The majority Labor Councilors on Inner West Council announced their Policy Platform at the Council meeting on February 8, 2022, in a Notice of Motion.
The Active Transport section has some promising aims. (slightly edited)
ACTIVE TRANSPORT
Active transport reduces congestion on our roads, improves public health, reduces carbon emissions and provides a cost effective and COVID-safe way for people to travel. …. Cycling infrastructure projects have been shown to create on average 11 jobs per $1 million spent, higher than the 8 jobs for similar road projects.
For our community to capture all the benefits of active transport, we need to invest in infrastructure for people who ride or walk that is safe and connected. We know a key barrier to increasing cycling participation rates, particularly for women and families, is safety. …. Our bike paths and networks must also connect and reflect the routes on which people travel, ensuring more people in the community see cycling as a safe and efficient way to move around our community. We also need to work to ensure cycling is safe and accessible to people of all ages.
We’ll work in partnership with Inner West bicycle groups to advocate for the Network. [fantastic]
To ensure Inner West residents are able to maximise the opportunities around cycling and walking projects, Labor councillors will:
● Continue our strong support for the completion of the GreenWay and champion efforts to build cycling infrastructure where it is supported by local communities; [last bit a cop out, need to convince people to support!]
● Audit shovel-ready projects currently in development by Inner West Council to ensure there is an active pipeline of projects available for State and Federal Government funding rounds;[very important]
● Run a communications campaign and support bicycle groups to host events to encourage greater cycling participation across our communities; [Could we run a Ciclovia?]
● Increase maintenance budgets to ensure our roads, cycleways and footpaths are safe;
● Support walking bus programs and introduce wayfinding programs at schools across the inner west local government area to make roads around our schools safer for kids and give families options to walk or ride to school.
-from Council Meeting 8 February 2022
https://innerwest.infocouncil.biz/Open/2022/02/C_08022022_AGN_3904_AT.PDF