Melbourne Papers
Waiting for walkable solutions - a problem in progress
Ian Napier, Director, IN Partnership Consulting Pty Ltd, Cathy Edwards-Davis, Traffic Engineer, North Sydney Council
Summary: The municipality of North Sydney lies immediately north of the Harbour Bridge from the Sydney CBD. With a rare balance of jobs and residences in an area no more than 4 kms. across, it is potentially a highly walkable community but topography and vehicle traffic conspire to limit that potential. In the late '60s a swathe was cut through the middle of the community to accommodate a major expressway that has divided the community both physically and psychologically ever since. The paper focuses on an intersection on the expressway offering one of the limited opportunities for east west pedestrian movement where new vehicle access ramps further compromise walking trip times. It examines the complex issues of contracts, local government and community involvement in decision making, the apparent imperative to improve vehicle access at the expense of pedestrians, explores such issues as the different perceptions of time when waiting or walking, compares the offered and potential solutions and concludes with a discussion of how such severance effects can be ameliorated drawing on examples elsewhere. ... More
Walk and Roll
The Evolution of a Successful Walk to School Programme | Kirstin Schwass Morton Way Public School
Summary: In 1999, a survey conducted at Morton Way Public School indicated that far fewer than 60 percent of the students in grades one to five regularly used active means of transportation, such as walking and cycling, to get to school, even though they all lived less than a kilometre and a half away. A school-wide campaign was launched to encourage students and their parents to leave the car at home more often. The goals were to promote active, healthy lifestyles and to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion around the school. Various motivational strategies were implemented and regular communication with parents and caregivers, regarding the importance of walking to school, was initiated. Morton Way has actively and successfully promoted walking to school through a variety of program elements including weekly Walking Wednesdays; 'Walking Weeks' (International Walk to School Week, Earth Week and Environment Week); parent-led walking school buses along designated routes; and student participation in the 'IWALK Club', which tracks on a card, the number of times walked. Every Wednesday, and every day of the 'Walking Weeks', between 80per cent and 95percent of the students walk or roll to school. Through the 'Walk and Roll' program, Morton Way has helped to build a sense of community among its members, kept the children safer on their routes to school, improved the air quality in the school vicinity and helped to increase physical activity levels of the students. ... More
Walk for Well-being
Chrissie Williams, Doutta Galla Community Health Services
Summary: Outline and outcomes from the Walk for Well-being project which started with the goal to: increase mental well-being and social connectedness through increased participation in walking in a group setting. ... More
Walking and public transport - a natural partnership
Garry Glazebrook, University of Technology, Sydney
Summary: Australian cities have become more car-dominated. In Sydney car-kilometers per person increased by 16% between 1991 and 2003, whereas the distance travelled per person fell by 3% for trains, 7% for buses and 11% for walking. This trend has been encouraged by free or cheap parking, with an estimated subsidy in Sydney of $2.7 billion p.a. in 2006. Travel data from Sydney shows the close links between walking and public transport, with roughly half of the kilometres walked being associated with a public transport trip. Using more public transport will lead to more walking, whereas using cars more will reduce walking, and with it valuable health benefits from exercise. Reversing past trend will require better urban design in both new and established areas, and major improvements to public transport, as well measures to reduce subsidies for using cars. ... More
Walking and the creative archiving of local environments
Sightings and Stillness - The Great South West Walk | Carmel Wallace
Summary: The Great South West Walk Art Project celebrates the unique beauty and the increasingly endangered natural environments cradled in the far southwest corner of Victoria, and walking as an all-encompassing method of experiencing such environments. The project explores the ramifications of our need to physically and spiritually possess the land. Stories of place underlie the connection people feel to their environment and strengthen their will to protect it. The outcomes of this project will contribute to the 'archive' of description and interpretation available for the spectacular but fragile landscape traversed by the GSWW. The concept of gathering together a group of experienced artists, specializing in different media, was developed with the aims of presenting (in exhibitions and accompanying catalogue/book and documentary film) a comprehensive interpretation of this environment and encouraging the cross-fertilization of ideas and methodologies in art practice. The project encourages and facilitates a community celebration of its unique walking track. It is supported by numerous partnerships and grants, both locally and on a state and national level. ... More
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