Resistance show us how to get people out of the car & onto the street for active transport. Presentation at Australian Walking & Cycling Conference, 19 October 2023
Take action for a healthier planet and brighter future.
Backlash Shows Way Forward - Australian Walking & Cycling Conference 2023.ppt
1. Resistance shows us how to
get people out of the car & onto
the street for active transport
presentation by
Gillian King
to
Australian Walking and Cycling Conference 2023
‘Pathways to Change’
Unley, Kaurna Land
19-20 October 2023
2. About me
• Thought leader
• Speaker
• Sustainability strategist, facilitator & coach
• Focus: integrity for flourishing in a
habitable climate
– Specialise in framing, urban design, faith
leadership, and investment
– Talk about #integrity, #communication, and
#faithinaction
3. About me
• Long-term interest in climate change & urban
planning
– scientist, policy-maker, community member,
activist
– interested in systemic change, game-changers
• 20+ years Aust Gov’t policy, management
– environment (particularly climate change), industry
& ageing
• Leadership positions to increase engagement
of people of faith on these matters
• Convenor, Living Streets Canberra
13. Getting out of the car to get around
• We live in a culture where car travel is the
default ‘norm’ for getting around.
– We see it in our suburbs and regional towns.
– We see it on our streets and in buildings.
– We hear it on the radio, with our ‘Drive’
programs.
20. Economy, financial eg $, buy, sell, share market, exchange
rate, commodities, prices, GDP, Work hard and (eventually)
you can be rewarded (eg by retiring)
Growth, more, building, improvement, fast, better = good
Celebrity, fashion, design, appearance, food – fast,
engineered, ‘perfect’
Man-made objects (eg cars, buildings, food, fashion, faces,
bodies)
Refinement = improvement: natural = primitive = bad
Extrinsic value
Dehumanising, objectifying, abstracting
I/me, you, status, ownership, control, closed, fast
21.
22. 30km/h streets
• Default speed limit
• Proposed:
–‘unilaterally’
–’out of the blue’
• Canberra (May 2023)
• Borough of Queenscliff
23. Canberra - context
• Canberra designed & built for cars
• Population, road safety and potholes pressures
• 27 Nov 2022: shift infrastructure $ to AT (PP)
• 7 Dec 2022: ACT road maintenance $ increase
• 16 Dec 2022: shift to slow shared streets (LSC)
• Jan 2023: 2 petitions re safety 1 school area
• 7 Feb 2023: fewer carparks for flats in future (ACT)
• 9 Apr 2023: cut carparks (ACT consultant, 2017)
• 2 May 2023: 30km/h streets (PP)
53. Resistance: Active travelers are
stupid, should obey laws
People with
earphones don’t
pay attention
People
walk/ride
against red
lights
Will cyclists
have to obey
30km/h too?
69. Help our elected reps to lead
Political leaders don’t like being on the bleeding
edge – they like being on the congealing edge
(Barrie Seppings, Better Streets)
Help change the conversations & thinking:
• Listen…then reframe, correct, educate
• Speak up:
– Comment, Letters to Editor, Call/Text radio
– Transport Equity Week