It does not matter how you approach it, Lyneham is a most walkable suburb. The suburb is ringed in by big roads (Ginninderra Drive, Macarthur Avenue, and Northbourne Avenue), however, within that space we have 3 primary schools, 1 high school, 1 preschool, local shops, and good cycle path connections. Lyneham is the cross roads of the CBR Cycle Routes C1, C3 and C6. Why then does a higher cycling participation fail? This is the first article of two.
Demographics
Lyneham has a population of 5,112 people, which on average is quite young (35 years). The children per family ratio is fairly high, too (1.7 children per family). On average, the number of motor vehicles per dwelling is low at only 1.4.
| Worth knowing | Lyneham | ACT |
| median age | 35 | 37 |
| average children per family (for families with children) | 1.7 | 1.8 |
| Average motor vehicles per dwelling | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Median weekly rent | $361 | $390 |
| Average distant to Civic | 3.2 km | >12 km |
Cycling infrastructure
The CBR Cycle Routes are a network of Main Community Routes (sometimes referred to as Principal Community Routes). 3 of the CBR Cycle Routes pass through Lyneham along Sullivans Creek. In that sense, it is the hub of active travel in Canberra.
- CBR Cycle Route C3 between Belconnen and Civic
- CBR Cycle Route C6 between ANU and Dickson
- CBR Cycle Route C1 between Gungahlin and Civic
Principal Community Route (PCR) –A subset of Main Community Routes (MCR) that form direct links between town centres. There are routes that are to include route labels and branding.
Active Travel Facilities Design – Municipal Infrastructure Standards 05 (MIS05) (ACT Government, April 2019)
Walkability
Lyneham is a very walkable suburb. OpenRoute Service shows the walking in within 20 minutes from the Lyneham Primary School in 4 minute intervals. The suburban area around Lyneham shops for about a 1 km radius is very walkable and Dickson shops and the Lyneham Playing Fields are easily reached on foot. This is ideal for a 20 Minute Suburb. Only the major roads limit the potential.
CBR C3 Belconnen to Braddon
After weeks of wild weather, we went out to see how the paths and the City Renewal were doing.
A lot was going on this weekend on the CBR Cycle Route C3 between Belconnen and Civic. It is noticeable that most of the cyclist are men and boys. When you see kids with a parent, it is always the father. This is a small sample the but we have seen this many times previously.
Canberra.bike has previously raised the need to fund research to gain a better understanding why women and teenage girls do not cycle. We know that in other high cycling countries, women are the majority of cyclists.
The paths have not changed much and Civic feels as car-centric as ever, but it was nice to wave and smile at other active travellers!
canberra.bike 