Bicycle plans are an increasingly common method for government authorities to outline their strategy for accommodating and encouraging bicycle use. These planning documents offer the strategic framework to implement bicycle initiatives in a manner consistent with the organisational requirements and objectives of the relevant agency.
The following documents are offered to assist practitioners in the development, review and implementation of bicycle strategies and plans:
Australia:
- Austroads, The National Cycling Strategy, 2005 – 2010, Austroads, Australian Government.
View PDF
The Australian National Cycling Strategy is the commitment of all Australian governments to increasing the national level of cycling. - Bicycle Federation of Australia, 2006, Bikeability Toolkit, Australian Greenhouse Office, Australian Government, Canberra.
Visit Site
The Bikeability Toolkit provides a practical checklist and relevant resources to assist local and state governments, as well as developers and community groups to improve the physical and social conditions for cycling. - Rissel, C., Garrard, J., 2006, Cycling for active transport and recreation in Australia: Status review and future directions, World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 13, p. 49 – 63.
View PDF
This paper reviews the position of the bicycle in Australia, as a form of transport and recreation. The paper identifies the various influences on people’s decision to ride and highlights gender differences in participation and requirements. It is a helpful tool for planners to better understand how to encourage greater cycling participation in Australia.
New South Wales:
- City of Sydney, 2007, Cycling Strategy and Action Plan 2007-2017, City of Sydney.
View PDF
The City of Sydney Cycle Strategy and Action Plan 2007-2017 is Council’s commitment to increasing the attractiveness of cycling. It specifically aims to improve the level of bicycle friendliness, increase safety, market the benefits of cycling and raise the proportion of trips conducted by bicycle. - Roads and Traffic Authority, 1999, Action for Bikes: Bike Plan 2010, Roads and Traffic Authority, New South Wales Government, Sydney.
View PDF
Action for Bikes is a four point plan to improve conditions for cycling in NSW. The plan consists of improving the cycle network, increasing safety, improving health and environmental outcomes and marketing the benefits of cycling. - Roads and Traffic Authority, 2002, How to Prepare a Bike Plan: An Easy Three Stage Guide, Roads and Traffic Authority, NSW Government, Sydney.
View PDF
How to Prepare a Bike Plan is an informative, step-by-step guide for local government’s seeking to develop a bike plan. Although it is intended for NSW local councils, much of the content is easily transferable to other states and territories. - The Cooks River Cycleway is an example of multiple government agencies and community groups working together to create a commuter and recreational cycle route that links various areas and interconnects with destination hubs and public transport.
Visit Site - Campbell Town City Council - Bike Plan
Visit Site
Campbelltown City Council has undertaken a survey of residents to identify key attitudes to cycling in Campbelltown. The survey is part of a review of Council's current Bike Plan (1998) in an effort to improve the cycle network, to better promote cycling as an activity and to promote more sustainable transport choices. The Current Bike Plan View PDF can be viewed here.
Queensland:
- Queensland Transport, 2006, Developing a local cycle strategy and local government plan, Queensland Transport, Queensland Government.
View PDF
The purpose of this Cycle Note is to provide guidance to local government in the development of local cycle strategies. - Queensland Transport, 2003, Queensland Cycle Strategy, Queensland Transport, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
View PDF
The Queensland Cycle Strategy aims to create the conditions under which cycling is seen as a safe and convenient form of transport and recreation. The strategy seeks to integrate cycling throughout government strategies, standards and guidelines to enable bicycle initiatives to be incorporated throughout government activities and projects. - Queensland Transport, 2006, Policy context for cycling in Queensland, Queensland Government, Brisbane.
View PDF
This document describes the importance of undertaking action on cycling in a manner consistent with national, state and regional policy frameworks. This policy context is broadened to include environment and health strategies, in addition to specific cycling policy.
South Australia:
- Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, 2006, Safety in Numbers: A Cycling Strategy for South Australia 2006-2010, Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, Government of South Australia.
View PDF
The South Australian Cycling Strategy is the government’s commitment to increasing the safety, convenience and attractiveness of cycling. The strategy highlights safety and perceptions of safety are primary factors influencing the rate of cycle participation. The document strongly identifies that as more people cycle, the safer it becomes. A doubling of cycle trips by 2015 is a core goal.
Victoria:
- Department of Transport, (2009) Victorian Cycling Strategy
DoT website Visit Site
The Victorian Cycling Strategy aims to increase cycling levels across Victoria and position cycling alongside cars, trains, trams and buses as a viable and attractive transport option.
The strategy will deliver a better cycling network, promote a culture of cycling, reduce conflicts between cyclists and other road users, better integrate cycling with public transport and integrate cycling with land use planning.
Download the Victorian Cycling Strategy View PDF (PDF, 2.2 MB, 44 pp.) - Victorian Local Government Association, website, Thinking Transport
Visit Site
A toolkit to assist local government with integrated transport planning. - Bayside City Council, 2003, Bicycle Strategy, Bayside City Council, Melbourne.
View PDF
A high quality, comprehensive document outlining Bayside City Council’s commitment to encouraging cycling. - Department of Infrastructure, 2006, Meeting Our Transport Challenges, Victorian Government, Melbourne.
View PDF
Meeting Our Transport Challenges (MOTC) is the Victorian Government’ blueprint for transport planning for the next 25 years. It outlines the government’s commitment to both increasing the cycle network and promoting it through behaviour change initiatives. Action 8 of MOTC is titled Promoting smarter, healthier travel choices and contains specific commitments to cycling. - City of Melbourne, 2002, Bike Plan 2002-2007: A Transportation Strategy, City of Melbourne.
View PDF
The Bike Plan 2002-2007 is Council’s commitment to increasing the bicycle friendliness of the City of Melbourne. The Plan identifies safety, connectivity, infrastructure and communication as key areas of action to fulfil its vision of a bicycle friendly City. - Rose, G., 2003, Bikes and travel behaviour change – a transport engineers perspective, Institute of Transport Studies, Monash University, Melbourne. Presentation at Connecting Cycling, Canberra, 20 - 21 November.
View PDF
This presentation explores the balance between travel behaviour change program such as TravelSmart, with other methods of encouragement, such as bicycle infrastructure improvements.
Tasmania:
- Launceston Bicycle Plan 2005 - 2010 – developed by the Launceston City Council Bicycle Committee
View PDF
A high quality, comprehensive document outlining Launceston City Council’s commitment to encouraging cycling.
Western Australia:
- Department of Planning and Infrastructure, 1996, Bike Ahead: Bicycle Strategy for the 21st Century, Government of Western Australia.
View PDF
Bike Ahead is the Western Australian Government’s plan to build the level of cycle participation across the state. - Bicycle Victoria, website, Local Streets for Cycling and Walking
Visit Site
This webpage is presented as a toolbox for local government to assist in the development of bicycle friendly local street design.
International:
-
Jack Oortwijn, 19 May 2009, European Cities Commit to Cycling, Bike Europe
Visit Site
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Last Friday, at the final day of the international conference on cycling policy, Velo-city 2009, 27 cities signed the “Charter of Brussels” View PDF in the European Parliament. With this Charter the cities commit themselves to achieve at least a 15% share of all trips made in urban areas to be done by bicycle. Today, this share stands at about 5 % in Europe. -
Prof. Pucher, J. & Buehler, R. (2009) Sustainable Transport that Works: Lessons from Germany," World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 15, No. 1, May 2009, pp. 13-46, Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
View PDF -
Prof. Pucher, J. & Buehler, R. (2009) "Cycling for a Few or for Everyone: The Importance of Social Justice in Cycling Policy," World Transport Policy and Practice, Vol. 15, No. 1, May 2009, pp. 57-64, Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
View PDF - GTZ SUTP and the Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-Ce), (2009) "Cycling-inclusive Policy Development: A Handbook" download (19MB) - you will need to register to get the free download (instructions are on the website)
Visit Site
This handbook provides detailed information on how to develop cycling-friendly policies and facilities. It can help you, as a planner, engineer, community leader of advocate to enrich your own ideas about the future traffic and transport system where you live and work. It has been written by 12 authors who are experts in different fields of cycling-inclusive development. - The Clear Air Partnership, (2009), Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business: A Study of Bloor Street in Toronto’s Annex Neighbourhood, Toronto
View PDF
This report takes a closer look into fears that improved walking and biking conditions through reallocation of road space would hurt business. - UK National Cycling Strategy - Bike for the Future II
View PDF & the BFFII Executive sumary - View PDF - Cycling England - Cycling City, Cycling Towns
Visit Site
multiple resources available on this webpage. - Cycling England - Engineering and Planning multiple resources available on this webpage
Visit Site
Various pdf documents available for download. - Hook, W. (2003) Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-Makers in Developing Cities - Preserving and Expanding the Role of Non-motorised Transport, Division 44, GTZ Transport and Mobility Group
View PDF
The Sourcebook is intended for use by policy makers in developing cities, and their advisors, it provides policy tools appropriate for application in a range of developing cities. - Ministry of Transport, 2006, Getting there – on foot, by cycle: Strategic Implementation Plan 2006 – 2009, Ministry of Transport, New Zealand.
View PDF
Getting there is a long term planning document that seeks to promote walking and cycling as a form of transport throughout New Zealand. - Land Transport New Zealand, 2005, Regional Land Transport Guidelines, New Zealand Government, Christchurch.
View PDF
This report provides a comprehensive set of guidelines for those reviewing regional land transport strategies. Although it is written for Land Transport NZ staff, others may find it useful. - Litman, T., Blair, R., Demopoulos, B., Eddy, N., Fritzel, A., Laidlaw, D., Maddox, H., Forster, K., 2002, Pedestrian and bicycle planning: A guide to best practice, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria, Canada.
A thorough guide to best practice pedestrian and bicycle planning. This is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to achieve better planning outcomes for pedestrians and cyclists. An extensive list of references allows for convenient research opportunities. - Macbeth, A.G., Boulter, R., Ryan, P. S., 2005, New Zealand walking and cycling strategies - best practice, Research Report 274, Land Transport New Zealand, Wellington.
View PDF
This report offers a collection of New Zealand and some international walking and cycling strategies, highlighting examples of best practice. It aims to simplify the task of developing walking and cycling strategies, as well as reviewing existing documents. - Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre, website, Bikeability checklist
View PDF
A practical guide designed to evaluate the bicycle friendliness of particular localities. Although it was developed in the United States, the majority of the content is relevant to the Australian and New Zealand context. - European Conference of Ministers, 2004, Implementing Sustainable Urban Travel Policies: Moving Ahead, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris.
Visit Site
This paper provides an overview of national level policies aimed at encouraging cycling. It highlights the importance of national level policy commitment concerning cycling, to ensure an appropriate framework is in place for the development of more detailed, localised actions. - Danish Roads Directorate, 2000, Collection of Cycle Concepts, Government of Denmark, Copenhagen.
View PDF
The Collection of Cycle Concepts is a comprehensive Danish publication on cycling. It offers a wide ranging, yet detailed analysis and discussion on promotion, urban planning, facility design, signage and parking. Although some of it is specific to Denmark, much of the content is internationally relevant. - Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre, website, Policy and Planning
Visit Site
United States orientated, web based information centre covering a wide variety of topics on walking and cycling issues. This Policy and Planning link offers links to a large number of US walking and cycling strategy documents, as well as the benefits of cycling. - Pucher, J., Buehler, R., 2006, Why Canadians cycle more than Americans: A comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies, Transport Policy, Vol. 13, p. 265 – 279.
View PDF
This research paper, although North American focused, offers an important explanation of how transport and land use policies influence rates of cycling. - Pucher, J., Dijkstra, L., 2003, Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: Lessons from the Netherlands and Germany, American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 93, No. 9.
View PDF
This research paper assesses the public health consequences of unsafe and unattractive walking and cycling amenity. It does this through an examination of conditions in US cities and compares them to the Netherlands and Germany. This paper is instructive to Australian and New Zealand planners, although it is written with a US and European focus. - USA Non-motorized Transportation Pilot Program
Visit Site
This interim report to Congress summarizes the progress and initial results of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) and the four pilot communities' participation in the Non-motorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) from its inception through May 2007.
Section 1807 of the Safe, Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), P.L. 109-59, established the NTPP in August 2005. Over the span of 4 years, the legislation provides $25 million in contract authority for each of the NTPP's four pilot communities (Columbia, Missouri; Marin County, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Sheboygan County, Wisconsin) "to construct ... a network of non-motorized transportation infrastructure facilities, including sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian and bicycle trails, that connect directly with transit stations, schools, residences, businesses, recreation areas, and other community activity centers."
The purpose of the NTPP as stated in Section 1807 is "to demonstrate the extent to which bicycling and walking can carry a significant part of the transportation load, and represent a major portion of the transportation solution, within selected communities." The final report is expected to be release in 2011. -
Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (Visit Site
), Case Study - Lessons from Bogota
Visit Site
Enrique Penalosa - the iconic Colombian mayor who transformed the city of Bogota, together with top Latin American and US transport experts - has been contracted as an adviser to Cape Town mayor Helen Zille, who hopes to emulate Penalosa’s example. - Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (Visit Site ), Case Study - Buenos Aires to Implement a Vélib-style Bicycle Transit System
Visit Site
The Buenos Aires City Council took a positive step towards becoming a more sustainable city by approving legislation to create a public bicycle transport system. Replicating the Vélib system in Paris, which was awarded with the 2008 Sustainable Transport Award, the law establishes a city-wide bicycle rental system that also provides strategically-located bike stations. - Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (Visit Site ), Case Study - Mexico City Bicycle Planning
Visit Site
Transportation-related issues present a serious challenge to improving the quality of life for Mexico City’s 19 million residents. Of the 2.5 million tons of pollutants emitted into the city’s air each year, more than 80% come from cars and other motorize vehicles.
Though only 20% of all the trips in Mexico City each day are made in cars, 80% of its physical space is dedicated to travel by car. Seven out of ten Mexican citizens are overweight or obese. - BIKE FOR THE FUTURE II - A Funding Strategy for National Investment in Cycling to 2012, Cycling England
View PDF
Cycling England was formed in March 2005 by the Department for Transport to get ‘more people cycling, more safely, more often’. Its creation was the result of recommendations made in August 2004 by the prior advisory body, the National Cycling Strategy Board (NCSB).
Bike for the Future II draws heavily on the recommendations of a wide range of stakeholders, particularly the major NGO’s, Sustrans, CTC, British Cycling and the London Cycle Campaign, as well as Local Authority representatives. It has benefited from the experience of Transport for London (TfL) who have consistently increased investment in cycling in the London Boroughs to its present £38m p.a., and generated 450,000 cycle trips per day.
This is the Executive Sumary - BIKE FOR THE FUTURE II View PDF
