Active transport for schools in Australia – an educated approach

As a nation we have consciously prioritised the car, as community perceptions of time value, safety and comfort changed. The private car offers the luxury of efficient door to door movement within a private space that is practically an extension of our homes¹.

Thanks to the relatively low cost of cars in Australia, ownership is more common than not with more than 85 percent of households owning at least one car. And we are often surprised when someone tells us that they do not own a car. “How do you get around?” and “What if it’s raining?” we ask. Particularly for those living outside cities where residential development sprawls and public transport is limited.

If anything positive came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would have to be the realisation that being able to get outside in our local community and walk or cycle is absolutely priceless. It has sped up the transition towards choosing active transport and micro-mobility over car travel for local trips. Bicycle network counts across Australia showed the number of people on bikes increased by more than 300 percent on some cycleways during the pandemic² and you only had to step out of your front door to notice the increase in people walking dogs.

Local and state governments across Australia have reacted positively to this societal change with the rollout of new cycleways and links. Initiatives that were planned to be temporary, are now permanent facilities. However, there is still room for significant improvement in commitment and funding allocation with cycling only receiving approximately two percent of transport budgets³.

Of all modes, active transport requires some of the least disruptive and least expensive changes to existing infrastructure and can often be implemented in a shorter timeframe compared to alternatives such as mass transit or car infrastructure. Active transport can also generate significant environmental, economic and social benefits when compared to the level of investment required.

It is, however, important that we take a broader approach than just building new infrastructure. We need to ensure communities are aware and equipped with the knowledge of how to use these facilities safely, and how they can be of personal benefit. In this busy world, we all need a little reminding that being active is beneficial for both body and mind. This is particularly important for our young and most vulnerable who require a well-balanced lifestyle and for whom active transport can be a key component of such a life.

Lessons learnt from international case studies demonstrate the success of such an approach. For example, the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Active School Travel program (see below) in Ireland shows that active transport solutions for school journeys perform best when accompanied by an educated approach to changing behaviour and attitudes. It is more than just an infrastructure project; it is a cultural and educational program. The Dun Laoghaire Rathdown project has delivered an inclusive network, enhanced biodiversity, promoted community stewardship and strengthened the local economy.

he NSW Government has a vision to double the number of trips made on foot or by bike, from the current 1.5 billion trips a year, over the next two decades⁴. An important part of this increase will be prioritising school journeys and catering for active transport for children, which can result in a generational shift towards an uptake in cycling. To successfully and inclusively deliver this change we must take a collaborative approach.

Understanding movement and place through data

Successful active transport programs are underpinned by sound analysis and understanding of existing users and place. Data can help to support in building this understanding, however, it is important to build a strategy about what data is being gathered, how it is assessed and how it will be monitored long-term.

Questions that need to be answered are, for example ‘Where do children currently cycle?’, ‘How much do they cycle?’, ‘What is the state of the existing active transport infrastructure?’ and ‘What does the community think about active transport?’.

Understanding and evaluating different aspects of the current state of active transport in a suburb, town or region allows transport and urban planners, and governments to combine quantitative methods and data with qualitative methods like interviews and focus groups to gain a holistic understanding.

Taking a long-term strategic approach

Having an aligned vision which identifies clear goals and sets agreed targets to achieve desired outcomes is important to delivering long term objectives. To ensure ownership and commitment, planners must involve the right stakeholders at the right times to integrate and link active transport policy to other policies and strategies relating to urban planning, sustainability, health and the environment.

This is necessary whether it is a large city or a small regional town. The approach must be an integrated one that starts with the end user.

Meaningful community engagement

One of the biggest barriers to active mobility projects can be community perception and misunderstanding. Cycling should be promoted as a normal everyday activity that everybody can enjoy regardless of gender, age or income.

By taking an active, outcomes-focused approach to engagement, we can take communities on the journey through the development of active places.

When planning school cycling networks in particular, the community will be divided into different groups with different needs and opinions: from the child user to the parents, pedestrians sharing the network, and the car users or other modes of transport users who will also need to adapt to any changes in the system.

By involving the whole community from the start of the process, they can collectively set the vision for their place and outcomes to measure success. Designs can then be iterated against these outcomes and communities can be involved in trade off discussions.

Tools that can be used throughout the different phases of consultation include:

• citizen involvement
• branding campaigns, and
• behaviour change measures and activities.

Integrated design for the most vulnerable user

If we want to normalise cycling for school children, we need to design our networks for these most vulnerable users. In most regions, it is regarded that children from the age of 12 are mentally able to cycle alone. However, until that age, they should be accompanied because they are not able to completely understand the signage or other users’ intentions.

When it comes to planning and designing active transport networks and infrastructure in Australia, progress has been made in recent years. However, there are plenty of lessons learned and success stories from countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland, which can be leveraged and adapted to a local context to improve safe and accessible cycling networks in and around schools.

Design factors like reducing speed limits or lowering curbs, while simple and effective, need to be considered in the behavioural context of local users. That includes everything from street design to intelligent transport systems (ITS), ground engineering, landscape architecture, climate adaptation and stormwater handling. It is important to consider all design factors and how they can be integrated into the local network because when you get these very visible types of projects wrong, bad infrastructure can be just as bad as having no infrastructure; people will be quick to highlight any issues and it essentially becomes unused.

Some important integrated design elements to consider include:

• Design manuals and guidelines are important not just for designers but to influence the way people use the infrastructure. These can act as guides for schools, parents and those who have never previously used active transport.
• Bicycle parking can be upgraded at schools with the potential for schools to provide bicycles for children that can be taken home and returned. This is particularly important in low-socioeconomic areas where not every child has access to a bike.
• To ensure safety, a review of ITS and signals needs to be completed.
• Wayfinding and signage should be upgraded so that it can be easily understood by children. Signage needs to be fun but clear and can be part of the activity process whilst on the journey. For example, the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown project has wayfinding markers in three different colours for the three different routes.
• Facilitating first and last mile active transport solutions to take into consideration those children who need to use other forms of transport as part of their school journeys. One of the defining features of the Australian transport network is distance. Children can be required to travel much further distances to get to school than in other countries, so where direct walking or cycling is not possible, then an active transport solution can be integrated into the overall journey.
• When considering the urban and landscape integration, cycle paths can be used to enhance what is already there, improving the area and making it more liveable and accessible for a much broader range of people. Take this into account when selecting routes. Consider where children might already be playing and adapt that infrastructure.
• Cycle parking for those that have a higher density and less open space will require different solutions to those where bikes can be stored at home and where there is more space for cycle infrastructure but greater journey distances

It is also important to think of how existing or underutilised infrastructure can be reused. There are many fantastic examples of former above ground rail lines where the corridor has been repurposed for active transport such as The Goods Line in Sydney and the Rail Corridor in Singapore.

There are many barriers, both physically and culturally, to implementing active transport projects, and these are even greater when you are focusing specifically on schools. However, in many respects the greatest challenge is not the infrastructure itself but attitudes towards it.

Taking an educated approach to active transport for schools in Australia will ultimately lead to increased health, wellbeing and environmental benefits for communities allowing this mode to become an integrated part of the school commuting network.

¹ Active schools | Ride2School | Bicycle Network

² Opinion: Build a path out of the crisis | Bicycle Network

³ Fewer of us are cycling – here’s how we can reverse the decline

⁴ Strategic cycleway corridors for Greater Sydney | Transport for NSW