Satyen Gandhi - "Unley's Walking & Cycling Plan 2016-17"
Guest Speaker Satyen Gandhi, Transport and Traffic Lead, City of Unley presented a very interesting summary of the planned intentions for improvements to Walking and Cycling movement through the City of Unley area.A walking and cycling friendly city is one with less noise, cleaner air, healthier citizens and a stronger economy. It’s a city that is a nicer place to be in, where individuals have a higher quality of life, accessibility is high and there is a simple route from thought to action to participate in social, cultural, work/leisure activities or buy locally.
Active transport (any form of transport involving physical activity) is therefore not a singular goal but rather an effective tool to use when creating a vibrant city with space for diversity and development. The 2016-17 Plan aims to be World Class and achieve current Best Practice and build on the World Health Organisations accreditation.
Since becoming the only metropolitan council with a city-wide 40kph speed limit the council area has achieved a 20% reduction in crash numbers despite being a "pass-through" zone for 300,000 cars per day for many outer areas. The number of cyclists passing through the Council area doubled between 2015 and 2017.
The Council is striving to establish a seamless network of cycling/walking ways with a rolling programme of filling the gaps between existing routes.
After fielding several questions from the assembly, Satyen was thanked by Peter Griffiths and presented with a Club coffee mug.
Thank You Satyen for letting us in on the grand cycling & walking future in the friendly city of Unley.