Accessible information on recreational trails and facilities is vital in ensuring trails are utilised and active and healthy lifestyles are promoted. Two key things to remember when promoting cycling for recreation:
- Focus on fun and fitness
- Ensure publications include images of a diversity of people (age, fitness level, culture)
Promotional strategies include some of the following types of resources:
Maps of local cycling facilities
All state and many local council jurisdictions produce maps to assist identification and use of safe bicycle routes for cyclists with different needs and abilities. These are generally available through the cycling hub on the relevant jurisdictional web site. Some samples include:
Australia State and Territory:
- ACT Planning and Land Authority, website, Canberra and Queanbeyan cycling and walking map.
Visit Site
- Roads and Traffic Authority, website, New South Wales Cycling Maps
Visit Site - Department of Planning and Infrastructure, website, Northern Territory Cycling Maps.
Visit Site - Queensland Transport, website, Queensland Cycling Maps.
Visit Site - Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, website, South Australian Cycling Maps.
Visit Site - VicRoads, website, Online interactive bicycle maps.
Visit Site - Department of Planning and Infrastructure, website, Western Australian Cycling Maps
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Australian Local Councils
- Brisbane City Council - Brisbane's Bikeway Experience
Also available from Brisbane City Council is an innovative multimedia CD ROM with cycling routes, tips and maps.
Visit Site - City of Darebin - Discover Darebin Map
This one page PDF map highlights green travel options in the City of Darebin.
View PDF
- Redland Shire Walking and Cycling Map
Redland City Council
This one page PDF map highlights cycling opportunities in Redland Shire.
View PDF - TravelSmart Victoria - TravelSmart Maps
TravelSmart Maps cover local government areas and use a traditional Melway base with the colours altered to favour cycling and public transport above the arterial road network and other car based information.
Visit Site - Cycling the NSW Central Coast on-line cycling guide
Gosford Council
This website has been developed to encourage local and visiting bike riders to get outdoors and explore the picturesque Central Coast. Here you'll find details of a variety of local rides, each graded with a level of difficulty and experience required to negotiate the proposed routes. There are rides suitable for everyone - from individuals to families to professional riders.
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International
- San Francisco Bike Map & Walking Guide
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
One of the most effective urban bicycle maps available. Covers official and scenic bike routes, as well as colour coded gradients. An excellent example of world’s best practice in bicycle maps.
View PDF - Bikely
Bikely is a web based mapping tool to enable bicycle riders to share their knowledge of good bicycle routes.
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SignageGood signage of recreational trails is vital in encouraging and promoting their use and improving safety and comfort. Ideally at all decision points, signs should be positioned so that bicycle riders are able to follow the routes without confusion. It is useful to provide an indication of distances on the signs.
Australia
- Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, 2000, AS 1742.9-2000: Manual of uniform traffic control devices - Bicycle facilities
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Specifies requirements for signs, pavement markings and other informational devices. Includes recommendations for guide signs and other navigational information for cyclists. - Department of Planning and Infrastructure website, Signage and a good map make route planning easy.
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Briefly outlines signage of more that 750 km of metropolitan cycle facilities in Perth and other WA towns. - SA Tourism Commission and Recreation Trails Signage and Interpretation Working Group, 2003, Guidelines for producing trail signage, South Australian Trails, Adelaide
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These guidelines have been prepared to assist government, industry, community and recreation trail groups to develop and produce effective trail signs for direction, interpretation, and management. They aim to answer the common questions about sign development and production without significantly replicating information from other sign standard manuals. - Railtrails Australia, 2004, Signage Development for Rail Trails, Railtrails Australia Inc, Melbourne
View PDF - Targeted at Rail Trail Committees of Management, this is a useful supplement to current Australian Standards. These guidelines provide good practice tips for the design of signage for Rail Trails and outlines strategies to use in the development of a life cycle signage program for Rail Trails.
International
- Eckerson, C. Jr. (2007) "Berkeley Bike Boulevards" (8.13 min video) - StreetFilms.org
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In Berkeley, Calif. a citywide network of bicycle priority streets called Bicycle Boulevards allow cyclists to navigate safely. They are marked by smart traffic management, bountiful traffic calming, and the aura of livability and putting people first, cars second. Among their most unique trademarks are the purple signage and street stencils larger than a car!
In this trip to Berkeley, StreetFilms’ Clarence Eckerson Jr. talks to advocates and users of the boulevards about their history and benefits.
Accessible information
Promoting the benefits of cycling is vital in encouraging more people to actively participate in cycling; be it for recreation, health or transport. Effective promotion should happen at a range of levels, the individual, the business sector, the community and government.
There are an increasing number of publications available for people interested in taking up cycling or in cycling more often which can be tailored and adapted for different target groups and communities, from novice to experienced riders. A list of these resources (or web sites hosting them) from a variety of different sources is provided below:
State & Territory Examples:
- Roads and Traffic Authority, website, Bicycle riders.
Visit Site - Queensland Transport, website, Bicycle User Guide series
Visit Site - Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (SA), website, Factsheets series.
Visit Site - VicRoads, website, Bicycle and Pedestrian information.
Visit Site - Department of Planning and Infrastructure (WA), Cycling Fact Sheets series
Visit Site
Health Service or Health and Fitness Campaign Examples:
- Better Health Channels (VIC), website, Cycling … all about
Visit Site - Go For your Life (VIC), website, Cycling and your health. Visit Site and 1,753 kms of bike paths for family outings
Visit Site - Sydney South West Area Health Service, website, Promoting Cycling for Transport and Recreation.
Visit Site - VicHealth Fact Sheet, 2007, Sport and Active Recreation and Visit Site
Visit Site
Local Council Examples:
- City of Darebin, website, Walking and Cycling in Darebin
Visit Site - City of Yarra, undated PDF file, Cycling Information
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Non Government Organisation Examples:
- Bicycle Victoria, website, Bikes and bike riding
Visit Site - Cycling Promotion Fund, website, Fact Sheets
Visit Site - Heart Foundation, website, Australian Physical Activity Network (AusPAnet)
Visit Site
Encouragement programsHealth promotion evidence suggests that encouragement programs are a vital component of any strategy to achieve behaviour change. A review of the theory suggests that there are fives stages of behaviour change, outlined as follows:
- PRECONTEMPLATION: Changing behaviour has not been considered: person might not realise that change is possible or that it might be of interest to them;
- CONTEMPLATION: Something happens to prompt the person to start thinking about change - perhaps hearing that someone has made changes - or something else has changed - resulting in the need for further change;
- PREPARATION: Person prepares to undertake the desired change – requires gathering information, finding out how to achieve the change, ascertaining skills necessary, deciding when change should take place - may include talking with others to see how they feel about the likely change, considering impact the change will have and who will be affected;
- ACTION: People make changes, acting on previous decisions, experience, information, new skills, and motivations for making the change;
- MAINTENANCE: Practice required for the new behaviour to be consistently maintained, incorporated into the repertoire of behaviours available to a person at any one time.
For more information on behaviour change theory see:
- TravelSmart Victoria, undated PDF file, Theories and Models of Behaviour Change.
View PDF
It is important to remember the above stages when developing encouragement programs. Some useful examples and resources are listed below: - Department of Planning and Infrastructure (WA), website, Cycle Instead Campaign
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This is a good Government funded campaign to encourage and promote cycling, with a number of innovative marketing tools. - Garrard, J., Crawford, S., Hakman, N., 2006, Revolutions for Women: Increasing women’s participation in cycling for recreation and transport: Summary of key findings, Department for Victorian Communities, Sport and Recreation Victoria
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This study identifies motivations, supports and constraints associated with women’s participation in cycling, conducts case studies of a range of programs and initiatives that have been developed and implemented to promote women’s participation and develops recommendations for strategies and programs to increase women's participation in cycling. A two page summary of the findings is found in Cycling and loving it! Encouraging women to cycle.
View PDF - Fairfield City Council, website, Western Sydney Cycling Network
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An innovative program to encourage and promote cycling for recreation and transport which includes a bicycle recycle and bicycle loan scheme. - Alice Springs Youth Accommodation & Support Services, website, Deadly Treadlies
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An innovative program to encourage and promote cycling. Deadly Treadlies trains young people in a variety of skills: team work and planning, mechanical skills, personal development and enterprise development. - Cycling Promotion Fund, website, Bicycling Achievement Awards
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These awards case study many innovative programs to encourage and promote cycling. - Heart Foundation, Local Government Awards
Visit Site - Great Case Studies of Local Governments playing an active role in promoting active and healthy lifestyles.
- The Otesha Project (Australia): Cycling for Sustainability
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The objectives of The Otesha Project (Australia) are to increase awareness about the impacts of the products and resources we consume, increase the number of responsible consumer choices made by young Australians, and increase the number of young role models and sustainability advocates.
Youth Programs
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Charlie's FreeWheels Builds Self-Esteem Through Building Bikes
Lloyd Alter, 20 January 2010, Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
In the summer of 2007 I wrote about the death of Charles Prinsep, killed on a highway in Alberta, "Flesh and blood against gasoline, alcohol and two tons of steel." As in so many of these stories, there is a period of anger, but rarely any follow-up as the story is forgotten.
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Cycling events
Cycling events are a great way to lift the profile of cycling, enable people to explore local cycling infrastructure and promote active and healthy lifestyles. Information on these are easily available through scanning Bicycle Federation of Australia Visit Site Bicycle Victoria Visit Site web sites or magazines.
Event management:
- Roads and Traffic Authority, 2004, New South Wales Guidelines for Bicycle Road Races, Government of NSW.View PDF
These guidelines explain the process for obtaining approval to conduct bicycle racing on roads and highways within NSW. A permit issued by NSW Police is required to conduct a cycle race. - Roads and Traffic Authority of NSW, web page on bike events.
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As part of the commitment to cycle racing and road safety, the RTA, Cycling NSW and the NSW Police have developed a document explaining the process for obtaining approval to conduct bicycle racing on roads and highways within New South Wales. You can view and download the document from the box at the bottom of this page. - VicRoads, 2001, On-Road Cycling Events: A Guide to obtaining approval, VicRoads, Melbourne.
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Takes the reader through relevant safety issues for cycling events. - Australian Greenhouse Office, website, TravelSmart Special Events Planning Resource Kit.
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A toolkit designed to help organisers of special events reduce car parking requirements by providing smarter alternatives, such as walking, cycling and public transport usage.
International Events
- Michael Graham Richard, 13 July 2009, "Video: Tour de Queens 2009", Canada: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes) via StreetFilms
TreeHugger - Visit Site
StreetFilms - Visit Site
Our friends at StreetFilms produced this great short film about the Tour de Queens 2009 (the second annual edition, mark your calendar for next year!), which took place yesterday. It's not exactly prestigious like the Tour de France, but it's certainly a lot more accessible.
Case studiesSome case studies include the following:
- National Ride to Work
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Partnerships: Bicycle Victoria, Bicycle NSW, Bicycle QLD, Bicycle South Australia, numerous local councils, businesses and workplaces across Australia
Summary: National ride to work day across Australia - Spring Cycle
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Partnerships: Bicycle NSW, City of Sydney, Sun-Herald, MS Australia, Sydney Olympic Park.
Summary: The Spring Cycle is Sydney’s most popular annual recreational cycling event where thousands of cyclists of all ages and abilities join together to enjoy a Sunday cycle through some of the most picturesque surroundings of the city - Brisbane to the Gold Coast Cycle Challenge
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Partnerships: Bicycle Queensland, Wilson HTM Investment, Queensland Transport & Main Roads, Gold Cost City Council, Brisbane City Council, TransLink, Planet Cycles, Cannondale
Summary: Queensland’s only long-distance mass-participation challenge ride - NRMA Careflight Woodford to Glenbrook Classic
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Partnerships: NRMA, New South Wales Government, Ambulance Service of New South Wales
Summary: Fundraising ride for NRMA CareFlight - Cyclovia in Bogota
Visit Site and around the world.
Cyclovia in Australia: Moreland City Council, Sydney Road - Brunswick Traders Association Yarra Trams, MetLink Melbourne, Great Event Company, Moreland Bicycle User Group Rotary Club of Coburg, Coburg Traders Association, Cycling Promotion Fund.
Summary: Cyclovia Sydney Road - Moreland, the first of its kind in Australia, was held on Sunday 28 May 2006. Around 5,000 people enjoyed a great day on Sydney Road and for 6 hours "life to the street" was a reality in Moreland Visit Site - Kelly Country Classic
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Partnerships: Wangaratta Bicycle Users Group, Northeast Health Wangaratta
Summary: A fundraising ride for Northeast Health in Wangaratta. - Music festivals: some music festivals which have good programs to encourage and promote cycling access, including:
Woodford Folk Festival Visit Site
Peats Ridge Festival Visit Site - Bike hire / sharing system in Paris - "Vélo Liberté" or Freedom Bike.
View PDF
An overview of the new bike sharing system being rolled out in Paris. - Transport for London website - provides an encouragement program for their employees to cycle to work
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The site provides information on bike parking, bike pooling, travel plans to work and tax exemptions - cycle to work schemes. - Clark Jones, c. (2007) "A Bicycle Story" (3.00 min video)
Visit Site - "Green Bike Program" (2007) (1.37 min video)
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Rescues, restores and redistributes bike left on campus at Pitzer College, USA.
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"Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in America" (2008) (8.30 min video)Visit Site
produced by Democracy Now (USA). - I-Ce & PPQ (2007) "Cycling Friendly Cities" (15 min low resolution video)
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scripted by Enrique Penalosa the film shows cycle friendly cities in Denmark, Paris and Columbia. - Eckerson, C. Jr. (2007) "Ciclovia: Bogotá, Colombia" (9:41 min video) - StreetFilms.org
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Recently, I had the opportunity to travel with comrades Karla Quintero and Aaron Naparstek to Bogotá, Colombia to document some of the amazing advances going on in the livable streets movement there. On Sunday we spent the entire day - from 5 AM ’til nearly 5 PM - riding bicycles around the city courtesy of the Ciclovia, a weekly event in which over 70 miles of city streets are closed to traffic where residents come out to walk, bike, run, skate, recreate, picnic, and talk with family, neighbors & strangers…it is simply one of the most moving experiences I have had in my entire life. -
Eckerson, C. Jr. (2007) "Tour de Brooklyn" (3.25 min video) - StreetFilms.org
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This year’s 3rd annual Tour de Brooklyn was a special treat as New York City DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan rode the entire event with over 2,000 enthusiastic cyclists.The excursion covered 18 miles and started in Grand Army Plaza, headed down 4th Avenue to Bay Ridge, then stopped in Dyker Heights for a respite before returning back to Prospect Park. As always with the TdB, the emphasis is on friends, family, and fun.
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Whitaker, N. (2007) "Tykes Take the Streets: Kids Art Bike Parade" (2.45 min video) - StreetFilms.org
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Over 100 children, along with parents & advocates rode their beautifully adorned bike machines attended the first annual Kids Art Bike Ride For the Lower East Side.The event was hosted by The East Village Community Coalition in cooperation with Transportation Alternatives, Recycle-A-Bicycle, Bike New York, The Lower East Side Girls Club and a slew of other amazing groups too numerous to name. Many public and elected officials turned out to join the festivities.
Following a bike decorating workshop and a bike helmet give away by the NYC DOT, the event took participants on a 30 minute ride through the streets of the East Village, including a trip down the 2nd Avenue bike lane! With spirits high and smiles wide, children, some who had never had the chance to ride NYC’s streets using pedal power before, got a glimpse of what a more equitable use of city streets could be like.
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7Stanes is a Scottish Forestry Commission recreation and tourism project Visit Site
The 7stanes are seven mountain biking centres spanning the south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. 'Stane' is the Scots word for stone, and at each of the 7stanes locations, you'll find a stone sculpture reflecting a local myth or legend.
The stanes are found out on the trails in the forests, in prominent locations near cycling and walking paths. They’re accessible on foot or by horse as well as by bike, and range in size from one to three metres high and from two to six tons in weight.
Find out more about the STANES themselves Visit Site
