Perth urged to cut CBD parking
Restricting car-parking bays in Australian inner cities, including Perth, could be the key to reducing congestion and creating a more attractive environment for cycling and biking.
Consideration of fewer CBD parking bays is a recommendation of a fact-finding delegation of Australian transport professionals and advocates who recently returned from a tour of the Netherlands.
The delegation included WA Department of Transport network planning director Craig Wooldridge - one of WA's most senior transport bureaucrats.
In his report released yesterday, Mr Wooldridge said the Netherlands had a different approach to urban and transport planning than Australia and "we cannot expect to superimpose the Dutch approach into the Australian context". He said there were key initiatives that should be considered in Australia, including parking restrictions.
"All of the cities restrict the amount of parking supply within the central city areas to reduce the demand for car use and many residents and workers do not bring a car to work as it is simply too difficult and expensive to find a car-parking space," the report said.
"This in turn has allowed for most of the arterial roads within the ring-road systems to be kept at one lane in each direction, with widenings at intersections for turning lanes. Some roads have parallel parking bays, but not all."
The delegation found that significant and sustained growth in cycling numbers would not occur without a safe and connected cycling network.
"The scale of the bike network (in the Netherlands) is a key factor in attracting cyclists, while a safe systems approach also contributes," the report said.
"Most cities plan for residents to be within 400-500m from primary cycling routes (mostly separated paths) and within 250m of the secondary routes (mostly shared and on road).
"In the Netherlands, more females cycle than males, which is largely assisted by the slower pace of cycling (more social than a race) and shorter distances travelled."
Other recommendations of the delegation include bike education in all primary schools and free or low-cost end-of-trip facilities in the CBD and other strategic activity areas.
'Most cities plan for residents to be within 400m-500m from primary cycling routes.'"WA Transport network planning director *Craig Wooldridge *
