.7 billion by 2032 if we don't act. Physical inactivity is a key target in the National Obesity Strategy.
Loneliness costs Australia $2.7 billion a year, and walkable, connected streets are one way to reduce it.
We want streets that are safe, inclusive, and climate-friendly. Not just roads for cars. Councils should spend more money to make it easier to walk or ride, and reduce the cost of road maintenance for cars. Councils should address all the issues raised above in the Community Strategic Plan
