canberra.bike
Cycling infrastructure is underfunded. No surprise there. A recent article in The Conversation discusses the problem.
“Cycling and walking can help drive Australia’s recovery – but not with less than 2% of transport budgets“, The Conversation, 23 July 2020.
Cycling road fatalities are not all that common but injuries are. Navigating roads are in cities is a constant challenge for vulnerable road users including cyclists and pedestrians. The very old and young are, particularly at risk. We want to reduce cycling injuries on the road and not least for our kids.
It is unrealistic to expect the ACT Government to fund all active travel infrastructure from general revenue as capital works. It cannot be done. Alone the maintenance to a high standard an ever-expanding bike paths network is a challenge.
The sale of land for dwellings will always be a top priority for the ACT Government due to the expected population growth and ever-growing costs of servicing the existing Canberra population. The ACT budget is spent on the services that are regarded by most Canberrans as essential (health, education, etc).
We are proud of Canberra, our bush capital. The environmental regulations will continue to be front-of-mind for estate planners to protected and preserve these environmental assets. The downside is that it comes at a price. There are many places in Canberra where you will not get approval to build a bike path.
Land sales are revenue, so the ACT will prioritise that over finishing suburbs (and bike paths). The land release will remain staged. This type of estate planning is within a bounded area and the bigger picture outside those boundaries, such as cross city cycle highways, are left off the map.
We will need to accept that without capital funding, the active travel infrastructure will never be built all at once, but in a fragmented way.
Riding to work requires cycle highway networks that span the city. With the above constraints, it is achievable but not quick or easy. Without long term planning and enduring effort, it will never be achieved.
I recently read an article about about 20-minute neighbourhoods. This is an interesting urban planning idea to decentralise the population from the city centres by making the local area more liveable. I recommend reading the article.
The concept is not about travel by car. It is about active transport (walking, cycling) and the use of public transport. The goal is that this combination of modes would offer a reasonably sized catchment area in which people, jobs and services, including recreational opportunities and nature, are accessible.
People love the idea of 20-minute neighbourhoods, The Conversation, 19/2/2020
