Two new sources of comprehensive transport data for Victoria are now available via the Thinking Transport website.

The Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (VISTA 07) - The results of VISTA 07 provides a detailed picture of how people in Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Latrobe travel on an average day. While not current data, this study is useful for benchmarking and comparison.

The Victorian Transport Statistics Portal (VTSP) - The VTSP provides access to data that will be of interest to anyone who wants to better understand transport trends in Victoria. Data can be filtered to profile transport issues at a Local Government Area (LGA) level, making it a highly powerful tool for local governments.

These resources provide vital data for transport planning and project development and may serve as highly useful benchmarking data.

Professor Ross Garnaut, author of the controversial 2008 Garnaut Climate Change Review, and the Hon. Greg Hunt, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, will be speak on sustainable transport as part of the Sustainable Living Festival. 

Held at BMW Edge, this free event features commentary by Kelvin Thomson MP, Federal member for Wills, and will be held on Thursday 18 February from 15:00 - 16:30. The event is hosted by the Metropolitan Transport Forum (MTF), a close partner of Thinking Transport.

This event will be an excellent opportunity to expand understanding of the possible policy options surrounding transport, all the more relevant with both Federal and Victorian State elections scheduled for late 2010.

See the Sustainable Living Festival website for further information.

The Melbourne Sustainable Living Festival is coming up again on the 19-21 February 2010.

The festival offers a wide variety of information and discussions, including a number of cutting edge forums on transport in Victoria.

• Zero Emissions Transport by 2020: How Do We Get There? - Fast trains, bicycle freeways, 100% electric vehicles. Find out from Beyond Zero Emissions how we can make our transport future a safe climate future.
• Transition Towns - From Oil Dependency To Local Resilience - This presentation provides a context of the central idea of Transition: re-localising our basic needs and wants, while also draws on global and local examples of Transition Towns.
• CycleWise - Tips for Surviving and Thriving on the Roads - Designed for novice riders who'd like to ride more, but don't feel confident on the roads, this talk is an excellent resource for local governments seeking to promote cycling to residents.

The festival is now in it's eleventh year and will be held again at Federation Square. 

For more details and a program of events, see the Sustainable Living Festival website

Planners play an essential role in planning, designing and regulating the environments in which we live.  Well-planned neighbourhoods can increase the number of people who choose walking or cycling as their mode of transport.  More people walking or cycling to shops, schools and local facilities helps to build more socially vibrant and inclusive neighbourhoods, together with the associated economic and environmental benefits.

The Healthy by Design resource, produced by the Heart Foundation (Victorian Division) aims to provide practical guidance to planners, especially those working for or with local governments, to enable them to plan for active communities.

Visit the Planning for Active Communities page to see how local governments from across Victoria have used the Healthy by Design principles.