Ranking cities for cycling

City rankings can be motivational but are unlikely to help city planners prioritise investment decisions for cycle infrastructure. Still, city rankings remain popular. If we are to compare Canberra with other cities, we should be benchmarking ourselves with the best cycling cities. European cities have some of the highest cycle participation rates in the world, and the Netherlands amongst the best cycle infrastructure.

Woden Town Centre: expect disruptions

Recently, Launceston Street and Callam Street were closed for the construction of the Woden Light Rail terminus. The construction of the CIT will follow. Until 2025, Callam Street will remain a construction site, and when it opens, will be accessible to buses only. During the construction, the area will be less permeable for cyclist, but should be better afterwards.

Is TCCS future proofed?

TCCS has grown overtime to have capability for the type of things that were needed in the past. The ACT is no exception to this rule. In the post-war era, the fashion was to build roads. Since COVID, this has begun to swing in a different direction. Even Sydney – Australia’s car capital – has come to realised that cycle and pedestrian infrastructure is a priority. TCCS may follow suite. Is the TCCS workforce prepared to take on this role?

History of the ACT Conservation Council

ACT Conservation Council is an environment and sustainability advocate. At its heart, the ACT Conservation Council is about conservation and, in that sense, has an environmentally friendly agenda but not necessarily a progressive one. Transport is a major contributor to greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. For this reason, the ACT Conservation Council has made strong and valuable statements supporting the transition of transport to more environment friendly modes such walking and cycling that are worth looking at more closely here.

Lake Ginninderra bike path: ready for a refresh

Lake Ginninderra was finished in 1974. 48 years later, it is time for renewal. The path around the lake existed goes back to the early 1980s and has now reached end of life. This article includes photos showing the path cracked and decaying. Lake Ginninderra Feasibility Study listed many defects and not one section of the path is particularly good. If we would serious we would fix the path as one big project but a series of little fixes is more likely – and that will take much longer.

History of the Belconnen Bikeway

The need for better infrastructure in Belconnen Town Centre goes back a long way. Back in 2004, it was quite clear that the lack of cycle infrastructure in the Belconnen Town Centre need fixing. As the 2016 ACT Election rolled up, ACT Labor was finally prepared to do something about it. Delays followed. The original planned completion date of 2019 became the construction start date. With the arrival of the 2020 ACT Election, the project was still not completed, and the scope significantly reduced. It is now finished, in part.

National Capital Authority: role in Canberra

The ACT is unusual as territories and states go, We have the ACT Legislative Assembly but the National Capital Authority too. A large area of the ACT is under a form of collaborative administration. Famously, the ACT Territory Plan cannot be inconsistent with the National Capital Plan (NCP). This does not make the interests of the ACT Government and NCA the same but necessitates a complex and close relationship.

History of Lawson 2003-2022

Belconnen District is more than 40 years old, but some parts were left green for later development. One of them is the new suburb of Lawson, which is situated beside Lake Ginninderra and has until now remained untouched. The suburb development started with Stage 1, opposite the University of Canberra (UC), and now has moved down Ginninderra Drive with the tender for Stage 2.

History of Sulwood Drive 2003-2022

The missing cycle path along Sulwood Drive between Tuggeranong Parkway and Athllon Drive has a long history. Letters to the Minister and Roads ACT go back as far as 2003. Labor promised a path for Sulwood Drive at the 2019 Federal Election, and ACT Labor reaffirmed this at the 2020 ACT Election. Funding was included for the path in the ACT 2021-2022 Budget.