Within weeks of floating it, the Newman government has backed away at the first sign of trouble from its dramatic new vision for an efficient, high-frequency bus network in South East Queensland
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BRISBANE
Is Brisbane CityCycle ‘designed’ to fail?
Mandatory helmets aren’t the only reason Brisbane’s CityCycle is barely used. It goes out of its way to deter users.
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How safe is cycling (in Brisbane)?
Forgive me please for yet another cycling-related post. It’s Le Tour Fever. At least it’s only got two and a half weeks to go! I just stumbled across this interesting video by the Brisbane Times. A reporter used Brisbane’s CityCycle bike sharing scheme to address the question, How safe is cycling in the city? It’s not [...]
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How many residents can our capital cities hold?
The New York Times published a fascinating article a few days ago which asked the question: How many people can Manhattan hold? The answer is it depends on the density. If it were packed as densely as the fabled Kowloon Walled City (see first exhibit – click for video), its current 1.6 million resident population [...]
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Should Sydney, Adelaide and Perth go bikeshare?
If they’re tempted, other Australian cities should think long and hard before committing to bikeshare. If private investors are prepared to take on the risk that’s fine, but it’s highly unlikely they’re interested. The fact is bikeshare will only happen if taxpayers stump up most of the funds. Cities should ask themselves, first, if bikeshare [...]
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Is the law on helmets why bikeshare is failing?
It’s not surprising Vancouver is dragging its feet on implementing the city’s promised bikeshare scheme – it’s one of the few major cities in the world with a law mandating the wearing of helmets by adults. There seems to be good reason for Vancouver to be nervous: the available evidence indicates bikeshare has failed in [...]
READ MOREWhat parts of Melbourne would you show to visitors?
The other night my son and I had the pleasure of attending a seminar titled Emotional Cities at the Wheeler Centre, Melbourne’s wonderful cultural institution for discussion of writing and ideas. The seminar was billed, somewhat pretentiously, as an all-star line-up of literary luminaries discussing the “architecture of the mind and the cities that inspire [...]
READ MOREHow liveable are our major cities?
Adelaide is the most liveable capital city in Australia and Sydney is the least, according to a study released earlier this month by the Property Council of Australia. The Australian reports that Sydney might have the harbour, Opera House and Bondi, but most Sydneysiders live a long way from these attractions in less salubrious places [...]
READ MOREWhy is public transport patronage increasing?
As the accompanying chart shows, public transport patronage has grown sharply in some of Australia’s capitals this past decade but the rate of growth has generally slowed significantly over the last 18 months. We’re accustomed to thinking that growth in patronage is driven by higher petrol prices but the chart indicates the explanation is probably [...]
READ MOREWhat is the inner city?
We all use the term “inner city” but I doubt we’re all talking about the same geographical area. For some people, the inner city means the area where cafe society thrives – probably a 10 km circle around the CBD in cities like Sydney and Melbourne. Or it might mean the extent of medium density [...]
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