Improved Liveability

Riding a bike is a great way of getting to know your neighbourhood.

We all want to live in a city that has clean air and is friendly and easy to navigate. To achieve this, we need to manage rising traffic and pollution levels and give Sydneysiders more options for getting around.

To experience quieter and safer streets, lower congestion, less air pollution and improved community health, we need to get even more people on bikes. The good news is that the number of bike riders in Sydney is already growing quickly – by 20 per cent in 2009 and 30 per cent in 2010.

About one to two per cent of all trips in Sydney are currently made by bicycle and this figure is rising.

Community Health and Lifestyle benefits – the facts:

• 85 per cent of people say that they would be more likely to take up cycling or ride more often if a safe cycleway network was provided.
• 1.35 million Australians make car journeys to work of less than five kilometres – that’s a 15 minute bike ride.
• An Inner Sydney Regional Bike Networkwill create:
  • $147.3 million in health benefits over 30 years from the reduced risk of mortality.
  • Health benefits to the community equal to 44 cents for each cycle trip.
  • Journey ambience benefits (which includes the value of better protection for bike riders and
    improved way finding of $129.8 million).
  • Savings of $24.2 million in greenhouse gas emissions, air and noise pollution.