We all want better cities but it seems to take decades for any change. Tactical urbanism is an urban planning approach for delivering projects when needed. This webinar from Austroads tells us why we need it in the ACT.
Tag Archives: Austroads
Section 4.6 Safety is all in the mind
Perception of safety is important to cycling.
Language matters. Let’s do some definitional work!
The ACT Active Travel Routes Network lingo is confusing. Here is a first change management attempt to clarify what it means.
Section 4.1 Austroads recommendations on speed limits
We are warned of the dangers of roads from an early age, but few would know just how dangerous a car driving at the 50 km/h in a local street can be. At 50 km/h there is a low chance of a struck pedestrian or cyclist surviving. Austroads recommends lowering speed limits.
Defining what is good
The work describing what makes good cycle infrastructure has been done. The ACT active travel design standard is the Active Travel Facilities Design Municipal Infrastructure Standards 05 (MIS05). The national standard for pedestrian and bike infrastructure is the Guide to Road Design Part 6A: Paths for Walking and Cycling (AGRD06A).
Case study: the problems of Coppins Crossing
Active travellers are hit the hardest when direct routes are lacking. Road design has evolved to put great emphasis on road safety. Many of the road safety terms are for design features and considerations that impact on road safety, particularly vulnerable road users.
Pushing uphill in Whitlam: part 1
One of the big factors that make a bike path rideable is the path gradient. If it is too steep, and we will find ourselves pushing uphill. Bike paths, poorly designed, can be too steep to ride. A case study of Whitlam active travel network.
Titbits: Cost of bike paths
Several materials are used to build paths in Canberra. Preliminary estimates from ACT budget data showed that it was possible to build 30 km of bike paths for every single kilometre of dual-lane carriageway. This is an argument to spend more on paths but does not answer the question of the cost of path types.
Titbits: Path width recommendations
The Australian Austroads cycle path standards includes recommendations on path widths. The recommended path widths are wider than the vast majority of community and shared paths in Canberra. The Austroads AGRD06A standard is more detailed than the ACT equivalent and complements the local standard.
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