Salt Lake City: less cars and more bikes = a boost to retail profitability

    Salt Lake City leads by example.  Retailers are renown for hitting the panic button when there are plans to remove on-street parking and add extra space for bicycles.  However, according to Streetsblog.org,  a growing body of evidence suggests that the introduction of additional bikes and bike lanes, can lead to a calmer streetscape […]

Adelaide reinvents itself as a vibrant new city with less cars and more people

  Placemaking plays a major role in the reinvention of Adelaide and has been the force behind Adelaide stepping into the world arena.  The city is now becoming daring and exciting, according to AdelaideNow.  It  is receiving international recognition due to its recent transformation through a dedicated program of infrastructure and redevelopment.  Adelaide City Council’s […]

Fast cars and freeways come to an end in Los Angeles

Los Angeles City Council takes a leap of faith and approves a new transportation plan, (Mobility Plan 2035), that would remodel the LA streetscape over the next 20 years.   The new plan could see the “sacrificing of car lanes to make way for bikes and buses”, according to the NY Times.   The plan aims to […]

The future of driverless cars – how soon will they be here?

    The South Australian Government have joined the driverless car movement with a recent commitment to “pass laws to allow driverless cars on the road within a decade”, according to the ABC.  The SA Government hopes to “foster technological innovation and revive Australia’s manufacturing industry” with this initiative. Consequently, the first trials for driverless […]

Will Melbourne commuter car parks ease congestion?

Is building multi-level car parks at train stations the best way to encourage the use of trains by commuters? This question was presented in a recent article in the Melbourne Age, whereby Metro (Melbourne’s rail operator) proposed to build a multi-storey car park at some of Melbourne’s busiest railway stations and potentially charge commuters to […]

Chinese High Speed Rail Set for Success

While China and Australia vastly different culturally, physically, and economically, a recent article in the Financial Review highlights something we have in common — both countries have a rail network that is required to cover an enormous amount of ground.  According to this article, the contrast between our countries’ transport systems on long-distance journeys is […]

Transport Stats – Sydney vs Vancouver

Following on from our Vancouver Promotes Active Transportation story, we were pleased to see a post recently from The Urbanist, ‘How Does Sydney Compare to Vancouver on Travel’. Vancouver and Sydney are often grouped together when it comes to comparing cities around the globe.  Built upon opposite shores of the Pacific Ocean, residents of both cities lead a very […]

Interactive Map Helps DC Manage Road Safety

The Swedish initiative of Vision Zero is gaining momentum in the USA.    Washington DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, has taken a strong lead on Vision Zero as a direct response to the US Department of Transportation’s Mayors’ Challenge for Safer People and Safer Streets.  The aim for Vision Zero is to ultimately improve pedestrian and bicycle […]

VIC Legislation Impacts on Retailers

In the June news released by the peak industry body for the Parking industry, Parking Australia, the association has expressed concern around the lack of consultation regarding the introduction of legislation by the Andrews Government in Victoria.  This new legislation removes the ability for a private property owner to reasonably identify and seek to recover […]

Car-Free Areas announced for Central Park

A new initiative from the City of New York, Office of the Mayor, Bill de Blasio, has released some key improvements to major sections of Central Park, which will be solely dedicated to recreation.  Improvements to Central Park and Prospect Park will make the majority of each park car-free.  These changes will restore major sections […]

Vancouver promotes ‘active transportation’

Due to an innovative planning move by the City of Vancouver, the iconic Burrard Bridge handled about 300,000 bike trips per month between September and November last year, as reported in Streetsblog USA.  Thanks to a protected bike path lane and an overhaul of the intersection at one end of the bridge, Burrard Bridge has […]

Sweden’s Vision Zero – benchmark for road safety

What do Stockholm, Rotterdam and Berlin have in common?  They are all involved in Vision Zero, aspiring to road safety at its best. The Vision Zero concept first originated in Sweden in 1997.  Swedish parliament adopted it as their official road policy.  The central theme for Vision Zero is to reduce all traffic fatalities and severe […]

The hidden cost of parking

Have you ever budgeted for the privilege of a car parking space in your apartment block?  Probably not, because this cost is usually well hidden into the price of housing, land, construction, and maintenance.  Over time this can certainly add up to a large proportion of your rental cheque or purchase price. According to Reinventing […]

Lord Howe Island follows the sustainable path

As reported in the SMH, the residents on Lord Howe Island (LHI) have committed to become pioneers in renewable energy.    With the island’s World Heritage-listed status, the renewable energy path is a natural progression. As commented by Penny Holloway, LHI Board Chief Executive, “it’s not been a difficult decision for the island to move to […]

US Report Card on State cycling

A pro-active and leading authority on bike riding in the US, the League of American Bicyclists, has released its 2015 State Rankings, highlighting which states are doing the most – and the least – to make bicycling a safe and convenient way to get around. Washington must be doing something right as they top the […]

Transport planning for “Millennials”

  A recent US survey, presented by Progressive Railroading,  found a majority of forward thinking citizens with an environmentally-friendly vision for the future, want access to public transportation options so they don’t have to rely so much on owning and driving a car. According to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), they have defined this […]

Your ride into the future

According to EcoBusiness.com, personal electric mobility devices (PMEDs) are an emerging breed of transportation in Asia.  Singapore’s Marina Bay financial district has been trialling the use of “Airwheels” to help drive a shift to more sustainable urban transport. By 2030, Asia will account for almost half of all the vehicles in the world.  PMED’s may […]

Melbourne CBD – Motorcycles in, Cars Out

The Melbourne Age recently reported that “motorcycles and scooters will be given preferential treatment over cars and trucks in Melbourne’s inner city”.   As part of Melbourne City Council’s (MCC) 2015-2018 Motorcycle Plan, a key idea is to expand motorcycle parking across the municipality.  The document highlights that with more motorcyclists on the roads, this will result […]

Would London’s Congestion Charging work in Australia?

If you had to pay $20 to enter the CBD by car, would you take public transport instead?  Apparently, if London’s experience is translatable, the answer is yes!  In 2003, in an attempt to improve the untenable congestion and pollution that plagued Central London, the government introduced “Congestion Charging”.  All private and commercial vehicles entering […]

Four days a year stuck in Sydney traffic

The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported a study by the GPS company TomTom which has named Sydney the most congested city in the Antipodes, and ranked it among the world’s worst, coming in at 21st place.  Tuesday and Wednesday were determined to be the worst days of the week, and for every half-hour travelled at […]

Mexico City promotes “less parking”

We love this short animated video from ITDP Mexico which provides a simple (subtitled) case for “less parking, more city”. Paul Barter of Reinventing Parking draws a link between the work of recently retired parking guru, Prof Donald Shoup, and the movement away from minimum parking requirements.  Makes sense! Here is the link to “Menos […]

Barcelona Police first with green ride

Barcelona Police have taken delivery of a new fleet of 30 electrically powered scooters, giving them efficient, zero-emission mobility around the city.  Already a leader in sustainable mobility, Barcelona was the perfect partner to showcase this fleet of fully electric scooters, manufactured by BMW. As reported recently on BMW Blog, this is the first fleet […]

Amsterdam runs out of bicycle parking

It’s a problem that most cities can only imagine…to have exhausted the supply of bike parking! It could only be Amsterdam, a city of 800,000, whose inhabitants own an estimated 880,000 bikes — four times the number of cars in their garages.     The ridership statistics are impressive – reportedly 58% of the population use a […]

Decluttering Confusing Signage

The City of Sydney has been presented with a motion to simplify parking and traffic signage across the city.  As reported in The Daily Telegraph, Cr Jenny Green presented the motion asking the Council’s CEO to investigate what other cities and local councils are doing to simplify signage. Mosman Council is undergoing a plan to […]

Will infrastructure planning be compromised?

Australian planners may face working without the benchmark information and guidance supplied by the Australian Census.  On 18th February the Australian Federal Government announced that it was considering abandoning the Australian Census in favour of smaller sample surveys.  The Australian Census has been held every five years since 1911 with the last census being held […]

School Traffic: Looking at reduction options

In the last of our school traffic series, we are taking a look at some of the school traffic congestion alternatives being put forward locally and overseas.   The alternatives relate not only to traffic congestion but also how school communities can encourage more active alternatives for children travelling to and from school. In Mosman, Councillor […]

Wayfinder signs encourage sustainable mobility

Wayfinder signs encourage sustainable mobility

In several towns and cities in the UK, wayfinder signs aimed at making it easier for pedestrians to navigate and explore are being installed.  The new look signage encourages sustainable mobility by helping residents and tourists to navigate their way around town centres and to local landmarks on foot. The Wayfinder system consists of six-foot […]

School Traffic Safety: why won’t parents learn?

School traffic campaign

In NSW the Police and school principals are appealing to motorists and parents to refrain from dangerous driving behaviour in and around schools.  In just the first four days of this school year, there has been a 17% increase in the number of motorists caught speeding and a 24% rise in illegal parking infringements issued […]

School traffic targeted by Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council plans to target school traffic in 2015 by deploying parking officers in school pick-up and drop-off zones.  The Council has commissioned eight marked cars for use by parking officers to enable them to enforce school zone traffic rules and deal with parking issues around the city’s schools. Council will also work with […]

London: Cycling now considered mass transport

Transport for London’s new Cycling Design Standards Policy begins with the words “Cycling is now mass transport and must be treated as such”.  Councils in London boroughs are now requiring developers to integrate this approach into their development plans. A recent example is the 250 City Road project which was required to include ample parking […]


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