….. cyclists second, public transport third, delivery vehicles fourth….. and private vehicles last.
The Transport for NSW (TfNSW) Road User Space Allocation Policy sets out this hierarchy and aims to correct 70 years of urban design based on the motor vehicle. Car-first thinking has resulted in congested, unsafe and uninviting streets and serious public health problems related to inactivity and air pollution.
Motorways are great at getting you from A to B in no time (so long as it’s not peak hour!) but when suburban streets and town centres are treated to prioritise fast movement of vehicles, traffic sewers develop where pedestrians and other active transport users cannot move around freely or safely.
Streets and suburbs are not just thoroughfares for increasingly large cars to pass through at greater speeds.
They are public spaces for work and play, which is why all TfNSW road projects are now subject to the Movement and Place Framework, which strives to seek a balance between movement between destinations and what communities need to thrive.
Bicycle NSW is calling on best practice in urban design, and not just minimum standards. At the top of this list, and in line with the National Road Safety Strategy for Vision Zero (road deaths) is speed reduction.
