Due to my upbringing, my understanding of the prophesies of Revelations may be just slightly off from standard interpretations, but it’s pretty clear to me that the Four Horsemen of the Carpocalypse are among us today, convincing us to destroy ourselves. The fact that they are riding horses not driving cars is further evidence, asContinue reading “The Four Horsemen of the Carpocalypse”
Author Archives: David M Levinson
GreenWay from Iron Cove to the Cooks River
WalkSydney Members Event: GreenWay from Iron Cove to the Cooks River Presentation by the Inner West Council GreenWay project manager. Mr Hawken will speak about the completion of the GreenWay from Iron Cove to the Cooks River largely alongside the Light Rail. This is a fully funded project which is anticipated to be complete inContinue reading “GreenWay from Iron Cove to the Cooks River”
Better Transport for Sydney
We asked our Twitter readership what they would do to make transport in Sydney better. Below we synthesise and organise their responses below. Note, no one said “build more motorways”. The general sentiment was to prioritise those making shorter trips, prioritise safety, and prioritise people throughput above all else. We don’t endorse all of theseContinue reading “Better Transport for Sydney”
WalkSydney Gets Results: Whose turn? The strange case of Golden Grove Street and Darlington Road — Resolved
In March 2020 we wrote “Whose turn? The strange case of Golden Grove Street and Darlington Road“. (You can see details there) We are pleased to report that the intersection, which connects the Darlington Campus of the University of Sydney with Newtown, has been improved for pedestrians. There is now a raised pedestrian crossing (aContinue reading “WalkSydney Gets Results: Whose turn? The strange case of Golden Grove Street and Darlington Road — Resolved”
Peter Norton: Autonorama: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving
On March 12, 2022, (March 11, 2022 where Peter was speaking) Peter Norton talked to WalkSydney, EcoTransit, and Friends of Erskineville … A recording of the talk is here: https://www.facebook.com/walksydney/videos/652985232452991 Bio: Peter Norton is associate professor of history in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia, where he teaches history ofContinue reading “Peter Norton: Autonorama: The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving”
A grand bargain
We know that lowering vehicle speeds on residential streets increases safety, reduces traffic, and that low traffic neighbourhoods encourage more people to walk and bike. We know that raising vehicles speeds on motorways will attract drivers from local roads to motorways, may encourage more travel by motorway (and maybe overall), but will increase safety riskContinue reading “A grand bargain”
Open Streets in Greater Sydney
It’s always good when people take to the streets. Below are some official street festivals, markets, and the like that take place in Greater Sydney in 2022. While COVID did a number on these over the past two years, the city is awakening from its pandemic slumber. If you know of other active open streetContinue reading “Open Streets in Greater Sydney”
Sydney Walking Tracks
This map (click link for Zoomable Google Map) may of interest to anyone looking for a long walk. It was assembled by a group called The Walking Volunteers. Happy hiking.
For your protection
Observed on Hannam Street near Turrella Station:
Erskineville Station Southern Entrance
Dear Lord Mayor, WalkSydney is a community group working to make it easier, safer and more pleasant to walk in Sydney. With a growing population we need to ensure people can easily walk to public transport, local shops and services, and shared transport options. The proposed southern entrance at Erskineville Station provides another opportunity toContinue reading “Erskineville Station Southern Entrance”
Trees in the street
Problem: There is not enough tree canopy, and so temperatures will got hot. Problem: Sterile environments worsen mental health. Problem: Impervious surface increases storm runoff and pollutes and wastes water. Problem: Cars drive too fast. Solution: Plant trees in the streets. As shown in the figures below, Glebe and Haberfield, two of Sydney’s leafier suburbs,Continue reading “Trees in the street”
Annual General Meeting
Walk Sydney will hold its Annual General Meeting via Zoom at 2:00 pm on Saturday, September 12, 2020. All members are welcome to attend. If you are not a member, please join. If you plan to join, and want to attend, contact walksydney1 at gmail dot com for details. Current members should have received noticeContinue reading “Annual General Meeting”
Lines of Desire
In the image shown, in Moore Park, we see a dirt desire line connecting from here to there. We know people want to use this path, because it is well worn, the dirt is compacted. But despite the hundreds of millions available for new stadia, where is the effort to make this a bit betterContinue reading “Lines of Desire”
Kerb Ramps
Consider the image. In the center of this image we see a brand new raised and marked pedestrian crosswalk just a bit up the street. This is great. In the lower left of this image we see a kerb ramp, designed for those pedestrians on wheels to easily transition from street to footpath. It’s beenContinue reading “Kerb Ramps”
Overgrowth: Thinking about 3-Dimensional Pedestrian Paths
One of the quieter issues about walkability is the overgrowth of plants and trees into the footpath. This either narrows the footpath itself, or, if elevated, the walking path, leading one to walk into branches and bushes, or scoot over to avoid them. The footpath is normally treated as a two-dimensional object. That it isContinue reading “Overgrowth: Thinking about 3-Dimensional Pedestrian Paths”
Disconnected
As one wanders around greater Sydney, one notices really small things, like missing links in the footpath network. None of these are completely offputting for a healthy, fully-abled pedestrians. For those with mobility challenges, each of these is another unnecessary obstacle. Each of these has a particular reason, related to who owns the property, theContinue reading “Disconnected”
Don’t Fence Me In
Walking across the street away from the intersection is strongly discouraged on some roads. Purportedly for safety but in many cases to improve motor vehicle traffic flow. This creates a chaffingly regulated environment for the pedestrian who wants to cross, for instance, a shopping street. Now when the shopping street is 6 (or more) lanesContinue reading “Don’t Fence Me In”
Whose turn? The strange case of Golden Grove Street and Darlington Road
(April 21, 2020) See update below At the intersection of Darlington Road and Golden Grove Street, adjacent to the University of Sydney campus (the route to King Street for those of us in Darlington), drivers seem to believe that the turn (Golden Grove to Darlington, Darlington to Golden Grove) is a through road, and honkContinue reading “Whose turn? The strange case of Golden Grove Street and Darlington Road”
Focusing not on EyeSight, but on the problem and solutions before us.
David McCowen at The Daily Telegraph reports “Subaru helping to save lives with EyeSight technology” on pedestrian-crash-recognising-and-reporting technology that might be deployed in some new cars 5 years! Exclusive: Hit and run fatals are hoped to be reduced by new cars that automatically call an ambulance following a crash. Subaru says its next-generation “EyeSight” driver assistanceContinue reading “Focusing not on EyeSight, but on the problem and solutions before us.”
What can we do about drink (drunk) drivers
The Australian Associated Press writes: Mother ‘forgives’ driver after fatal crash. The newspapers want to emphasise the personal tragedy, which it is. But if we respond as if it could not be avoided, it will be repeated. While stupidity is perhaps innate in the human condition, the likelihood of such crashes can be reduced withContinue reading “What can we do about drink (drunk) drivers”
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