Newsletter June 2024
Now is the time to run...
Message from the President
Council Elections in September
Fed up with poor active transport in your area? Find yourself getting motherhood statements instead of action? Well, why not consider running for local government?
What Might a Platform Look Like?
Advocacy toolkits recommend an evidence-based positive campaign. Do you want your area to be safer and easier to get around? Get your kids to stop hanging around at home and ‘get on their bike’ to visit friends in fresh air? Do you want fresher air and quieter streets? Advocating for more walking infrastructure and support is also good for a low carbon future, road safety, supporting gentle density, things to see and do, less congestion and child-friendly cities. See the bottom of this newsletter for some starting points.
And of course, if you don't want to stand for office, these are the kinds of things you can ask your candidates about as well.
Please let us know if you do decide to run.
Open consultations
Quick and easy: Pedestrian safety survey by the member for Balmain, focused on the Inner West and City of Sydney.
A number of relevant national consultations are currently open. The committee will be doing WalkSydney submissions on many of these, but anyone who does a personal submission can also cc us or send us any important points that you think should be covered in a WalkSydney submission.
Community consultation on automated vehicle reforms
The National Transport Commission is encouraging vulnerable road user groups (eg. groups representing people walking, wheeling and riding) to have their say on new laws for automated vehicles. The NTC community consultation on AV reforms is accepting submissions until 11 June 2024.
National Urban Policy
Feedback on the draft Policy will run until the 4 July 2024. Link:
The National Urban Policy aims to 'seek feedback on how government, industry and community can work together to improve our cities and suburbs'.
Great observation. So what needs to change? From our cursory look, the policy contains laudatory principles, objectives and some good discussion, but the possible actions are waffly and generic.
Urban safety (p. 28) is bland, for example failing to recognise the effect of 'apprehended road danger' on people's engagement with their urban contexts and the opportunities to achieve significant improvement through eg 30km/h urban default. While walkability is a key plank, the protocol calls for no more than ‘encouraging’ walking and cycling, without specifics. It would be better to state, say [a % or all] homes must be within walking distance of local centres and transport. (WalkSydney continues to work with Committee for Sydney on a checklist to do precisely this - if it is ready soon, then perhaps the NUP can adopt it…) Strategic planning is called out, but there’s nothing to guide whether the current state government’s ‘only’ 18% greenfield expansion is actually good*
Guidelines are being developed for a new $100m National Active Transport Fund. Announcement
Transport and Infrastructure Net Zero Roadmap and Action Plan
Consultation will close 26 July 2024. Online information session on Tuesday 4 June, 2:15-3:15pm. The focus on ‘technology’ misses the mark on mode shift.
Consultation and information available here.
Design of Roads and Streets Guide v1.01 (this is the second version of the guide). Consultation will close 8 July 2024 - instructions here
*Hint: It isn’t. At 12,000sqkm, Sydney can already fit two Greater Mumbais (2x21mil), eight Greater Londons (8x8.9mil), or fifteen Grand Paris’ (15x11.2mil) or New Yorks (15x8.2m). We’ve got room enough to grow already, without our food and koala belt.
Recent submissions and media
Kamay Greenway - David Levinson wrote in support of the proposal on our behalf. Bayside Council have now voted to provide in-principle support for the proposal.
Submission to the Climate Change Authority’s Targets, Pathways and Progress paper.
David Haertsch represented our submission on the Impact of the Rozelle Interchange at the Parliamentary Inquiry public hearing on 23rd April, transcript here.
Marc was quoted in the SMH on pedestrian deaths:
Pedestrian advocacy group WalkSydney also wants speed limits on local roads reduced to 30km/h. WalkSydney president Marc Lane said the simplest and most cost-effective way of stopping road violence was to reduce speed. “By keeping speeds too high [Transport for NSW] is allowing road violence to continue,” he said.
An Inconvenient Truth, by Tegan Mitchell
Making cars drive slower does save lives, it does create healthy streets. TfNSW know reducing speeds will save lives, prevent injuries and make streets more liveable, and yet the lack of a plan to support speed reduction speaks volumes. In NSW, unlike Victoria, agencies still see speed reduction as a fantasy transport policy (ie: an unrealistic idea created in response to a psychological need).
WalkSydney welcomed the Government's Road Safety Strategy, Future Transport and the Active Transport Strategy - all promised 30km/h speed zones. We assumed this meant that TfNSW had a plan to reduce speed and bring Sydney Streets more in line with European, Japanese, Korean and New Zealand streets. Australia and the USA are outliers when it comes to urban speed limits. Europe, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand all use 30km/h speed limits on local streets and high streets.
We were even more encouraged when the long awaited revised speed zone guideline included 10kmh, 20kmh and 30kmh speed zone options for High Pedestrian Activity Areas (HPAA). The Director for the Centre for Road Safety recently shared with transport professionals that there are 1,500 HPAA areas across NSW. We assumed TfNSW would logically start implementing a safe speed plan starting with HPAA.
As an advocate and transport professional, I knew there wouldn’t be a speed zone reduction revolution – but I did expect in the first year that TfNSW would implement a few 30kmh trials and provide a plan for speeds reduction for HPPA areas and in many school zones, especially as road trauma on NSW roads is rising, and the number of people walking and riding are over-represented as victims of that trauma.
For Austroads videos on 30km/h and road trauma, go to : https://30please.org/policy-news/
Speed zones are exclusively controlled by TfNSW. TfNSW is the only agency who can set speeds on NSW roads. Councils can request a speed review and then work collaboratively with TfNSW to review and determine a safe speed. Councils are responsible for approximately 90% of all NSW roads and streets, and therefore TfNSW rely on Councils to initiate safe speed reviews as the local road and street managers.
The first anniversary of the Speed Zoning Guidelines - how are we doing?
WalkSydney wrote to 28 Councils in Sydney and Wollongong, as the one year anniversary of the release of the updated Speed Zone Guidelines approached and asked each council:
How many kilometres of streets is the Council planning to introduce 30km/hr speed limits?
Have you formally requested a speed change to 30km/h? If so, what happened?
Have you informally requested Transport for NSW (TfNSW) work with Council to implement 30km/hr speed limits? If so, what has TfNSW said in response to your request?
65% of Councils responded (18 out of 28). Only one Council responded but had not yet developed a position for 30kmh speed limits.
In support of 30kmh, 6 Councils told us they had requested TfNSW implement 30km speed limits (City of Sydney, Northern Beaches, Ku-ring-gai, Burwood, Penrith and Strathfield) either on a specific street or for a HPAA area, Ku-ring-Gai told us they were developing a broader 30kmh plan for both types of streets.
As an advocate for safe speeds its great to see Councils taking the initiative to reduce speeds, but being honest most Council requests were modest, sometimes 1 street or small sections of a street. None told us that TfNSW were embracing the possibility and “leaning in” to achieve speed reduction. Some Councils told us that TfNSW had either blocked their attempts, or were insisting Council provide data, evidence and write “reports”. One Council has had their request refused even when the street had been redesigned for the 30kmh speed limit. The City of Sydney and Ku-ring -gai Council should be congratulated for their big vision for safe speeds and speed reduction in HPAA areas or across their broader street network - and TfNSW must do more to support them.
Unfortunately, 11 Councils - representing the majority of Sydney’s road and street network told us they had no intention of asking TfNSW review speeds on their streets, not in HPAA, not near train stations or schools, not to make riding safer. Several Councils told us they had never asked TfNSW to reduce speeds.
Many councils told us that they had implemented 40kmh speed zones in their HPAA, and that they had no intention to further reduce speeds .This again highlights where TfNSW have failed to adequately educate Councils about the benefits of 30kmh compared to 40kmh (and especially the benefits compared to the default 50kmh).
Campbelltown Council told us that they do “not have any issues with the safety of road users and the posted speed limits” even though 27% of serious injuries or deaths list speed as a contributing factor, 10% more that the rest of the Greater Sydney region.
Hunters Hill Council told us that 30kmh speed limits only apply in very specific circumstances ”to streets with one lane of traffic in each direction – such as foreshores and tourist areas, and should be self enforcing”. Again this shows TfNSW have failed to explain the benefits and purpose of reducing speeds especially in HPAA. The guidelines do not use these criteria, and these statements misdirect attempts to reduce speed.
Consider this - Streets of Sydney or Parramatta CBD with multiple traffic lanes, in non-tourist areas away from any foreshore also need speed reduction giving the tens of thousands of people walking throughout the City a safe and healthy street environment. TfNSW should stop telling Councils and professionals speed reduction can only happen in very specific circumstances. 90% of the London streets have 20mph (30kmh) speed limits, we are yet to see even 1% of the Sydney network achieve 30km.
Conclusion, most Sydney Councils lack ambition, and TfNSW seem to be looking for ways to maintain the status quo. Who, then, will lead the debate for speed reduction here, to make streets safer and healthier and address the 15% (and flat-lining) pedestrian fatality rates.
As a walking and riding advocate, a transport professional and a parent I want to be able to walk or ride around my neighborhood safely, I want my children to be able to walk or ride to visit friends safely. I don’t think its unreasonable to be able to walk or ride on local stress free from the fear of being killed or injured. I want action now. I don’t want to wait another decade for TfNSW to develop and implement its plan to reduce speeds. Therefore I am calling for:
over the next two years, the Minister for Road and Minister for Transport making 30km the default speed for NSW 1,500 existing HPAA areas. This includes TfNSW own streets not just local streets. Ministers Graham and Haylen would be remembered for their lasting legacy of saving lives, especially children's lives and for creating inclusive and healthy streets.
TfNSW to lean in and lead the debate about 30 kmh speed zones, educate the Community, Council professionals and politicians. It took four years between (1997 - 2001) for trials of 50km to be adopted as the statewide default urban speed zone. TfNSW have been talking about 30 km for a decade - trials should already be widespread. It shouldn’t take longer than a few years.
TfNSW to work with Councils to make speed reduction a reality - by creating simple, inexpensive and scalable processes for reducing speeds on local streets.
Some thoughts on a Guardian article on fat bikes
Our members have also echoed concerns with e-bikes going too fast in shared spaces, including by teenagers on footpaths. We are sympathetic to the issue and also wary of obstacles to children’s independent mobility. On the one hand, it’’s good that bikes are seen as a ‘cool’ way to get around. Better a teenager on an e-bike than a parent-chauffeur in an SUV. On the other, this new technology is not being perfectly managed. The may be a conflation of two issues - one of speed, one of bike design, with 3 or 4 different possible solutions:
Legal bikes (pedal-assist only, up to 25kmh) on legal shared paths - we are not educating riders to share the space (in the way we expect cars to be guests in shared zones). In Germany, primary school children learn to cycle and pass a cycling proficiency test. In NSW, the Safety Town website focuses on helmets and shoes, with only this advice on shared paths ‘Keep left and look out for people walking.’ We are failing to teach people how to ride.
A website is not enough to train kids how to respond in context. 25kmh is still too fast for passing walkers on many (narrow) ‘shared paths’. An ecosystem of proficiency tests, walking and riding to school programs is missing.
Enforcement - there is a regulatory issue with illegal and 'semi-legal' bikes that don't need pedal assist. As with eScooters, the mismatch between Federal import rules and NSW road rules is allowing bikes to be bought that should not be used. A pathway for faster e-bikes to registered (like mopeds) or a crackdown on the sale of illegal bikes (if not) is required - kids can’t be expected to know that an item for sale in NSW cannot be used in NSW.
Infrastructure - Shared paths are not interchangeable with cycleways - TfNSW’s Cycleway Design Guideline makes this clear. Putting a fast commuter route on a shared path (like Victoria Road) is no different from marking a fast vehicle route (like Victoria Road) as a shared space. Neither is safe for pedestrians.
Some shared paths may be victims of their own success. On popular commuter routes and heavily used recreational routes where the volume of bikers or walkers now exceeds the shared path threshold, road authorities should go back and widen the shared path or build a parallel cycleway instead.
Young people on footpaths - People under 16 are allowed to ride on any footpath, (in fact the Safety Town website spurns kids on roads). This includes e-bikes.
If the assumption is that children are safer around pedestrians due to slower riding speeds, then e-bikes complicated things, compensating for younger childrens’ abilities. An e-bike is equally not safe for an under 16yo on most Sydney roads. So, a priority solution should be providing more space for bikes on their own paths or safe streets, or road rule changes such as banning e-bikes (for all ages) from shared paths or footpaths where there is a cycleway provided.State Budget Next Week
On 18 June the state budget will be handed down. We are looking forward to seing a trajectory to 20% active transport spend recommended by UNEP, and some downward movement on the crippling 40% road spend. Did you know that reducing the road spend to the UK equivalent (as a percentage of transport spend) could free up enough money to:
make up for the $11.9bn budget hole from GST overestimation,
directly deliver 5,000 new social and affordable (key worker) homes,
topping up public school SRS to the tune of $8,000 per student for the 800,000 public school students (if match funded by the Federal government), to bring them in line with private school per student funding,
afford extra buses to increase the frequency on the Victoria Road corridor, to mitigate the effects of the Westconnex debacle, and so on.
If we see some movement in these directions, we singing praises from the rafters. If not, we might follow up with a little hint of the ‘fantasy budget’ that could have been…
Final meeting for year - call for nominations and AGM
Our last meeting for the (financial) year will be July 8th and AGM will be [August 19th]. If you are interested in getting more involved via a committee position, now is the time to reach out! And all members are welcome to attend meetings.
Sign up to attend our next committee meeting here: https://www.trybooking.com/eventlist?aid=214324
Appendix - Walk Toward a Better Future (Campaign Starters)
Low Carbon: Transport accounted for 21% of Australia’s emissions in 2023. Transport is our second largest carbon emitter after electricity, and will be our largest by 2030. Transport for NSW hasn't even begun to think about sector emissions, and the Federal government predicts car use to rise. Their carbon reduction strategy focuses on EV uptake, not mode shift, despite evidence from around the world pointing to mode shift as the most effective (if not only) means of reducing emissions. Instead, the Federal and State government keep pumping billions into new roads with induced traffic - the ‘Scope 3’ emissions that they have directed the Department of Planning not to consider. In other words, we are planning for failure. If we care about our climate, here is where ‘charity can begin at home'. Councils can set in place modal hierarchies and transport strategies that start with walking, and spend their budgets accordingly. Some councils, like the Inner West, already achieve the target we need to get to Net Zero - largely through walking and cycling for local trips.
Safety: One of the fundamental things government can do is protect its people. Vision Zero demands the same of roads - we should not passively accept road violence. But consider this, about as many walkers die in NSW every year as all workers from workplace accidents (48 vs 51 in 2022). 2 out of 3 of those pedestrians are killed in Greater Sydney. We could reduce this to zero, as cities like Oslo and Stockholm have done, with 30kmh and better infrastructure - what they call “Moving Beyond Vision Zero”. Did you know that TfNSW is only rolling out 30km/h at councils’ request (and even then, not yet, in the 12 months since the new guidelines came out). If councils don't ask for slower speeds, people will continue to get killed.
Gentle Density, and Things to See and Do: Let's leave YIMBY and NIMBY aside and look to the facts. At a gentle density of 35dw/ha (that's terraces), walking as a percent of all trips jumps to 30% or above. We don't need to hug towers for this. We do need homes to be near shops and transport, and not the kind of development that is too low to achieve walking (dual occupancy) or too high (towers with no shops nearby, where the lift trip takes your first 3 minutes of a 5 minute walk). The next time your council rails against a development’s recessed fourth floor, you can be there asking - but what about the street level - what else can it offer the community?
Less Congestion: Being pro-walking does not mean anti-car. 29% of people think their local transport is worse than a year ago, and only 6% better (USyd TOPS, Mar 2024). Did you know the government spent $23bn on Westconnex to solve for what court eminent advisors to the government attested was “about 4% of the peak traffic” that lies between free flow and congestion. As they said (I paraphrase here) ‘look at school holidays - it all works’. Imagine if we had the rates of walking to school we had in the 70s or 90s, then. 4% would be a doddle. With good infrastructure and slower speeds, council areas like the Inner West have already achieved much lower car use at higher density - in other words, they have decongested their streets by giving the people that want to walk, or cycle, the ability to do so.
Kids: As many a new parent will tell you, local streets are pram obstacle courses. Missing pram ramps, carelessly placed poles. Schools lack crossings. Footpaths are narrow. Did you know that the Federal Government just offered nearly $92m to councils to fix pedestrian and school safety? Did your council apply? Was their application strategic or targeted at these issues? If not, why not?
As they get older, promoting walking is even more important for kids. UNESCO’s Child Friendly City initiative promotes the rights of the child to autonomy and participation in civic life. Autonomous mobility is a key part of this. This should be a fundamental part of our vision for transport, and councils can partner with local schools to deliver it - getting kids (and others who don't drive) the ability to move around freely on their own.
Health: Do you want your area to be healthy by design? Did you know that adults who walk and cycle for transport (including walking to public transport) get all of their daily exercise needs? It's also great for mental health, not only because exercise reduces depression and ‘awe walks’ can restore our sense of balance and compassion, but because encountering people regularly is one of the key hallmarks of happiness (according to philosopher Jeremy Bentham), through “propinquity”. If social media feels like it's ripping us apart, then walking into people literally promotes social cohesion!
Low Carbon: Transport accounted for 21% of Australia’s emissions in 2023. Transport is our second largest carbon emitter after electricity, and will be our largest by 2030. Transport for NSW hasn't even begun to think about sector emissions, and the Federal government predicts car use to rise. In other words, we are planning for failure. If we care about our climate, here is where ‘charity can begin at home'. Councils can set in place modal hierarchies and transport strategies that start with walking, and spend their budgets accordingly.
Safety: One of the fundamental things government can do is protect its people. Vision Zero demands the same of roads - we should not passively accept road violence. But consider this, about as many walkers die in NSW every year as all workers from workplace accidents (48 vs 51 in 2022). 2 out of 3 of those pedestrians are killed in Greater Sydney. We could reduce this to zero, as cities like Oslo and Stockholm have done, with 30kmh and better infrastructure - what they call “Moving Beyond Vision Zero”. Did you know that TfNSW is only rolling out 30km/h at councils’ request (and even then, not yet, in the 12 months since the new guidelines came out). If councils don't ask for slower speeds, people will continue to get killed.
Gentle Density, and Things to See and Do: Let's leave YIMBY and NIMBY aside and look to the facts. At a gentle density of 35dw/ha (that's terraces), walking as a percent of all trips jumps to 30% or above. We don't need to hug towers for this. We do need homes to be near shops and transport, and not the kind of development that is too low to achieve walking (dual occupancy) or too high (towers with no shops nearby, where the lift trip takes your first 3 minutes of a 5 minute walk). The next time your council rails against a development’s recessed fourth floor, you can be there asking - but what about the street level - what else can it offer the community?
Less Congestion: Being pro-walking does not mean anti-car. 29% of people think their local transport is worse than a year ago, and only 6% better (USyd TOPS, Mar 2024). Did you know the government spent $23bn on Westconnex to solve for what court eminent advisors to the government attested was “about 4% of the peak traffic” that lies between free flow and congestion. As they said (I paraphrase here) ‘look at school holidays - it all works’. Imagine if we had the rates of walking to school we had in the 70s or 90s, then. 4% would be a doddle. With good infrastructure and slower speeds, council areas like the Inner West have already achieved much lower car use at higher density - in other words, they have decongested their streets by giving the people that want to walk, or cycle, the ability to do so.
Kids: As many a new parent will tell you, local streets are pram obstacle courses. Missing pram ramps, carelessly placed poles. Schools lack crossings. Footpaths are narrow. Did you know that the Federal Government just offered nearly $92m to councils to fix pedestrian and school safety? Did your council apply? Was their application strategic or targeted at these issues? If not, why not?
As they get older, promoting walking is even more important for kids. UNESCO’s Child Friendly City initiative promotes the rights of the child to autonomy and participation in civic life. Autonomous mobility is a key part of this. This should be a fundamental part of our vision for transport, and councils can partner with local schools to deliver it - getting kids (and others who don't drive) the ability to move around freely on their own.
Health: Do you want your area to be healthy by design? Did you know that adults who walk and cycle for transport (including walking to public transport) get all of their daily exercise needs? It's also great for mental health, not only because exercise reduces depression and ‘awe walks’ can restore our sense of balance and compassion, but because encountering people regularly is one of the key hallmarks of happiness (according to philosopher Jeremy Bentham), through “propinquity”. If social media feels like it's ripping us apart, then walking into people literally promotes social cohesion!