Information sheets

Shared Path Widths factsheet

September 2nd 2010

Shared paths are off-road facilities for cyclists and pedestrians (including walkers, runners, skateboarders, mobility scooter users, people with pushchairs, etc). Despite the commonness of the shared path, little guidance on its design is currently available in terms of the width of paths in relation to the numbers of pedestrians and cyclists who use the path.

ViaStrada has recently undertaken significant research on behalf of VicRoads, the roading authority for Victoria, Australia, to determine appropriate path widths based on user types and volumes. This factsheet details the investigations, tool development and ultimate conclusions of the research.

VicTrack Rail Maintenance Contact Card 2010

September 2nd 2010

Identifying who is responsible for what in the rail corridor can be confusing and local governments are often the first point of contact for members of the public.

In order to help these officers to deliver the right information promptly, VicTrack has produced the attached card, which contans complete and comprehensive instructions of who is responsible for what, processes to follow and key contacts for each responsible group.

Further resources and information can be found at the VicTrack website.

Drive Smart principals - car efficiency

March 10th 2010

With private vehicles comprising over 70% of transport mode share in Victoria, car efficiency in both vehicle and usage are among the highest priorities.

Research conducted by Environment Victoria demonstrates that drivers can use less petrol to go the same distance, just by making a few simple changes to the way they drive. This reduces carbon emissions and saves drivers money in petrol costs.

A similar major study of ‘eco-driving’ in Europe found that these simple techniques reduced fuel consumption by 10-20 percent, with a maximum of 50 percent savings.

Download Environment Victoria's Drive Smarter Fact Sheet for details of these simple driving efficiency tips.

More information is available via the Environment Victoria website, or contact Murray Irwin on 9341 8121 or murray [dot] irwinatenvironmentvictoria [dot] org [dot] au.

Families of the Future: A community centre course to get families cycling

March 4th 2010

The Families of the Future curriculum resource is for running a short course for families on cycling with young children.

27% of car trips in Melbourne are under 2 km in length - a distance which is easy to cover on a bike. Families of the Future was produced to support and enable more families to cycle as an everyday means of transport. Given the significant impact that the percevied dangers of cycling have on mode choice, this resource gives local governments a valuable tool in changing community attitudes to cyclng.

The program was developed and piloted between 2004 and 2006, before being packaged up in 2007 as a resource available for download. It was designed with neighbourhood houses and community centres in mind as possible hosts for the course, and is available for not-for-profit use by anyone.

See the Environment Victoria website for further details, or contact Murray Irwin, on 9341 8121 or murray [dot] irwinatenvironmentvictoria [dot] org [dot] au.

Pedalling Fruit Pickers Project Kit: How to start a community food harvesting project

March 4th 2010

The Pedalling Fruit Pickers program kit is based on a project involved teams of volunteers collecting surplus fresh fruit from fruit trees in their neighbourhood, and distributing it by bicycle to members of the community who, for whatever reason, do not have access to fresh food.

This project creates significant environmental and social benefits in the local community while additionally encouraging bicycle use and volunteering. The kit is available free for not-for-profit use and will tell you how to run your own Pedalling Fruit Pickers project.

Pedalling Fruit Pickers was run by Environment Victoria in 2007 and 2008, funded by the Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development.

See the Environment Victoria website for further details, or contact Murray Irwin, on 9341 8121 or murray [dot] irwinatenvironmentvictoria [dot] org [dot] au.

Cycling into a Sustainable Future: Engaging Schools in Cycling

March 4th 2010

The Cycling into a Sustainable Future kit is designed to engage schools in promoting cycling among students.

The kit shares some of the learnings from the Cycling into a Sustainable Future project, which Environment Victoria ran in 2005 to target the barriers that prevent children from cycling at and to school. It is available as a free download, for not-for-profit use, and aims to help with future cycling projects in school communities.

This kit provides local governments with a useful framework and set of case studies to help them identify barriers to students riding to school and develop strategies to overcome these barriers, both physical, logistical and perception-based.

See the Environment Victoria website for further details or contact Murray Irwin, on 9341 8121 or murray [dot] irwinatenvironmentvictoria [dot] org [dot] au.

Walk and Ride on Wednesdays: A Kit for Schools and Parents

March 4th 2010

The Walk and Ride on Wednesday program kit is based on an event run by Environment Victoria in 2005 to encourage children to get to school sustainably.

It built on the one-off achievements and preliminary culture-change created by an earlier program, and aimed to create longer-term, habitual changes in sustainable transport use. For some tips on running your own Walk and Ride on Wednesdays program, download this free kit, which is available to everyone for not-for-profit use.

This kit provides local governments with a useful framework and set of case studies for rise to school style projects, such as the highly successful Kids on Bikes program.

See the Environment Victoria website for further details, or contact Murray Irwin, on 9341 8121 or murray [dot] irwinatenvironmentvictoria [dot] org [dot] au.

Getting About without a Car: Guidelines for promoting healthy transport to older people

March 3rd 2010

The Getting about without a Car guidelines aim to help older people make the most of healthy transport. The information and ideas are particularly useful for:

  • People running programs for seniors.
  • People who provide services to seniors.

As local governments fit both of these descriptions, this is an excellent resource in the face of an aging population and the need for sustainable transport.

The guidelines include practical suggestions to help seniors get around, and bigger picture suggestions, like improving walking routes and public transport.

See the Environment Victoria website for further details, or contact Murray Irwin, on 9341 8121 or murray [dot] irwinatenvironmentvictoria [dot] org [dot] au.

Vic Taxi Industry - Overview for local government

January 28th 2010

The Victorian taxi industry fills a crucial gap in transport networks, providing door-to-door access to areas unavailable via train or bus, without adequate parking facilities, or too far away for pedestrians and cyclists.

This overview is designed to provide local governments with an understanding of how the taxi system operates, how it is governed and most importantly, how the taxi industry and local governments can work together on issues such as;

  • Complete transport networks,
  • Transport for those of limited mobility,
  • Community safety, and,
  • Integration of new Australians.

An Industry Map has also been developed by the Victorian Taxi Association to provide an understanding of the taxi licensing process and governance framework.

See the WYNcabs case study for an example of a successful partnership between Wyndham City Council and 13CABS.

Elements of an integrated transport strategy: community transport

December 16th 2009

This information sheet looks at the need for community transport and touches on the role of local government in community transport provision.

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