Presentation to Roads Australia's National Sustainability in Infrastructure Forum

One small step....

Adapting infrastructure to encourage active transport
Rebecca Lehman, GTA Consultants
Tuesday, 22 October 2013

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GTA Consultants Rebecca Lehman

Roads Australia

Walking and cycling for short trips are quick ways to shrink a carbon footprint

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Walking and cycling are an inexpensive way to meet health and physical activity targets

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More importantly ... Its fun!

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Bottom line: Only lazy traffic engineers only think of one mode or one connection

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An integrated transport network relies on all modes

A mix of transport options are required to meet the needs of residents, visitors and workers
Walking or cycling isnt an option for every trip, only the short ones

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Walkability and bikeability

Cyclists
Coherent
Attractive
Safe
Comfortable
Direct

Pedestrians
Connected
Convivial
Conspicuous
Comfortable
Convenient

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The active travel status quo (how our grandmothers, partners and friends see it)

No
connection

Not enough
shelter

Wrong
connection

Connected?

Unpleasant

Comfortable?

Temporary
barrier

Convenient?

Convivial?

Conspicuous?
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54%

54%

Total

83%

Bicycle

Not stated

89%

Motorbike/scooter

39%

98%

Truck

Did not go to work

46%

Car, as passenger

46%

57%

Car, as driver

Worked at home

60%

Taxi

51%

51%

Tram

Walked only

60%

Ferry

Roads Australia

61%

54%

46%

46%

49%

40%

40%

43%

49%

54%

55%

50%

73%

45%

Bus

48%

27%

75%

Other

52%

0%

Train

17%

11%

2%

After truck and motorcycle, bicycle is the most gender-biased mode

Australian Bureau of Statistics: Journey to Work, 2006 Census

Mode choice by gender

100%

25%

Females

Males

School children are walking less

Both boys and girls!

Even in year 10.
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 and are being driven more

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Local shoppers are walking and biking and taking public transport more than hear!

(25%)

(5%)

(12%)

(58%)

(Shopkeepers estimates in brackets)

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Shoppers walk and want facilities to walk to the shops

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The Final Challenge: the last 100 metres

fierce competition for space between transport modes and landuses
not addressing these challenges could sterilise a whole route or catchment
shared space & shared zones
1 min travel
= 100%

% Time Remaining

1 min travel
= 10%

Time to destination
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Detour
Factor Train
289 : 178
1.6

Detour
Factor Bus
310 : 45
6.8

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The philosophy of 8-80 cities

is to create a city that is so good

an 8 or 80 year old can navigate it

independently.

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Cooperation and collaboration are required to fix the status quo

Include
weather
and solar
protection

Work with
nearby
projects

Provide
direct
links!

Talk to
neighbouring
project

Reign in
anti-social
behaviour

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How does this happen?

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Not everywhere has it perfect yet

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There are still a lot of barriers to shared walking and cycling spaces

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But even Maccas will provide priority bicycle parking if you ask for it: (Estes Park, Colorado)

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Bike-only carriage for bike commuters and weekend MTB trips (Los Angeles, California)

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Facilities can be multipurpose: shared bicycle and ski parking racks (Park City, Utah)

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Sense of place using bicycle parking as public art

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Pods of shared bicycles help shift short car trips to bicycles (Louisville Kentucky)

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Transport Security Administration uses bicycles to get around the airport (Tucson, Arizona)

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Parklets extend footpath areas with more seating for people (NYC)

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Solar-powered pedestrian and bicycle crossing (Baker City, Oregon)

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Dedicated bicycle lane and bicycle parking kerb extensions (Boulder, Colorado; Vancouver Canada)

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How can we help facilitate more active transport infrastructure?

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Not all pedestrians are the same

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Not all cyclists are the same

Training/ competitive
Confident commuter
Recreational/ weekend
Families/ children
Not so confident / beginners

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We need to think about walkable and bikeable catchments

A catchment is the surrounding area within

which people can easily travel to a destination
in a given time.
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A catchment may also be defined as a distance

e.g. a 400 metre walk or 5 km cycle ride based
on travel speed.

GTA Consultants Rebecca Lehman

Roads Australia

New shared pathway

150 metres long

3 km new road
access
184 new properties

1.2km

5km

7.5km 15km

Macquarie Fields Rail Station

Properties covered

794

978

Total Road (km)

36.8

36.8

Actual coverage (km) 11.2

14

537.1 1,166.7 4,544.3

232

449.8 2,298.8

coverage (%)

30%

38%

43%

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39%

51%

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1 2 3

When do we separated bikes from cars or pedestrians?

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Pedestrians and cyclists dont have a crumple zone

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People have a higher survival rate when vehicles operate at lower speeds

Pedestrian Crashes
1.0

0.9
0.8

Chance of Surviving

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0

20

40

60

80

100

Impact Speed (km/h)

Australia

Historic

Netherlands

Combined

Australia

Historic

Netherlands

Combined

Linear (Australia)

Linear (Historic)

Poly. (Netherlands)

Linear (Netherlands)

Linear (Australia)

Linear (Historic)

Linear (Netherlands)

Linear (Combined)

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Bikes offer an economy of scale one cyclist isn't the answer

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Get elements of active travel integrated into projects

Provide physical elements to achieve physical integration
with other transport networks and facilities, including
elements outside the extent of the project works.
For bicycles this means:

prominent, secure, weather-protected bike parking at

each station, bicycle end of trip facilities and cycleways;

space for bicycle parking, where the total required bicycle

parking provision can not be accommodated internally.

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Prioritise people movement, not vehicle movement

Priority is afforded to the most efficient and sustainable modes of transport:
walkers, cyclists and public transport passengers
public transport operators
kiss-and-ride, taxi, car share and car pooling
park-and-ride

Transport infrastructure and operations reinforce the modal hierarchy to:

provide access priority
provide a safe, well-lit and visually appealing passenger area
provide a high level of amenity and passenger comfort
increase patronage
accommodate customer flows
facilitate passenger access and modal interchange

Space, access, priority and funding are allocated according to the modal hierarchy

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Integrate with current transport operations not just traffic operations

Public transport
Link to the existing public transport network
Connect residents and workers, without
transferring (a one-seat ride)
Provide a span of service to meet resident and
worker needs
Provide certainty of regular, on-time services
Car share
Provide car share vehicles
Priority car parking for car share or car pool
vehicles
Walking, running, cycling and motorcycling
Connect to the footpath and bicycle network
Provide bike parking, bike & ride facilities
Provide lockers, showers and change rooms for
workers
Provide visitor and staff bicycle parking

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Integrate with other departments, businesses and neighbouring councils

Traffic Engineer

Parking Manager

Education

Health Promotions

Sports and Recreation

Parks and Recreation

Office Manager

Enthusiast

?
Developers

Transport Planner
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GPs
Roads Australia

Monitor and evaluate facilities and operations to identify potential problems

Monitor facilities and operations to determine the
spirit of transport integration is being achieved.
For bicycles, monitor:

bicycle network use to determine if additional capacity

is required
bicycle parking to determine when additional bike
parking is required or when abandoned bicycles should
be removed.

For footpaths, monitor

the footpath network to see if additional capacity is

required.
Footpath use to determine if facilities link appropriate
facilities
audit shade, weather protection, accessibility,
pavement quality

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Address mistakes with humour and humility

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How will you know its working?

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How will you know its working?:

women and children are riding

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How will you know its working? :

People are outside, enjoying your public space

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How will you know its working? :

Property values are up!

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How will you know its working? : shared zones accommodate every mode

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How will you know its working? :

Pedestrians are free range

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How will you know its working?

People have embraced and adapted your facilities!

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How will you know its working? :

Cyclists are safe, visible and accepted transport users

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How will you know its working? :

People engage with your public space. And embrace it!

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Rebecca Lehman
Associate Transport Planner

www.gta.com.au
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rlehman
0432 4287 766

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Roads Australia