Tag Archives: women

Scary bikes: real and perceived fears

We must recognise that in low cycling countries our fears have a large impact on our cycling behaviour and our instincts (feelings) are poorly tuned to the real risk of cycling. A positive experience (enjoyment) makes it more likely that we will cycle again. A mishap in the early stages will discourage further cycling. This is why good cycle infrastructure makes a difference, as it creates a forgiving environment to cycle.

The mystery of female cycling

Amongst children, boys and girls, the participation rate for cycling is the same, which is known as “parity”. Amongst women in the ACT, and typical for low cycling countries, men are much more likely to cycle than women. The question should be, perhaps, not why women cycle less, but rather why girls in adolescence stop cycling.

ACT Cycling: no change in a decade

The ACT Report, National Walking and Cycling Participation Survey 2021, now the responsibility of the Cycling and Walking Australia and New Zealand (CWANZ), confirms what we have long suspected. Cycling as a mode of transport has not increased in the ACT. In the last 10 years, there has been no statistical significant change in the cycling participation. What should we do differently.

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.

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.

Riding to work: fallacies and facts

Riding to work is a great way to start the day. 🙂 People often give strange reasons for not commuting to work on a bicycle. There are things that make cycling easy and others that make it harder. The third category is those things that people think would make a difference but do not – fallacies. Cycling is well researched, so that we know these fallacies are common in low cycling countries such as USA, Canada, UK, NZ and Australia.

Safe Speed: promoting safe walking and cycling by reducing traffic speed

Safer walking and cycling is most easily achieved by reducing traffic speed. We have known this for over a decade but do too little to curb road speeds. A remarkable report summarises the Australian cycling problem as we find it today: Dr Jan Garrard, Safe Speed: promoting safe walking and cycling by reducing traffic speed, Heart Foundation, City of Port Phillip and City of Yarra, Victoria, November 2008.