City of Melbourne Gets Proactive About Cycling

Car parks will make way for footpaths and 12 kilometres of pop-up cycling lanes will be built to allow people to socially distance in Melbourne’s city centre as COVID-19 restrictions start to ease. The move by Melbourne City Council follows the lead of cities such as Berlin and Milan, which are redrawing road markings to…

Six New ‘Temporary’ Cycleways for Sydney

On Monday 18th May the NSW Minister for Roads and Transport Andrew Constance and the Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore jointly announced a number of temporary initiatives across the city to give people more options to safely walk, cycle and commute to work. These include six new pop up cycleways in key commuter areas across…

Two New Cycling Friendly Initiatives by NSW Government Total $35 million

In an announcement reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday 8th May, Mr Stokes announced a further $15 million to encourage local councils to widen walkways, close roads and create new cycle paths under a new state government scheme designed to accommodate greater use of public outdoor space. Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob…

You Can Now Sign a Petition Calling for Safer Cycling

In our previous newsletter we posted this article about a letter signed by over 100 leading Australian health and transport experts, calling upon all levels of government to make cycling and walking safer. Now this letter is open to be signed by any interested party via an online petition that has already gathered thousands of…

Over 100 Prominent Australian Thought Leaders Call for More Cycling

On Thursday 23rd April, over 100 Australian health and transport experts called on decision makers to enact urgent measures to support safe walking and cycling and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can see their letter here. The Australian Government has recognised the importance of remaining physically active during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has…

We Ride Australia’s Bicycle Summit Announced, But USA Tour Cancelled

Australia’s bicycle industry funded national cycling advocacy organisation We Ride Australia has announced that their annual Australian Bicycle Summit will be held in Canberra. This year’s Summit will return to Canberra after a four year absence while the summit was held in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne respectively. The date has been set for Wednesday 19th…

How to Increase Your Lifespan by Years

A study published on 2nd March in the scientific journal Cardiovascular Research has concluded that air pollution reduces average life expectancy for all people worldwide by three years. In comparison, tobacco shortens life expectancy by 2.2 years, HIV and Aids by 0.7 years and violence and deaths in wars by 0.3 years. The researchers from…

Lowering Speed Limits Will Save Cyclists’ Lives

This was one of the key messages to come out of a series of two Road Safety Symposiums held in Sydney on 11th March and Melbourne on 12th March. Speakers included Professor Fred Wegman from the Netherlands who is widely regarded as a world leading expert on road safety, John Merritt, former CEO of Vic…

Diverse Talent to Strengthen We Ride Australia’s Board

On 30th January, the national independent voice for cycling, We Ride Australia, held its annual general meeting in Torquay, Victoria as part of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race event. At the meeting, two new Directors were appointed. Professor Ian Buchannan, Director of the Institute for Social Transformation at the University of Wollongong NSW…