The 2021 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference is on! Thursday the 30th of September and Friday the 1st of October – and this year it is all online!
This year’s theme is: Global Lessons, Local Opportunities.
I have been to this conference a number of times in the past and I’ve always enjoyed it.
There is always a good mix of research, community, international and local perspectives, sustainability, urban planning, and new and interesting ideas.
I am definitely going to miss not seeing delegates in person, or doing the side-conference activities and events – they are a real highlight!
But even without the trimmings, I’m excited about this year’s program.
I’m looking forward to connecting with some old conference mates and meeting some new people and hearing what some of ‘the big issues’ are in cycling research.
I’ve been pouring over the abstracts and speakers, checking out the new projects, selecting what sessions to go to, and preparing notes to add to chat discussions during presentations.
I’ve listed the program at the end of this post for those interested.
For anyone going – I’ll (virtually) see you there!
AWCC 2019. Source: AWCC
Conference vision
The simple acts of walking and cycling have the potential to transform the places we live, our economies and how we engage with our environment. The Australian Walking and Cycling conference explores the potential for walking and cycling to not only provide for transport and recreation but solutions to challenges of liveability, health, community building, economic development and sustainability. As one of Australia’s longest-running, best-regarded and most affordable active travel conferences, we bring together practitioners and researchers from Australia and across the world to share their work and engage with conference participants.
The Australian Walking and Cycling Conference aims to send zero waste to landfill.
AWCC
Keynote speakers
I am very excited about the keynotes speakers – especially Meredith. I have been following her work for a while (total researcher fan-girl crush!) and she is kick-ass! Meredith is also a consummate speaker, so I can’t wait to hear her present on her current work. Double Woohoo!
Meredith Glaser is an American urban planner, lecturer, and sustainable mobility researcher, based in the Netherlands since 2010. At the Urban Cycling Institute (University of Amsterdam), her research focuses on public policy innovation, knowledge transfer, and capacity building for accelerated implementation of sustainable transport goals. She is one of the world’s most experienced educators for professionals seeking to learn Dutch transport planning policies and practices. She also manages academic output for several European Commission projects and sits on the advisory committee of the Cycling Research Board. Meredith holds master’s degrees in public health and urban planning from University of California, Berkeley.
Fiona Campbell has been working for the City of Sydney since 2008 and is the Manager Cycling Strategy. She is deeply committed to making Sydney a bike-friendly city and to helping others achieve similar goals. Fiona is currently managing the roll out of 11 new City of Sydney cycleway projects, three of which are permanent designs to upgrade temporary Covid-19 pop-up cycleways. Fiona mostly rides a Danish (Butchers and Bicycles) cargo trike, and on weekends accompanied by two Jack Russells. Fiona will present on “Global lessons, local opportunities”. This title is also the Conference theme.
Everyone knows the Netherlands are trailblazers when it comes to bike riding.
Utrecht Central Train Station is a model example of how city planning and design can prioritise and integrate urban biking riding, walking and transportation.
This three-story bicycle park can store 12,656 bikes.
If you have not seen this building before – you need to check it out – it is AMAZING!
(*Apologies for the white space below. It is a tech gremlin I can’t debug!*)
Completed in 2019, this train station is now the world’s largest underground bicycle parking garage, overtaking Tokyo’s 9,000 former largest bike storage capacity.
Utrecht is a medieval city and this building is part of a forward-thinking approach to reducing congestion and pollution, promoting bike riding and making the city more sustainable.
A key feature is the ‘flow of bike riders’ – so you can ride your bike into and around the inside of the building. This means you can ride into the building, park your bike and be on a train in 5 mins or less.
Users ride-into and around the actual building from the street for direct access to bike storage.
The building also has a repair service and bicycle hire outlet.
A digital system guides cyclists to parking spots, to the quickest access to the train platforms, the main terminal building and public square. Paths are clearly signed and thoroughfare is managed to maximise ride-ability (‘flow’), ease, and safety for all users.
As well as ‘normal bike’ storage (which make up the bulk), there are special bays for modified bikes like Christianas, bikes with trailers or modifications and large cargo bikes.
The building is a landmark attraction in itself and is beautifully designed by Ector Hoogstad Archeitecten, who won an award for the design. There are lots of glass walls, skylights and staircases which maximise natural light inside the building.
I’m can’t wait to see more bike-centred buildings like these in the future!
All images and parts of this content sourced from De Zeen.com.
It is encouraging to see more local councils and state governments backing active transportation and bike riding. As well as leveraging all the well-established health, social, economic and environmental benefits of bike riding, during COVID-19, it is now more important than ever to be improving public spaces that are equitable, accessible and practice social distancing. In June, NSW Government put out a call for activation grants and here are some of winning applicants. I hope there are more initiatives like this and other states follow suit – here’s to hoping! Great start NSW! Enjoy! NG.
Image: Bicycle Network
What is the Shared Streets Spaces program?
The Streets as Shared Spaces program in NSW is part of a wider suite of initiatives in NSW looking to boost public access for the community during COVID-19.
Through the Streets as Shared Spaces program, the NSW Government has awarded grants to councils for temporary activation projects that support the community during COVID-19 and also test ideas for more permanent improvements to local streets, paths and public spaces.
This $15 million program launched in 2020, and was a pilot to enable improvements across NSW during COVID-19 and into the future which:
support essential workers to travel to work, and people working from home
contribute to NSW economic recovery in our local centres by creating vibrant streets and additional safe space to support local business
activate high streets to create better quality public space
support physical distancing requirements and encourage safe social connection
support the well-being of local communities and their ability to exercise
attract people back into public spaces in a safe way, when appropriate to do so.
Projects are intended to test and build the case for more permanent changes. Councils will lead the projects and consult with the community and stakeholders to evaluate success and make changes as needed.
The NSW Government has announced a list of urban and regional streets due for temporary transformations as part of their $15 million Streets as Shared Spaces program.
Launched in 2020, the program awards grants to councils for temporary activation projects that support the community during COVID-19 and test ideas for more permanent improvements to local streets, paths and public spaces.
Image: NSW Dept. of Planning, Industry and Environment and Destination
Streets as Shared Spaces program aims to:
support essential workers to travel to work, and people working from home
contribute to NSW economic recovery in our local centres by creating vibrant streets and additional safe space to support local business
activate high streets to create better quality public space
support physical distancing requirements and encourage safe social connection
support the well-being of local communities and their ability to exercise
attract people back into public spaces in a safe way, when appropriate to do so
Amongst the 27 regional and 14 Greater Sydney councils who have been awarded grants, there were a number of bike-friendly improvements, including:
Ballina Shire Council
Project name: A Slow Path – Not A Fast Short Cut Amount: $100,000 Description: A program of temporary works that seeks to test a number of traffic calming elements and streetscape features aimed at improving safety and convenience for pedestrian and cyclists in and around Park Lane over a trial period of 8-9 months.
Bayside Council
Project name: Place Making – Russell Avenue, San Souci Amount: $100,000 Description: The proposal is for a ‘pilot’ trial opportunity to create community parklets alongside wide off-road cycleways where families feel safe to ride their bicycles – protected from traffic, whilst exploring local cafes before enjoying the paths and natural space of the Botany Bay’s foreshore.
Central Coast Council
Project name: Implementation of a Shared Zone and activation of The Esplanade, Umina Beach Amount: $327,528 Description: This project is to provide a shared zone in The Esplanade, Umina Beach between Ocean Beach Road and Trafalgar Avenue, to provide a safer environment, great amenity and activate the road to provide a pedestrian and bike priority-based space.
Coffs Harbour City Council
Project name: The Green Spine Pilot Project Amount: $800,000 Description: The Green Spine pilot project aims to trial a safe corridor for cycling and walking access along Coffs Harbour’s Harbour Drive during COVID-19.
Ku-ring-gai Council
Project name: Gilroy Road Separated Cycleway and Turramurra Shared Path Amount: $398,000 Description: The project is to test the cycleway proposed in Turramurra Public Domain Plan. It will provide a safer cycling route for all ages and link open spaces, as well as providing a link from residential areas to local centre and station away from higher traffic roads.
Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said: “It’s fantastic to see so many councils eager to provide new and improved public spaces for their communities, encouraging active transport and beautifying their streetscapes.”
These projects will transform neighbourhoods across the state, making it easier for people to walk or ride to local shops and services by creating safe, attractive and accessible streets and public spaces.”
This sets a strong example for other state governments looking to bounce back from the pandemic, particularly in Victoria where the full impact of changing transport habits are yet to be realised due to the extended lockdown.
Image: NSW Dept. of Planning, Industry and Environment and Destination
I hope you had a great time out and about on two wheels!
To see photos and stories from how others spent World Bicycle Day 2020 – check out #WorldBicycleDay and #JustRide
People celebrate World Bicycle Day in many ways. Some people do it on bikes, others do it for bikes. It was a delight to see the myriad ways people honoured the humble bike – riding with friends, making art, sharing music, having critical conversations, holding events and all kinds of advocating for more positive bike change.
To acknowledge the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation, fostering environmental stewardship and health
In large part, this is in response to the fact that, internationally, the mobility needs of people who walk and cycle – often the majority of citizens in a city – continue to be overlooked. The UN Share the Road Programme Annual Report 2018, shows that the benefits of investing in pedestrians and cyclists can save lives, help protect the environment and support poverty reduction.
Walking and cycling continues to be a critical part of the mobility solution for helping cities de-couple population growth from increased emissions, and to improve air quality and road safety.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), safe infrastructure for walking and cycling is also a pathway for achieving greater health equity.
For the poorest urban sector, who often cannot afford private vehicles, walking and cycling can provide a form of transport while reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even death.
That means bikes are not only healthy, they are also equitable and cost-effective. There are many reasons to love bikes, for example…
Bikes are a simple, reliable, clean and environmentally sustainable means of transportation
Bikes can serve as a tool for development and as a means not just of transportation but also of access to education, health care and sport
The synergy between the bicycle and the user fosters creativity and social engagement and gives the user an immediate awareness of the local environment
The bicycle is a symbol of sustainable transportation and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate
Cyclists in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo by Yoav Azi
Internationally, the aim of World Bicycle Day is to:
Encourage specific bicycle development strategies at the international, regional, national and subnational level via policies and programmes
Improve road safety, sustainable mobility, and transport infrastructure planning and design
Improve cycling mobility for broader health outcomes (ie preventing injuries and non-communicable diseases)
Progress use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development
Strengthening bike and physical education, social inclusion and a culture of peace
Adopt best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society
Regardless of the reason you ride bikes – you are in very good company!
Keep riding, be healthy and have a awesome World Bicycle Day today!
Happy World Bicycle Day 2020 Image: Boldsky
Parts of this content is taken/edited from the UN World Bicycle Day official website.
Bicycle Network is Australia’s biggest bike riding organization that has nearly 50, 000 members nationwide. One of the things I really appreciate about Bicycle Network is that they often undertake surveys in order to see how members and local riders feel about certain key issues. Previously this blog has shared Bicycle Network’s survey on how people feel about Australian helmet laws as well as the results of that survey and some of the flow on critiques and counterarguments the survey results stimulated. Their latest survey gauging how bike riders how they use end of trip facilities at work and if that might change because of COVID-19.
This post is an invitation for Aussie riders to contribute their ideas to help Bicycle Network create a set of guidelines for workplaces so end of trip facilities remain open and people can ride their bike to work- if you are interested – read on!
Image: Bicycle Network
Does your workplace have somewhere to store your bike and wash up after your commute? Do you wish it did? Let us know what you do when you get to work and how that might change when lockdown eases.
End of trip facilities—areas with bike parking, showers, change rooms and lockers—are a vital part of workplaces that enable people to ride a bike instead of driving or taking the train.
And it is likely end of trip facilities will become more important. New bike lanes are being installed in Australian cities and public transport is running at reduced capacity, encouraging more people ride to work.
However, end of trip facilities will need to run a little differently to before COVID-19.
Some facilities might need caps on the number of people who can use the facility at the same time and cleaning will need to be done more regularly.
Bicycle Network is producing a guide with advice for workplaces on how to manage their end of trip facilities so people can keep riding to work.
To help us make the guide we’d like people to complete a survey, tell us how their end of trip facility works and if it will affect the way they travel to work after COVID-19.
Image: Bicycle Network
Survey, images and content in this post courtesy of Bicycle Network.
For 2019, we are heading to Lismore in QLD, where for the past few years the local City Council has provided a public recycled art Christmas Tree. This very successful initiative all started with recycled bikes.
The Lismore Council public art Christmas tree initiative stemmed after the local ‘leaning tree’ that had previously been decorated for Christmases was (unduly and harshly) dubbed ‘the world’s most pathetic’ Christmas tree. (Note: Personally, I think the leaning tree was awesome. Such a pity that we don’t celebrate diversity and difference and the wonderful uniqueness in nature. As Gaudi stated ‘there are no straight lines in nature’ – I think it is the very twists, turns, messiness and curves that makes life so engaging and grand. The very thing that made that tree unique and special to some, others considered to be a flawed and an eyesore. I don’t agree that ‘perfection’ i.e. a straight tree (or a or a ‘pretty blonde female’ as an extrapolation) is necessarily beautiful. Perhaps we need to check in with our cultural value criteria – anyhow..back to Lismore).
So, in 2015, Lismore Council looked to change their tree and started a recycled public art initative.
Image: Cathy Bowen Northern Star
Lismore’s Bicycle Christmas Trees
The recycled bicycle tree was the first of these instalments. In 2015, the Lismore Bike Christmas Tree was erected as a centrepiece for the main roundabout on the corner of Keen and Magellan Streets.
This intuitive is to celebrate the festive holiday season as
well as Lismore’s commitment to recycling and sustainability.
A local bike shop, Revolve, supplied the 90 old bicycles (which otherwise would have gone to scrap), 50 litres of paint, almost half a tonne of steel for the frame and $30 of donated rainbow mis-tints from the local paint shop. GOLD!
Lismore’s council metal workshop welded the bicycle frames
were welded onto the steel frame they had created as the base structure.
The final ‘tree’ was then painted in rainbow mis-tint colours by the council staff and their families in their own time.
The tree was then gifted by the council to Lismore residents.
Lismore’s tree for Christmas 2019 was a 7-metre ‘living’, growing structure. It has more than 300 potted plants, 100 metres of tinsel, 250 metres of solar-powered LEDs, 16 pairs of work trousers and matching boots. At the top instead of a star, council staff made a Planta (plant ‘Santa’).
The 2018 Lismore Christmas tree was made out discarded umbrellas.
In 2017 it was recycled road signs.
In 2016 it was recycled car tyres.
The 2015 Bicycle Christmas Tree has been the most popular instalment by far to date. In acknowledgement of this, the council is in discussion for a possible future tree that has sculptural bikes that produce power so that when visitors ride them, the generated power will light up the tree. Sounds similar to Brisbane’s Bicycle-powered Christmas Tree.
A big round of applause for Lismore Council for installing the recycled bike Christmas tree. An inspiring public project that brings community and council together to celebrate sustainability, recycling, community and creativity.
Included among the delegates attending are Australian and international
keynote speakers, advocacy groups, researchers, practitioners, businesses and
policymakers.
This conference includes research presentations, workshops, technical tours, poster presentations, networking opportunities and other social events.
The conference goes for 3 days and is jam-packed full of sessions.
The program also boasts a host of international guests, with delegates coming in from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Denmark, Japan, Norway, USA, Sweden, Canada and as the host country – Australia has a very strong representation from pretty much every University nationwide.
Presentation sessions are discussing ideas such as: obstacle avoidance manoeuvres, e-scooters/e-bikes, infrastructure challenges, rider/pedestrian conflicts, traffic control, crash data, bikeshare data and social media interfaces, and lane marking/intersection analysis, bicycle delivery modalities, and studies using agent-based modelling – and more!
I ‘m not attending this conference because I prefer to focus on the positive aspects of bicycle riding – which of course safety is part of…I just don’t want to be constantly working with ‘negatives’ such as crash figures, injuries and traffic hot zones and contestations – also crunching quantitative data is not my strongest research skill. But I appreciate that this is super interesting to many cycling researchers and policymakers. Such conversations and information sharing is critical to progressing more innovative solutions to cycling dilemmas and to increase the take up of biking universally.
Meet the posters authors event. Tuesday 19th Nov. ICSC 2019.
Daily synopsis
Monday is the first conference day. The day is split into four sessions under two main streams: Workshops and Technical Tours. The two workshops offered are: Low-cost infrastructure for low cycling countries and Using bikes for all kinds of deliveries. Concurrently there are 5 technical tours: Inner City (x 2), Riverside, Bicentennial Bikeway and Connecting the infrastructure. The evening is the Welcome Reception and Stakeholder Dinner.
Tuesday before morning tea is official registrations, Introduction and Opening Keynote Trends and innovation research in cycling safety by Prof Christopher Cheery (Uni of Tennessee, USA).
Then there
are 2 rooms running concurrent 20 min presentation sessions all the way up to afternoon
tea except for a Conference Plenary and another Keynote Cycling Infrastructure:
if you build it, will come? (and will they be safe?) by Dr Glen Koorey (ViaStrada,
NZ) after lunch.
Tuesday
afternoon session has two 1-hour Rapid Oral Presentation sessions followed by
Meet the Poster Author’s Function and then the official Conference Dinner.
Wednesday morning opens with a Conference Panel session entitled Arising trends & challenges: what, why & how. Then a full day of 1-hour and 20 min concurrent presentation sessions all the way up to 4.30pm… Phew – what a long day!
At 4.30 it is ICSC Awards and official conference close. The final official event is the Peoples’ Night from 5pm.
Then it’s party time!
Image: ICSC 2019
People’s Night
For the first time, the ICSC community is inviting the general public to attend the Cycling Conference free People’s Night.
I love the idea of a conference having a ‘People’s Night.’ Every conference should have one!
This is a unique opportunity to meet, discuss and network with conference delegates, check out the digital research poster, hear about some of the latest innovations, technology, infrastructure, developments, trends and findings in cycling safety research.
This event is offered in the spirit of the conference guiding principle to share cycling safety research with ALL stakeholders – which I think is a great move. Not everyone is interested or can afford the money or time to attend the whole conference, but to open up your doors and invite the local public an opportunity to interact with delegates is a very smart move – good for the conference, good for the locals!
I’ll be heading in
for this event, so if you are in Brisbane on Wednesday night, I might see you
there! If you would like to attend you can RSVP via the
ICSC FB page HERE. Details below.
Date: Wednesday 20
November Time: 5pm-6.30pm Venue: The Cube, P Block, QUT Gardens Point Campus, Brisbane Cost: Free Inclusions: Complimentary food and non-alcoholic beverages
If you are riding your bike in and around Brisbane this
week, check out the ICSC. Always good to get the latest intel of what is
happening in the cycling world!
Hopefully, the safer it is to ride a bike, the more people will
ride.
If that is the case, get ya conference on ICSC 2019!!
For this post, we travel to the beautiful city of Adelaide.
Adelaide’s Bike Art Trail project has 10 public art installations by four different artist/teams dotted around Adelaide on bike paths.
The idea behind this project is to use the art map to ride around and see each of the artworks which are located at key landmarks and tourist locations around the city.
A unique feature of this project is that some of the artworks have been incorporated into – or as – an actual bike rack as well as other being installed alongside bike paths. Although an interesting idea, I doubt cyclists would actually use the bike rack art to lock up their bikes. I’ve never seen any bikes locked up to them. The art bike racks seem more designed for aesthetics, public curiosity or as talking points. Even so, it is still good to see some colour, design and funding being invested to enhance local bike experiences.
These artworks were commissioned by the City of Adelaide, with assistance from the Government of South Australia, through Arts SA.
Map of artwork locations. Image: City of Adelaide
What are the artworks?
1. Onion Ringsby Greg Healey and Gregg Mitchell (Groundplay) – Grote St.
Greg Healey and Gregg Mitchell’s simple organic form references an onion. Adelaide Central Market is an incredibly popular destination. At 1.8m high, this work commands a significant presence in the streetscape. The circular form also allows several bikes to be locked to it
2. Play Here by Deb Jones and Christine Cholewa – Hutt St.
Hutt
Street is a busy urban place in Adelaide that has a strong café, art and design
culture. As soon as Deb Jones and Christine Cholewa saw the site they knew it
needed some bold graphics. Somewhere that was a special place to lock your
bike but also somewhere that could hold its own against the backdrop of the
local TAB and the two nearby banks.
Deb
and Christine took their inspiration from the roads, airports, helipads and
line markers of the world. They played with the predictable seriousness and
colour tone that line marking usually delivers and added a few tertiary colours
and a ‘you are here’ sign that reassures the person sitting on the bench close
by of where they are
Onion Ring. Image Weekend Notes
3. Perspective by Deb Jones and Christine Cholewa – Tandanya, – Grenfell St.
Deb
Jones and Christine Cholewa wanted their bike rack/artwork to be a gentle
reminder:
that someone has been here before
that time will change your perspective
that we are inexorably linked to the land and the sky.
They
have installed two differently shaped bike racks. Each bike rack has a shadow
of a bike sandblasted into the ground below it, as if the bike is still there.
Drawn from actual shadows, the shadow images indicate different times of the
day; one long shadow for early morning and the shortened shadow for early
afternoon.
4.Fashionistasby Greg Healey and Gregg Mitchell Groundplay) – Rundle St.
Rundle
Street is fast becoming a high street fashion shopping destination and a pair
of interlinked coat hangers not only acknowledges, but celebrates this.
Shaping
the hooks of the hangers into heads is intended to give them character and pay
homage to Joff and Razak of Miss Gladys Sym Choon, recognised pioneers of
fashion and of Rundle Street Culture.
Image: City of Adeliade
5. Branchrackby Deb Jones and Christine Cholewa – Botanic Gardens Entrance.
The
Botanic Garden is a place that celebrates plants. Deb Jones and Christine Cholewa
wanted to make a bike rack using plant materials, however, that wouldn’t last
very long so they opted for the next best thing: a bike rack made from bronze,
cast directly from a tree branch.
When
they visited the site and saw the row of existing standard bike racks, they
decided to model the branch rack similar in form to the standard racks so that
the artwork blend in and come as a surprise at the end of the bike rack line.
6. Camouflage by Karl Meyer (Exhibition Studios) – Adelaide Zoo.
This
artwork was inspired by animal themes and connects with the diversity of
animals within the zoo. Evoking childhood memories, it invites the user or
passerby to ponder the relationship between ourselves and other animals.
Playing with scale and colour, capturing the essence of the richness in
diversity, the satin surface finish and smooth form is designed to invite
touch, exploration and connection.
The work subtly embraces the cycling narrative with it spacing and orientation to the existing brightly coloured rack. Within the entry plaza the form and colour is conceived to integrate and complement the landscaping and forms. In contrast to the bright yellow bike racks within the space, the circular shapes seek to connect with bicycles wheels and animal diversity.
7.FORK! by Karl Meyer (Exhibition Studios) – Melbourne St.
The
artwork seeks to connect with the contemporary cafe and food culture and as a
free standing element.
The
Melbourne Street precinct is a vibrant blend of retail, residential and
business. The pavements bustle and the area is well known as a popular eating
place offering a range of restaurants. The artwork seeks to affirm the cafe
scene, to entertain and provoke enquiry and is seen to be a statement to the
independence and identity of Melbourne Street as a destination within the
broader context of Adelaide.
8. Ms Robinson by Tanya Court – O’Connell St.
The current resurgence of the animal print trend is captured
in ‘Mrs. Robinson’. Leopard prints are used as the basis to modify standard
stainless steel bike racks, transforming our impoverished urban realm with the
most exotic of animal simulations.
Image: Weekend Notes
9.Paper Bagby Michelle Nikou – North Terrace SA Museum
The
location and the numerous ‘heads on plinths’ that line North Terrace generated
the concept for this work. ‘Brown Paper Bag‘ is a contemporary and quirky take
on ‘the establishment of success’.
Michelle
Nikou considered shyness, anonymity and the feeling of not wanting to be seen –
or perhaps even negating the pressure to be great when creating this work. Whilst
the work does have a serious undercurrent it is also, perhaps foremost,
humorous and playful. There is something most charming about little people who
play with the anonymity of putting a brown paper bag over their heads–moving in
circles and bumping into things.
10. Parking Poleby Michelle Nikou – Hindley St.
This
work of Michelle Nikou will mirror what exists beside it but perform a
‘softening of the rules’. It was not possible to construct a conceptually
difficult work in such a fast paced zone, however, in the most gentle of ways
Michelle hopes to shift perception with ambience of material and humour.
Bronze always says ART and in this way the material is able to insert itself into a ‘dictated space’: changing the paradigm and presenting no rules. From the experience of having parked in the spaces just near this zone, Michelle realised they require some inspection to avoid a fine. Adding to the mix of that inspection is a blank – a blank parking pole and signs made from traditional artists’ materials, it has no instruction on it and therefore remains a space to project oneself on to, appreciable in today’s graphically overloaded world.
In this post, we look at a recent publication by Mike Lloyd, entitled The non-looks of the mobile world: a video-based study of interactional adaptation in cycle-lanes.
Mike Lloyd is
an Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies with Victoria University (Wellington,
NZ). His research interests include ethnomethodology, sociology of everyday
life, cycling and interaction and more recently video methodologies.
I initially contacted Mike after reading his article about
NZ MTB trail rage – which was an absolute delight.
Since then, this blog has previously hosted two of Mike’s
articles:
Mike is coming to Brisbane in November for the International Cycling Safety Conference. So we are hoping to go for a ride together! Woohoo!
Image: Mike Lloyd (2019)
Article: The non-looks of the mobile world
In this particular article, Mike examines how cyclists and pedestrians in cycle-lane
space adapt their interactions with each other, paying particular attention to
the role of looking and non- looking as it unfolds moment-by-moment.
Any bike rider will be able
to read and totally appreciate the happenings in this article.
It is very interesting exploring how differences between pedestrians ‘doing and being oblivious’ impact cyclists in bike lanes.
I also like the analytical focus of dissecting action and the absence of looking – or non-looks. Original, interesting and pertinent to all cyclists!
Other key concepts from
this article that stand out are: the gaze to shift another pedestrian, direction
of views, standing in bike lanes, people getting out of cars, pedestrians and
mobile phones, ‘observer’s maxim’ moving for public transport and my favourite:
glance, action, apology.
Creatively, Mike uses video still data from a bicycle Go-Pro to explain key theoretical concepts and outcomes.
His writing is well researched, interesting and entertaining.
This article is valuable contribution
to extend discussions of how bicycles and cycle-lane use feature within
mobility, space/infrastructure and situational interactions discourse.
This
empirical study uses video data to examine interactional adaptation between
cyclists and pedestrians in a relatively new cycle-lane. Existing research on
intersections shows order is achieved through the frequent use of a
look-recognition-acknowledgement sequence. Whereas this is found in the
cycle-lane interactions, there is also an important divergent technique which
on the surface seems less cooperative.
Others are
made to cede space based on ‘doing and being oblivious’, in short, forms of
non-looking force others to take evasive action and subtly alter their line of
travel. Here the dynamic nature of this obliviousness is shown through empirical
examples.
Even though it is not always easy to
distinguish between the two forms of non-looking, it is concluded that ‘doing
oblivious’, whilst possibly annoying for others, is most probably harmless, but
there are good reasons to be more concerned about ‘being oblivious’, for it may
lead to collisions between pedestrians and cyclists.
Aspects of
non-looking provide an important addition to knowledge of the mobile world,
suggesting we renew attention to specific sites where people concert their
movements in minutely detailed ways.
This event is a national program that encourages workers to feel good and have fun commuting to work by bike.
The aim of Ride2Work is to promote the health, financial and environmental benefits of riding and encourage more people to ride to work. Ride2Work Day helps people who have never commuted by bike before to give it a go and allows regular riders to stay motivated and encourage their work-mates to get involved.
To be involved, participants register their ride on Ride2Work Day website. Registering is a way peak bicycle advocacy groups can better understand bike commuter behaviour and help leverage campaigns for better riding facilities to councils, local and state governments.
Most capital cities hold a Ride2Work Day breakfast event. I went to last year breakfast in Brisbane and this year we had a Griffith Uni crew meeting there.
It has been raining for a week in Brisbane, but when I woke up early. It was a beautiful crisp morning, and I was looking forward to meeting the other 8 Griffith Uni cyclists in at the Brisbane Law Courts Plaza, 7.00 – 8.15am for a free cyclist’s breakfast, coffee, chat with some fellow riders and to see what the stalls and tents had to offer.
I was excited!
I took Leki and we arrived in the city early.
So I took a little sojourn along the Brisbane River. Then I started heading in the direction of the Law Courts and ended up joining up along the way with another rider named Peter. We chatted as we rode along, marvelling at the beautiful morning and how lucky we were that the rain broke for this event.
But when we arrived at the event site, this is what we saw…..
After a quick chat with a few other cyclists and some phone calls, we found out the event had been cancelled due to rain – obviously!
Funny, none of us knew the event had been cancelled or had received any notification.
I checked the Bicycle Queensland website and Instagram before I left and there was no notification – hence heading out. A friend said later there was a short post on Bicycle Queensland’s Facebook page – not so helpful for those who don’t use Facebook – perhaps an email for those who had registered?
And nothing from the other Griffith cyclists either – interesting…!
No matter!
It was such a beautiful morning. I was certainly not going to waste this opportunity! So with Peter’s directions, I headed out towards West End on an adventurous morning ride.
Unsurprisingly, I had a great time!
Source: @wobert.mcglinn
I went scouting for a cool cafe to stop at before the morning traffic got too much, but ended up having such a lovely ride along the river, I just keep going!
I chatted to a few other cyclists and really enjoyed watching the city wake up.
I went to parts of the city I have not seen before and rode the long way back along the Brisbane River using a bike path I’ve never been on. GOLD!
It was awesome.
Tired, sweaty and happy – I then started to head back.
So despite the Brisbane event being cancelled- I had a brilliant ride to work.
