Walking and cycling for a liveable city

Walking and cycling are efficient and active transport modes that can move large numbers of people across dense environments. They also emit zero air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and noise while improving the vibrancy of places. They are ideal for short local trips and for connecting the last leg of public transport journeys.

Walkable places – the City, Town and Group Centres

To support liveable neighbourhoods and urban intensification, the future transport network will feature high quality walking environments in the city and urban intensification areas, including town, group and local centres and school zones. These areas will see:

• high quality footpaths;
• seating to allow rest stops for older people;
• safe opportunities to cross the road; and
• clear walking priority at intersections.

The Government has committed to trial new ways of using roads that most efficiently move people and goods and better support walking, cycling and public transport.

This work will also look at best practice road intersection design from around the world to inform trials of new intersection design, in areas supported by the Movement and Place framework, that prioritise walking and cycling.

The ACT Government will develop best practice guidance for industry and stakeholders to inform better design outcomes for active travel infrastructure.

Walkable suburbs and school environments

COVID-19 restrictions saw more people walking and cycling around their local area, frequenting local shops, socialising with their neighbours and getting exercise. To lock in these positive trends, we will need to provide high-quality walking environments in Canberra’s suburbs to improve access to local shops and public transport. Streets in school environments will put people first by prioritising pedestrian and cyclist safety and be designed with the specific needs of children and parents in mind. Local streets will be designed to be safe, intuitive environments for people walking and cycling.

Canberra’s Living Infrastructure Plan includes a goal to increase shade cover of Canberra’s urban footprint by increasing the number trees located on footpaths and shared paths. This will contribute to the quality of walking environment and improve resilience in the context of a changing climate.

The Safe Systems approach will be used to assess safe speeds to support vulnerable road users walking and cycling in Canberra’s town, group and local centres and school environments.

Build the CBR cycle routes network

Cycling is also an efficient way to support land use intensification in Canberra, as well as improve health outcomes and reduce carbon emissions. Due to Canberra’s low-density layout, local trips that cannot be made by walking are often more practical when made by bicycle. Electric bikes are also extending the distance over which it is easy to cycle and making cycling more attractive to a broader range of people. Canberra’s relatively flat gradients, dry climate and already existing off-road share path network, make it a transport mode with considerable potential for growth.

Canberra has an extensive network of off-road paths, but they don’t always connect people to where they need to go. Existing paths, like roads, also require ongoing maintenance. To make cycling a more attractive travel option, the future CBR cycle routes network will build new and upgraded off- road paths and protected bike lanes for trips across the city and to support urban intensification areas, the Parliamentary Zone and planned growth areas such as the Molonglo Valley. Recognising there are a wide variety of people who cycle or would like to cycle in Canberra, infrastructure will be suitable
for all ages and abilities. We are using our stimulus program to accelerate the roll-out of CBR cycle routes by constructing key network and safety improvements, undertaking maintenance on existing paths, as well as installing wayfinding signage.

Bike and Ride particularly offers an effective way to connect more people to public transport, by integrating cycle parking and safe cycle routes with rapid transport. Our buses and light rail vehicles can also carry bikes which makes more places in Canberra accessible to people using a combination of walking, cycling and public transport options.

When new roads are built or roads are upgraded, they will be future proofed for cycling and walking, with the provision of infrastructure according to a case-by-case assessment based on the future network of local links as well as Movement and Place and Safe Systems principles and Municipal Infrastructure Standards for Active Travel.

The Government will also continue to work with the National Capital Authority to encourage walking and cycling around the Parliamentary Triangle including congested sections of routes around and across Lake Burley Griffin.

An adaptable and flexible approach

As the COVID-19 experience has shown, our travel patterns can change rapidly, and our transport system needs to be flexible in order to respond effectively. Many cities across the globe – Paris and London, for example, but also Sydney and Melbourne – have adapted their transport systems to the pandemic by allocating additional road space to “pop-up” bike lanes and wider footpaths. The network structure of this strategy enables Canberra to allocate more space for cycling, walking and micro-mobility along central corridors and local links.

Street layouts that encourage walking and cycling

Our transport network will take a future focus to cycling and walking, recognising that facilities need to be built ahead of time to shape transport behaviour for the future. Footpaths and shared paths will be built in new suburbs to anticipate and build walking and cycling demand, ahead of the curve.

The road layouts of Canberra’s infill and new estates will be designed to make walking and cycling the natural choice, to promote social and physical wellbeing. Drawing from the Movement and Place Framework, and demonstrated success of suburbs like Vauban in Germany and others from around the world, the layout of new infill places and greenfield suburbs will structure permeability in the following ways:

• Internal suburbs: walking and cycling;
• Inter-suburb and intertown permeability: public transport; and
• Cross city permeability: car and freight.

This will reinforce Canberra’s network structure and contribute to liveable neighbourhoods and vibrant places.

The Government will look at improvements to lighting along key walking and cycling corridors to improve safety and make walking and cycling attractive to a wider range of people, across different times of the day.

An updated strategic plan for active travel

The ACT Government will develop a strategic plan and update Building an Integrated Network – Active Travel (often referred to as the Active Travel Framework) to provide coordinated active travel networks across the Territory.

Active Travel Office and community engagement

The Active Travel Office acts as the key liaison point for the ACT Government on active travel. The Office develops policy, delivers programs and provides expert advice on walking and cycling.

The ACT Government has expanded the role of the Active Travel Office and schools-based active travel initiatives and will continue to ensure that the Office has a leading role in policy development. In addition to the award-winning work with schools, the Office will work across ACT Government to develop an ongoing public education campaign about the practical measures people can take to adopt new walking and cycling habits for local trips, or in combination with public transport.

The Office will continue to work with local communities to find innovative solutions such as the Slower Streets initiative. Slower Streets promotes awareness of local streets as places for walking, cycling and community activity and encourages motorists to slow down.

Shared and micro-mobility

The ACT Government supports micro-mobility share schemes as ways to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of cycling as a ‘last kilometre’ solution.

The Government will expand dockless bike share to include electric scooters and electric bikes for use in public spaces across Canberra and continue to welcome shared car and micro-mobility schemes to provide options for Canberrans. To ensure the full benefits of these schemes are realised, associated policies will be reviewed on an ongoing basis to ensure they are achieving the objectives of the transport strategy and other government policy.