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

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

4. About me
Transport Equity in Australia

5. Outline – a taster!

7. Priorities?

8. Priorities?

9. Priorities?

10. Priorities?

11. Priorities?

12. Priorities?

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.

14. Priorities

15. Priorities

16. Waste space, damage cities

17. Wasteful & damaging

18. Advertising, Psychology & Systems Thinking

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

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)

25. Canberra: Pedal Power
Online & paper: 189 comments online
Online: 67 comments

26. …social media…

27. …+ more…

28. …+more…

29. Queenscliff LGA: Council

30. Resistance: Ridiculous!

31. ‘Good’ replies -> Change
May 2023: 30km/h streets in Canberra
Canberra Times
189 comments

32. Resistance: Extremist minority
Pandering to
few vocal
extremists
Kids playing
on road =
bad parents
Council
over-reach

33. Resistance: Extremist minority

34. Reframe: Official, Majority

35. Resistance: Evidence?
Separate
paths avoid
crashes
Where is the
evidence that this
would be better?
Ideological

36. Resistance: 40/50 km/h is safe
40km/h and
50km/h seem
pretty safe to
me

37. Resistance: Evidence?

38. Reframe: If outside a car,
only <30km/h safe

39. Reframe: Sweet spot b/w
safety, noise, time. + Bonuses

40. Resistance:
Separate by speed

41. Reframe: How do you get
to/from paths, cross streets?

42. Resistance:
How many are killed [here]?
How many
pedestrians & cyclists
are killed in [place]?
Approximately 0 each
year!

43. Resistance:
How many are killed [here]?

45. Resistance:
How many are killed [here]?

46. Reframe: How many are scared?

47. Resistance: Keep off the road
I ride a bike -
on the bike
path.
Get off the road – it’s
way safer on paths!
Stick to the paths!

48. Resistance:
Keep off the road!

49. Reframe: How do you get
to/from paths, cross streets?

50. Resistance: Keep off the road
If you want to
share the road,
then pay for [bike]
registration!

51. Resistance: Keep off the road

52. Reframe: Streets are public
infrastructure, Kids ride bikes

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?

54. Resistance: Active travelers
shouldn’t break the law

55. Resistance: Active travelers
shouldn’t break the law

56. Reframe: Killing [stupid]
people is against the law

57. Reframe: Active travelers do
get fined for breaking the law

59. Speed limit change not enough

60. Speed limit change not enough
Ridiculous!
Listen to
people!
Over-reach!
Nanny
State!

62. Reframing helps change

65. Re-prioritise
Help drivers

67. Count all costs: time, health

68. Count all costs: GHG, space

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

70. Transport Equity in
Australia
transportequity.org.au
Better Streets
www.betterstreets.org.au

71. Gill King
gill@sustainabljill.com 0407 953 959
convenor@livingstreets.org.au
Everywhere