Why walkable, bikeable cities are better for people – and our planet

James Arnold

Senior Engineer | Tonkin

 

James graduated from the University of South Australia in 2016, it was there he found his passion within the traffic and transport field. 

His first position out of university was as a technical officer at the City of Playford Council, later moving closer to home to work for the City of Mitcham. His strengths are that he can adapt to being placed in the deep end, driving himself to challenge the status quo and take on complex and challenging work. One of James's first projects in Local Government was to deliver road safety initiatives for Mitcham Council, designing and delivering on a successful blackspot project. 

He experiences in the design and delivery of traffic control devices, further prompted him to expand his knowledge in road safety, gaining knowledge in Road Safety Auditing and Safe System Assessments. This is where he learnt the value of road safety initiatives, particularly with regards to the protection of vulnerable road users. 

One of his major accomplishments was to be lead for one Council's Major Projects, the Flinders City bikeway. Through his background in road safety and engineering design and delivery, he has sought knowledge and case studies from South Australia and other states to develop a bikeway that exudes best practice. 
After 5 years in local government, James has recently taken a different direction in his career, currently working as a Senior Engineer for Tonkin. 

Outside of work, James is a first-time father to his beautiful daughter Lucy, he is proud to be married to his wife Melissa, who is a strong advocate for cycling and a 2-time Ironman. James enjoys soccer, bowling, and mentoring individuals. He wants to advocate to Young Professionals at this conference to challenge the norms and always push yourself out of your comfort zone. 

Why walkable, bikeable cities are better for people and our planet

 

One must always try to look outside of your comfort zone and challenge what you think could be of benefit to the community, even it fails. This looks at the first case study for the installation of the 'Cyclist Street' concept. 

Technically developed by Department of Transport and Main Roads (QLD) and to be constructed by the City of Mitcham Council in Adelaide (SA), the cyclist street will be one of/if not the first installation of the concept. This presentation will look at the Winona Avenue, Clarence Gardens case and approach including background information, problem, solution and engagement. Winona Avenue is currently on schedule to commence construction in 2022. 

Lead Presenter will be James Arnold, Senior Engineer from Tonkin Consulting who applied the QLD technical guide to Winona Avenue, and was project lead for the Flinders-City bikeway. 

Co-presenting with Mr Michael Langdon, Senior Advisor (Cycling and Walking), Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTM) who will speak about the development of the technical guide which attributed to Winona Avenue being designed and constructed

Sara Stace

Director of Cities | WSP

 

Sara Stace is a city shaper with a multi-disciplinary approach to urban policy and transport. She has 25 years experience including senior executive roles in national, state and local governments as well as the transport, finance, property and construction sectors. She is currently Director of Cities at WSP and was previously Director National Urban Policy for the Australian Government's Major Cities Unit, and head of walking and cycling strategy at Transport for NSW. 

 

 

Research in Australia and internationally has shown that the key factors that make a place walkable are:  structural factors (population and employment density, points of interest and street block size) which explain 54% of all walking activity observed in Greater Sydney. Demographic factors (age, family size) account for 27% ; adaptable factors (public transport provision, tree canopy) explain 18% ; while environmental factors (topography, rainfall, temperature) explain only 1.4% of walking activity. In regional and outer metropolitan factors these splits were 56%, 20%, 18% and 4.6% respectively. 

Knowing what these key factors are - and how they vary across different locations - is crucial to ensuring we design, plan and fund for improved walking access in our centres. For example, somewhere with low structural walking factors  - low density housing, little employment, and large, impermeable blocks, will require very different interventions to a place that has high density mixed land uses and fine-grained blocks. 

This presentation will present the research and how we as transport planners and urbanists can respond effectively. "

 

Amit Bhattarai 

Planning Manager  | Transport for NSW

 

Amit is a transport planner with strong interest in active transport and place making. Besides practicing planning, he is also a casual academic at University of Sydney. 

Amit has got his Masters in Urban Planning degree from University of Hong Kong and PhD in Planning degree from University of Sydney. His PhD at University of Sydney investigated ecological sustainable neighbourhoods highlighting his passion for walkable neighbourhoods and successful places. 

Applying the 15-minute neighbourhood concept to South Western Sydney: shifting the dial to active and public transport

 

Suburbs in Western and South Western Sydney have one of the highest private vehicle mode share.  According to the latest census, 67 percent of residents within Western Sydney have identified private vehicle as their primary mode of transport. Furthermore, 50 percent of households have two or more vehicles in the region. Further analysis indicates that a significant number of these trips are local in nature. Along with high mode share for private vehicle, walking and cycling mode share in Western Sydney is very low (approximately two percent). 
As a result of the COVID pandemic, the concept of a 15-minute neighbourhood has received a lot of traction lately. 15-minute neighbourhoods are defined as centres where residents can access their local shops and services within 15 minutes by either active or public transport.

To achieve a positive mode shift towards active and public transport and reduce car dependency, transport planners in TfNSW have been collaborating with other state agencies to deliver a transport structure plan in South Western Sydney. Key principles adopted by the project team include the provision of active transport facilities from the start for newly developed precincts with the intention of decreasing  private vehicle mode share. These principles align with TfNSWs Future Transport 2056 vision of a sustainable, productive and liveable city.