Posts by Phil Latz
Murray to Mountains Rail Trail Extension Underway
One of Australia’s longest and most heavily used rail trails is being extended by a further 30 kilometres. The first new stretch will link tourist towns Beechworth and Yackandandah at a cost of $5.2 million. It will be open by Autumn 2021 and stretch 25 kilometres. A further five kilometres from Yackandandah to Osborne’s Flat…
Australia’s Oldest Bike Share Scheme to be Axed… Then Upgraded
CityCycle in Brisbane is Australia’s largest and oldest bike share scheme. The scheme was founded 10 years ago when the Campbell Newman lead Brisbane City Council signed a deal with French multinational advertising signage company JCDecaux. Under the deal, JCDecaux took over the lucrative exclusive rights for advertising signage throughout Brisbane’s street furniture and buses…
More Pop-Up Cycleways Announced for NSW
Further to the first six pop-up cycleways already constructed that we wrote about here, on 23rd November 2020 Transport for NSW announce plans for a further 14 projects across Sydney and regional NSW. These include the local government areas of North Sydney, Randwick, Inner West, Parramatta, Woollahra, Newcastle, Shoalhaven, Eurobodalla, Goulburn and Wollongong. You can…
USA Public Volunteers US$1 Billion for Cycling
In the USA, just like Australia, motor vehicle transportation receives the lion’s share of government transportation funding each year, with public and active transportation left to share the crumbs. However, unlike Australia, in the USA they have systems within their lower levels of government (state, city and county) in which propositions which exceed certain support…
Where Does Your City Rank in Cycling Friendliness?
In an Australian first, cycling advocacy group We Ride Australia has applied a new tool to score every Australian capital on the ability to travel by bicycle between key local destinations. The Bicycle Transport Analysis (BTA) project was developed by We Ride’s partners in the USA and uses open source, publicly available data. More than…
Media Personality Osher Gunsberg Joins New Look We Ride Australia Board
“We could not be happier that someone with Osher’s profile has committed to help us realise the vision of the Foundation to make Australia a better place to ride a bike.” Neelesh Mehta – Chair of We Ride Osher Gunsberg is well known as the host of national TV series including Australian Idol, The Bachelor…
Netherlands Reduces Default Speed Limit Nation-wide… 30 is the New 50
On Tuesday, 27 October 2020, a majority in the House of Representatives approved a plan to introduce a standard limit of 30 kph in built-up areas, replacing the previous 50 kph. Their objective is to reduce road casualties, specifically in areas with schools and strong concentration of children. Esther van Gardere, CEO of Fietsersbond, the…
Remarkable Turnaround for Symbolic College Street Bike Path
Five years ago, one of the most heavily used protected bicycle paths in Australia that had been built at a cost of five million dollars, ripped out by an anti-cycling Roads Minister. The state was New South Wales, the path was along College Street in the CBD of Sydney and the then Minister for Roads…
Some Concrete Improvements for Melbourne…
Rathdowne Street is a major cycling route connecting the northern suburbs of Melbourne into the CBD. Despite being host to a steady stream of cyclists every weekday morning in particular, it had a particularly dangerous stretch approaching the major intersection with Victoria St just next to the Carlton Gardens and Royal Exhibition Building. Cyclists previously…
New Report Details Bike and Scooter Share’s Rapid Growth
Most people with an interest in the topic would instinctively know that bike share and scooter share are growing. But a new report gives us some more concrete evidence. The North American Bike Share Association (NABSA) recently released their first annual Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report. NABSA is uniquely placed to gather and…