Cycle lanes do not harm local businesses
As the restrictions are gradually eased in Australia, cities prepare for more people returning to their workplace. Sydney is implementing pop-up cycle lanes and Melbourne is fast-tracking the delivery of 40km of new lanes. Both initiatives aim to provide a safe alternative for people to move around whilst, hopefully, removing cars from the road and […]
Commuting behaviour affects employee productivity
A 2019 study investigated the relationship between daily commuting behaviour and employee productivity levels. The results point out that not only the commuting distance but also the transport mode affects employee performance and happiness. Commuters travelling short-distances by active transport modes (walking or cycling) reported being more productive. They also associated positive feelings to their […]
Lane Cove Council’s $2.9 million cycling infrastructure plan
Lane Cove Council plans to invest $2.9 million in new cycling facilities in an effort to encourage cycling uptake and improve the experience of current cyclists. In particular, the plan aims to attract two types of cyclists, the Enthused and Confident and the Interested but Concerned[1]. The four categories of cyclists are: Strong and Fearless: […]
Sydneysiders are embracing share bikes
It’s not often that we find positive news about cycling in Australia; after all, only 1.1% of Australian commuters choose cycling as their transport mode (Census 2016). However, we have been pleasantly surprised to hear about the share bike uptake in Sydney. “Over 22,000 share bike trips are being made across Sydney each week – […]
Lane Cove PAMP study
Earlier this year, ptc. was engaged by Lane Cove Council to review and update the 2013 Pedestrian Access and Mobility Plan (PAMP) for the Lane Cove Local Government Area. A PAMP is a comprehensive strategic action plan which allows Council to prioritise its tasks to improve the pedestrian network. The aim of this type […]
Walking and cycling to work may feel longer than it is
A recently published study, conducted with students and staff members of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), found that people tend to overestimate the time it takes to walk or cycle to their destination. The issue is that the perceived travel time is often pointed out as one of the barriers to choosing these types of […]
Where are the cyclists and pedestrians?
According to 2016 Census data, only 1.1% and 3.9% of Australian commuters chose cycling and walking to work respectively. These active mode rates remained practically constant since the 2011 Census (1.2% and 4.2%). In other capital cities the percentage of commuters walking or cycling ranges from 3.8% (Perth) to 8.4% (Canberra). However, as reported by […]
Encouraging cycling in a local community
Lane Cove Council recently organised the Big Family Fun Ride, an event designed to encourage bicycle usage. On the 13th of September, the council invited the community to ride from the Epping Road Cycleway and explore the area. The event embraced all kinds of riders offering two routes, one for newbies and another for more experienced […]
Future Melbourne
Melbourne is growing at a fast pace and is expected to surpass Sydney by 2030. A Time Out article identified 7 developments designed to accommodate the city’s fast expansion. Here are our favourites: Metro Tunnel The $10.9 billion underground tunnel will enable more trains to pass through the City Loop. The project, which is planned […]
Oslo car ban is not an easy task
In the post Oslo cuts on-street parking, we presented one of the city’s initiatives to meet its plan of having a car-free centre by 2019. To discourage car usage in the short term, the city opted to promote high-impact and low-cost improvements for cyclists and pedestrians by reducing on-street parking. Although the measure seemed to […]
More parking isn’t always the answer
Location is a crucial competitive aspect for retailers in general and restaurants in particular. Once the location is chosen, there are limited options to improve access to their business. Therefore, they usually tend to advocate for increasing parking supply as a way of providing more convenience to their current and potential customers and as such, […]
Oslo cuts on-street parking
Oslo’s plans for a car-free city centre by 2019 is resulting in several changes in the city transport matrix. The city is implementing strategies to make walking the preferred transportation mode, followed by cycling and public transport, as was reported in the Streetfilm movie below. The city is working on creating more pedestrian friendly areas […]
No parking, no business?
More space for cyclists and pedestrians is good for local business…
Sky cycling
The world’s longest elevated cycling path opened last month in China…
Sometimes the car park IS the destination!
When you plan to attend an event it’s safe to say that the objective of your trip is not going to be the car park. Normally, car parks are just a stage in a journey whose final destination is the shop, office, venue, etc. In Adelaide, the VTWO/CyclingTips Carpark Climb event was hosted in a multi-storey […]
Santiago Wins 2017 Sustainable Transport Award
Over the past years, Santiago has faced a great transformation, particularly in the downtown area. The city’s integrated mobility plan focused on improving the way people move around, aiming to improve the equality between the different users which led to less car-centric planning policies. The plan included the exclusive use of downtown streets for public […]
Lower Cycling Rates in Sydney
Road and Maritime Services numbers show that, in 2016, cycling rates in Sydney are lower than in 2013, as reported by SMH. The average daily cyclists during peak hours at the Anzac Bridge, Anzac Parade and Sydney Harbour Bridge was 3,830 in 2009 and reached a peak of 5,249 in 2013. However, the figures declined […]
Happy City: Less Car, More People-Centric
Enrique Peñalosa was the subject of the Wayfinding Blog in 2014 when we shared his TED talk about equality in city planning. Now the second time Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, is going to host the Congress of United Cities and Local Governments and one more time he is bringing up the discussion about transport, people […]
Cyclists’ Dream Building
Following the development of the Oslo Solar , a commercial building in Norway that has no car park and 500 parking spaces for bikes, known as the “bike apartments”, the Cykelhuset, or “bicycle house”, will open in Malmö, Sweden this December being the country’s first residential development with no car park spaces as reported by […]
Cycling uptake, safety and social equality
Last week, the USA’s National Association of City Transport Officials (NACTO) released a study showing the correlation between protected bicycle lanes, bike share increase and safety. NACTO compared data from 2006 to 2013 of seven American cities regarding the number of bike lanes miles (excluding signed paths with no other enhancements), the number of cyclists […]
Superblocks: Barcelona’s concept for traffic reduction
Modification of the basic road network and the differentiation of street use according to the mode of transportation are the two main characteristics of “Superblocks”, an urban mobility solution that increases the availability and quality of pedestrian spaces. In 2003, Barcelona implemented its first Superblock in the Gràcia neighbourhood, and next year the city is […]
The use of technology and creativity to improve safety
Recent initiatives from around the globe demonstrate a wide variety of creative solutions aimed at improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists. India and China are using optical illusions to induce drivers to reduce their speed. Two artists from India, Saumya Pandya Thakkar and Shakuntala Pandya, created a 3-D crosswalk that tricks drivers into thinking they […]
Debate continues over mandatory helmet laws
The mandatory helmet law debate has been ongoing for several years. On one side, the legislators are claiming that this law is essential to guarantee cyclists safety. Opposing groups, however, assert that the mandatory helmet laws are driving people away from adopting bicycles as a transport mode. Last year, a study conducted across Canada brought […]
Safer infrastructure key to cycling uptake
One of the best ways to increase the number of cyclists is to improve safety. A study conducted in Toronto, Canada indicated that the shift in Sherbourne Street’s bike track from a painted lane to a physically separated cycle path resulted in an increase of 300% in cyclists, as reported by I Bike TO. According […]
No place for cars in Oslo development
A new high-rise in Oslo’s centre will give preference to cyclists instead of drivers, according to CO.EXIST. Oslo Solar building will have 500 parking spaces for bikes, as well as end-of-trip facilities such as showers, change rooms and bike repair stations. There will be 10 recharge stations for electric vehicles, however, the high-rise won’t provide […]
5 year old cyclists leading the way in Odense, Denmark
Whilst in Australia parents are reluctant to let their children walk or cycle to school, things are certainly on the move in Denmark. School children in Odense are more likely to show up on a bike at school than be dropped off in a car, as posted in fastcoexist.com Contrary to statistics in Australia where […]
Impact of new laws for cyclists and drivers
As we reported last week in our Wayfinding Blog, “New fines for cyclists could see bikes dumped for cars”, there are many changes to road rules affecting cyclists and motorists, effective today. Here we outline the crux of these; New laws for drivers passing cyclists Drivers in NSW must leave one metre of space when […]
The woman behind 640km of bike lanes in NYC
Janette Sadik-Khan, NYC’s recent transportation commissioner, was instrumental in the introduction of over 640 km of bike lanes to the NYC cityscape. She was the driving force behind the impressive makeover of NYC’s Department of Transportation (DOT) from 2007 to 2013 with bikes, cycle paths and a new way of mobility top of mind. As […]
Bikes vs cars – a new film looks at the race for bike mobility in our modern world
Bikes are more than a tool for recreation and fitness. They are fast becoming the main source of transportation for many communities around the world. But more needs to happen for people to make the initial decision of putting the bike first. A new film by Fredrik Gertten, Bikes vs Cars, looks at the battle […]
Sustainable public transport the key to Shanghai’s bold development program
According to ShanghaiDaily.com, the city is set to be developed into a ‘megacity’. However, it will be a long journey for planners and policy makers. The thoughts of local residents resonate with many residents here in Sydney – ‘long commutes and traffic jams’. Planners in both cities are faced with massive challenges to make them […]