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Tag: Cycling

Newtown Square – build identity and connect businesses

Published 2020/08/31 by Mr Hounsell

Built around Sydney’s tramways in 1890s, Newtown needs KPIs to prioritise humans not cars.

Proposed changes overlaid on aerial photography

The proposed transformation will activate Newtown as a premier destination for locals, as well as domestic and international visitors.

  • Bring the tram sheds back to life – creating a new gathering point. Landscape and open the areas around the tram sheds, with increased passive surveillance and human scale lighting. Make more spaces to sit, reducing crowding, and create new cooling green islands.
  • Create quicker connections between business areas with new paths. Most people head straight to northern King St. Use shared identity, anchors, and wayfinding to encourage visitors to spread.
    • Newtown only receives 10% of the international visitors as the Opera House
    • Reactivate Brennan Lane and the old path along the Bank Hotel.
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Demonstrating place making and safe streets in Enmore

Published 2020/08/30 by Mr Hounsell

Making Enmore’s commons safer for children, removing rat-runs, and giving more space to people

Proposed changes overlaid on aerial photography

This compact area can be used as a low-cost minimal-disruption demonstration transformation.

  • Safe 30 km/h limit in these narrow residential streets will increase pedestrian safety, decrease pollution, and will achieve Vision Zero.
    • Speed limits of 50km/h on narrow streets (60km/h on Liberty St) are dangerous and frequently results in accident and near-misses.
  • Raised continuous sidewalk on all roads throughout the area will psychologically calm traffic by showing the area is human-centric.
    • The daylighting zones will be enhanced with seating, tables, and swings.
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Returning space to the people to make Stanmore a Place again

Published 2020/08/29 by Mr Hounsell

Opening the Stanmore commons to make space for people, businesses, and cooling greenery.

Proposed changes overlaid on aerial photography

The Sydney Metro Sydenham to Bankstown conversion will see a train stopping at Stanmore:

  • every 3 minutes in peak-hours,
  • every 8 minutes off-peak,
  • currently waiting time is at least 15 minutes.

A protected cycleway will soon be installed on Gordon Crescent and Railway Avenue connecting Petersham to the universities, CBD, and beyond.

The inner-west cycleway network overlaid on an aerial photograph
– Stanmore Station is circled in purple.

These changes will make Stanmore an accessible location for the western corridor.

These changes transform the 1950’s car-centric design focused on through-traffic, into an attractive human-centric commons:

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‘Huge statement’: cycling group wants Harbour Bridge lane for commute

Published 2020/05/19 by mathew

It’s great to see the well-connected lobby groups also calling for improved active transport.

The [Committee for Sydney] is also advocating for the fast-tracking of the state’s planned Greater Sydney cycle network to be completed in three years as a post-COVID-19 economic stimulus initiative.

The Harbour Bridge proposal, by cycling group Bike North, would see the far-western traffic lane of the bridge reserved for south-bound bike users and the existing cycleway restricted for riders heading north to allow space for social distancing in transit.

Thompson (2020-05-19)
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‘Carmageddon’: Thousands of Sydneysiders to be pushed off public transport

Published 2020/05/16 by mathew

‘Hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders will have to change their commuting habits over the coming weeks as the state government looks to impose strict controls on the public transport network that may result in traffic havoc on the roads.’

Rabe (2020-05-16)

My Quotes

Transport experts have warned Sydney’s road network is unlikely to cope if everyone swaps their bus or train commute for a car.

“We are looking at basically ‘carmageddon’, where all the roads are full with the people that were on buses and trains [but are now] in cars,” University of Technology transport expert Mathew Hounsell said.

“You’re going to have the underlying problem that the road system cannot support all of the people that will need to come off public transport.”

He said as well as temporary bike lanes and a shake-up to some bus services, the best way the government could maintain some order on the roads would be to keep people working at home or commuting outside of peak hours.

“There will be roughly 800,000 people now needing to travel without using public transport, they can’t all go onto the roads,” Mr Hounsell said.

“We need to make some choices between what people are used to versus what will keep people safe in the long term.”

Rabe (2020-05-16)
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Limits on train commuters, more CBD parking and bike lanes as Sydney returns to work

Published 2020/05/15 by mathew

‘The state government may be forced to open up more city parking and build temporary bike lanes as commuters avoid public transport when offices in the heart of Sydney start to reopen.

Transport experts predict the easing of pandemic restrictions will cause a surge in traffic in the coming weeks as people avoid trains, buses and ferries. The pressure on Sydney’s roads will also be hit by tough social distancing rules imposed at train stations and on buses for those who do choose to take public transport.’

Rabe (2020-05-15)
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