Section 8: Cycle Corridors

Cycle corridors are the mechanism by which strategic assets (public realm space) can be secured for good, fast cycling infrastructure between town centres for commuting cyclists, thus providing an alternative to driving. The cycle highways will not be finished quickly and they do not have to be. However, they will never be built unless the corridors are reserved and preserved.

RobertsDay: bikes move seven times more people than cars

As attractive as it may be to build on a greenfield, the future of the ACT is urban renewal – taking the old and turning it into something new. In this context, we expect to hear a lot more from RobertsDay, a leading Australian urban planning firm that has penned many of Canberra’s future urban areas, including Ginninderry, Molonglo Stage 3 Project Design Brief, and the little known village in Red Hill.

No change without change leadership

Sisyphus pushes the bolder uphill, only to find it had rolled down to the bottom again by morning. We learn from Sisyphus that the rock will only stay in place if you remove the hill. Why active and visible sponsorship matters: Change without strong top down leadership does not work. The system and ingrained culture

Section 7: Movement and Place

This section explains what the Movement and Place Framework means for cycling and the challenge to implement the Movement and Place Framework in the ACT, as it will require the collaboration of both ACT Transport and ACT Planning. This is something recommended in the ACT Active Travel Key Documents, but yet not done.

Barriers to active travel: perceptions of a safety

Active travel faces many barriers. One is our perceptions of a safety, or fear. As a society, we seem to be getting more fearful. Our perceptions of safety are important. Psychology and neuroscience has come a long way to explaining our nature. The availability cascade is a contributing factor in our perception of risk.

Communicating change: advertisements

Reacting to climate change, giving up smoking, aids prevention, it is all the same really. We want people to change their behaviour to protect themselves. But habits, hard to change. Government messaging needs to be effective. Advertising dollars can be easily wasted. The discussion around COVID-19 advertising makes clear, what does and does not work. With driver behaviour a major factor in the safety of vulnerable road users, we must change the car culture so that drivers are protective of vulnerable road users.

Arguments and barriers that undermine change

Arguments and barriers that undermine change and the challenges of the active travel agenda.

Shifting baselines: a cognitive bias towards the status quo

Our memory is very short, so we quickly lose perspective of what was, and take the new as the natural order of things, as though it always was, but there is nothing normal about it. This article relates to the environment but it can be applied to our culture and seen in politics.

Culture evolution: Rite of passage

Active travel means changing culture. You need to address cultural icons of which the strongest are a “rite of passage”. Traditionally in Australia, getting your drivers licence has been one of those rites.

Section 6: Territory Plan

The Territory Plan is part of the reason why good, fast cycling infrastructure between town centres for commuting cyclists – cycle highways – has not been and is not likely to be built. The ACT planning has been critiqued for hampering innovation. The comment, while likely directed at urban architecture, is still true for urban planning and design. Cycle highways are not possible without inclusion in statutory documents, such as the Territory Plan.