2022 Melbourne Sessions

Session 1: Car Dependency

Session: 1

Room: Melbourne Room

Session Title: Car Dependency

Format: Discussion

Presenter Name: Sebastian Aurisano

Summary

Main Problems: Traffic jams, pollution, climate change. 25% of emissions come from transport.
How to tackle it? Public transport, active transport, infrastructure. The pedestrian-oriented built environment is most critical. Autonomous and electric vehicles should also be considered. Electric vehicles tend to tackle pollution and climate change, but congestion will still remain.
AVs might improve traffic jams but they may encourage urban sprawl.
Car dependency has a gender impact, mothers need cars to take kids around. We can only use happy wheels if the urban built environment supports it.
Minimum parking requirements based on floor area ratio should be reconsidered.
Car sharing is important to diminish the parking issues related to autonomous vehicles.
Private e-scooters should be allowed and encouraged in Melbourne.

Session 1: Transport strategy for Non-human and sustainability

Session: 1

Room: Regent Room

Session Title: Transport strategy for Non-human and sustainability

Format: Discussion

Presenter Name: Hayley Timmers (RMIT)

Summary

How do we identify the key species or understand local biodiversity as one neighbourhood?
How can we plan for non-human connectivity?
Community advocacy reclaiming streets: Consider how people reclaim nature strips. Gorilla street trees on the upfield line.
Community planting VicTrack: tracking which species pass which route in their everyday lives to reflect on the transport planning.
How do we tackle KPI while making enjoyable connectivity for humans and non-humans?
How should we assess possible environmental impacts on the site when we plan the strategy?
There are important grasslands along the Sunbury line, these narrow strips of vegetation should not be managed without engaging Traditional Owners.

Session 2: Open Street: Messaging for Mobility

Session: 2

Room: Regent Room

Session Title: Open Street: Messaging for Mobility

Format: Discussion

Presenter Name: Zoe and Leyla (City of Merri-bek)

Summary

Getting the language right for livable, lovable neighbourhoods.
Streets, not roads! Open not closed! Crashed not accidents terminology!
What sort of consultation is the best for people? This is dependent on the local context, and it is important, to be honest, and transparent. Prioritise people, not transport modes.
The importance of plain language to disseminate information. Changing the terminology of the open street.
The meaning of road closure is no motor vehicles and increasing the flexibility of street use.
Open street provides the neighbourhood with enhancing community bonds.
How do we communicate with neighbours?
Benefits: children’s safety, healthier communities, and more social space.
What sort of signage makes all people comfortable using the space? How do we accommodate new emerging transport modes such as e-scooter? Whose priority is the first?
Potential for site rhythmanalysis to identify the behavioural patterns of the place.

Session 3: Active Transport Integration

Session: 3

Room: Melbourne Room

Session Title: Active transport integration

Format: Presentation

Presenter Name: Danny Davis

Summary

FLAIR: Flexible, local, accessible, integrated, and responsive.
Accessibility in stations should be increased.
High patronage for better bus stops.
App-based information needs to be reliable.
Multimodal journey app timetable should be user-friendly.
Sharing data between companies will increase journey reliability.

Session 3: Political advocacy for better transport service

Session: 3

Room: Regent Room

Session Title: Political advocacy for better transport service

Format: Presentation

Presenter Name: Peter Parket (Melbourne on Transit)

Summary

Transformed transit for Melbourne Political volatility has both positive and negative impacts.
How to decrease the number of vehicles in outer suburbs to introduce public transport systems with high frequency and good connectivity. Is poor frequency why car use remains widespread?
Recommended book: The making and unmaking east-west link.
Bus services are the key to establishing an integrated transport network.

Session 4: Free Public Transport

Session: 4

Room: Regent Room

Session Title: Free Public Transport

Format: Discussion

Presenter Name: Rosie (City of Stonnington)

Summary

Only 30% of operating costs are funded currently, funding has to come from somewhere.
Free Tram Zone takes pedestrians off the street and requires more services, increasing costs due to increased demand, mode shift away from walking, loss in revenue and spike in demand.
The issue is not limited to cost, but access particularly for those with poor access (outer suburbs). Not many big systems that are free, there are smaller ones. Instead put tram revenue in areas which need it for example Melton, and Clyde.
Look at the full network and where a free zone would increase the uptake of public transport (not away from pedestrians).
Costs too much to travel to/from regional Vic (over $20) on VLine. Lower price of regional passengers.
Transport has to become a service: Means-tested pricing, flexible/dynamic fares based on demand.
Transport projects are measured by travel time savings, which is very narrow.
Who is going to integrate these services?
Consider safety when considering mode choice and MaaS, which fills a gap when people do not feel safe walking.

Session 5: Gender, Transport, and its Numerous Intersections

Session: 5

Room: Melbourne Room

Session Title: Gender, Transport, and its Numerous Intersections

Format: Open Discussion

Presenter Name: Zoe (Merri-bek), Elise (CrowdSpot), and Adam (Merri-bek)

Summary

Highly skewed and underrepresented numbers of women and non-binary people in cycling in Melbourne and Victoria. Removing the barriers to entry of bicycle riding
The gender gap in cycling (Elise): Absence in policy for people that do not identify as men or women. We need to shift the conversation from increasing cycling opportunities for women to increasing the opportunity for anyone facing barriers. Some barriers include: safety, and raising children. Transport data should be provided with a gender breakdown.
People ride to train stations when the alternatives are poor.
Designing cross-community routes rather than just 'journeys to work'. There is no data on these journeys because they are currently not catered for. No safe infrastructure that allows women to give things a try and have the opportunity to "fail".
Safety exists in many forms, including injury risk and the perceived safety of other people using the space.
Lighting is a concern in footpath safety. Roads have lights, but footpaths do not. However, lighting is not the only concern for gender inclusion.
Findings: Girls stopped using bicycles when moving from primary school to high school. Boys are given more freedom to travel to school independently.
It's about pushing that market, activating new infrastructure, and making sure people are aware. Consider micro-mobility as a mitigating solution for last-mile, after-dark trips.
Many people in typically female-dominated jobs will use scooters and won't cycle -
E-cargo bike trials (Zoe): - Doing persona route mapping, rich heat map of trips women are choosing. Most people who haven't cycled or used cargo bikes are returning to cycling after having children. Mapping is showing routes taken, routes being avoided, and what streets young families and women are riding on. If we do more of these trials, we can target infrastructure and show where we should be investing it.
Need quantitative and qualitative data - the stories of community members

Session 5: Parking and Business Viability

Session: 5

Room: Regent Room

Session Title: Parking and Business Viability

Format: Discussion

Presenter Name: Patel

Summary

Traders want car parking. An intercept survey found parking concession does not impact availability.
DoT focuses on the reuse of the parking assets than replacement.
Commercial pricing of the parking may be decided by the preference of or the parking value of people.
One of third of the parking space reduction went unnoticed in a busy business area.
Parking permits also delay and increase the expenses of the business.
Dynamically allocation of parking is also important. Sharing the right message to the community or politicians would also promote a change of thinking and understanding that the cost of living increases more with more parking spaces.

Session 6: Parking Minimums

Session: 6

Room: Melbourne Room

Session Title: Parking Minimums

Format: Discussion

Presenter Name: Lachlan Burke (Movement and Place Consulting)

Summary

Parking minimums are set by the council and are resisted by the business owner.
Parking is most of the time provided more than requirements.
Making people use active transport would make parking opportunities for the people with issues.
We need some kind of management if accessibility is being impacted by the lack of parking. The car parking minimums have also made some businesses apply for waivers to their complexity and expense for small businesses.

Session 6: Pick a Lane Melbourne

Session: 6

Room: Regent Room

Session Title: Pick a Lane Melbourne

Format: Creative Workshop

Presenter Name: Pick a Lane Melbourne

Summary

Consider this, Melbourne is now a communist city, in the year 2021-2022 a mode must be selected for the best prosperity and happiness of the city. Two themes were created: Mass Transit vs Micro Mobility.
Team Micro mobility: Challenges are suburban sprawl, the distance between destinations, limited safe infrastructure, wide roads, cultural influence, Neo-liberalism, MAAS for profit, education, and capitalism.
Goals: Tax the rich, no new roads, slow down our lives, diverse range to suit a variety of access needs and trip purposes.
Team Macro mobility: Goal for high-speed rail. Highways are now of no use, re-purpose public space.
Consider multi-CBD Cities, connected via macro PTV.