Written by Jed Finnane | Online Tutorial Series
Cycling infrastructure is enshrined in most municipal transport policies. The City of Darwin’s Movement Strategy dictates that bicycle and emerging micro-mobility infrastructures are to be coherent, attractive and safe (City of Darwin 2030). However, as with most bike strategies around the country, little attention is given to defining the specific qualities of attractiveness, often neglecting other important aspects such as comfort and directness (CROW). Given that cyclists and vehicles are legally equal users on Australian roads (Carruthers 2017), it is not surprising that cycling infrastructure has fallen under the responsibilities of transport engineers for decades. Unravelling the Cycling City course revealed to me that, in order for new infrastructures to be embraced, there is an urgent need to shift away from the traditional ‘space allocation’ approach of engineers to one that prioritises the rider’s experience and perspective in its design.
Anyone who rides a bike will know that cycling has uniquely different mobility needs compared to walking and driving. Forsyth and Krizek (2011) point out the incompatibility of cycling with both pedestrian infrastructures and auto-oriented design strategies — situating cycling at the critical intersection of the domains of transportation planners and urban designers. The shift in focus “beyond a concern with safe and convenient facilities and complete networks to a more substantial interest in the experience of the environment from a cyclist’s point of view” perfectly articulated my complex frustrations with Australia’s lagging approach. Darwin’s network of “shared paths” barely satisfies their outlined functional aspects of dimension, materiality, cohesion, safety or completeness. By centering the discussion on a cyclist’s perspective of broader aspects to do with street morphology, sensory perceptions, social contexts, time, and visual and aesthetic aspects, many lessons can be learned.
Bertolini and le Clercq (2003) emphasised the direct relationship between successful integration of sustainable mobility and land-use patterns in urban development strategies. Encouraging a greater mix of land-use and medium-density development greatly enhances human-powered mobility and accessibility, which is defined as the amount and diversity of spatial opportunities that can be reached within a certain amount of time (Bertolini 2003). How many more stops do people make at shops, parks, or friends’ homes while riding a bike? How lively does the urban environment become when people are riding through it? Within the context of Darwin’s sprawling low-density land-use patterns and lack of pedestrian infrastructure, it’s easy to understand why car dependency dominates. By analysing existing land-use patterns through the authors’ “spatial reach: activity intensity” perspective, practitioners can prioritise middle-to-high-intensity use areas rather than focusing solely on A-to-B projects that connect very little with not much else.
Kager and Harms (2017) emphasize the potential of an emancipated cyclist in a spatially-rich urban fabric, describing what many cyclists have been practicing for years: the increased ability to personalize journeys due to the greater choice that cycling provides. As they explain, “With a typical cycling speed 3 times higher than rapid walking (15-18 km/hr vs 5-6 km/hr), cycling can cover 3 times the distance in the same time. In particular, the quadratic relationship between radius and area means that cycling can cover a 9 times larger catchment area than walking.” (Kager et al. 2017). This is particularly relevant to semi-rural, car-dependent towns found in the Northern Territory. Without an extensive transit network or guaranteed pedestrian infrastructure, one may wonder to what extent cycling can fill the gap. While riding through the streets, I ponder the tourism, social, and economic benefits we could reap from increased liveliness in public spaces and the feelings of independence, connectedness, enjoyment, alertness, happiness, and overall attractiveness of places that come with more people riding bikes.
The perspective from the saddle is crucial. For Darwin to surpass Canberra as the true cycling capital of the country (BicycleNetwork, 2023), the municipality would greatly benefit from recognizing the expertise of urban designers in active transport conversations. A nuanced understanding of cyclists’ needs requires focusing on making the experience of riding a bike the more appealing, convenient, and attractive mobility option. To achieve this, urban designers can play a vital role in shaping infrastructure and public spaces that prioritize cyclists’ comfort, safety, and overall satisfaction.
Remaining Questions
- What are Darwin’s unique seasonal implications for intersection design, canopy coverage, and path materiality?
- How can mixed-use development be encouraged to eliminate food deserts and support 15-minute walkable neighbourhoods?
- When faced with a long list of actions, how do we prioritise?
References
- Bertolini, L., & le Clercq, F. (2003). ‘Urban development without more mobility by car? Lessons from Amsterdam, a multimodal urban region’. Environment and Planning A, 35(4), 575–589. https://doi.org/10.1068/a3592
- Bicycle Network. 2023, ‘Duper Tuesday Commuter Counts’, electronic dataset, Bicycle Network Data Dashboard, https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/our-services/transport-surveys-and-data/data-dashboard/
- Carruthers, A. 2017. ‘Cyclists and motorists aren’t equal on the road — so let’s stop pretending they are’, The Conversation, viewed 18 May 2024, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-17/cyclists-and-motorists-arent-equal-on-the-road-the-conversation/8813706
- CROW, ‘Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic’, CROW, Utrecht.
- City of Darwin, 2024. ‘2030 Movement Strategy’, Policy guidelines, CoD, Darwin.
- Forsyth, A., & Krizek, K. 2011. ‘Urban Design: Is there a Distinctive View from the Bicycle?’, Journal of Urban Design, 16(4), 531–549. https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2011.586239
- Kager, R., & Harms, L. 2017. ‘Synergies from improved bicycle-transit integration Towards an integrated urban mobility system’. International Transport Forum. Retrieved from https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/improved-cycling-transit-integration-synergies.pdf
