ITS Monday: Edition 6, 2023

What are 15-minute cities and how did they ignite a conspiracy theory?

In a previous edition of ITS Monday we included a story about council meeting being disrupted by conspiracy theorists and the crazy notions of what a smart city is. This article is a primer on what a smart city is, which I’m certain many of you know, but it’s also a backgrounder on how the smart city idea has been appropriated by a small, somewhat noisy group of people.

Related iMOVE content: The 30-minute city: Small decisions for big gains, by David Levinson.

‘Jet-skis of the city’: Why Melbourne’s e-scooter trial is not working

Here’s the first in a somewhat paired group of stories, on the somewhat controversial aspects of an e-scooter rollout. The two articles are about Melbourne, but really the place name in interchangeable. It should be first established that this is an opinion piece written by a strong advocate for walking nd pedestrians. That it’s an opinion piece aside, the points made on the issue of insurance are well made.

‘We are working it out’: E-scooter giant vows to tackle footpath hazard

Article number 2 on the issues around the rollout of share e-scooters, but this is a news story rather than an opinion piece. It does though mention several of the same issues.

“E-scooter rental giant Lime has promised it can stop customers illegally riding its devices on footpaths if permitted to remain operating in Melbourne after a controversial trial finishes next month.” It begs the question, why wasn’t this done before the trial began, or during?

“Burt-Morris said Lime staff monitored rates of footpath riding during the trial through visual surveys, which showed rates of misuse had fallen. Lime declined to share this data with The Age.” Smells a little like balderdash, As recently as last night I was (again) inches away from being hit from behind as I walked on the footpath. Lime, Neuron, councils … let’s really fix this!

One-way streets could be the answer to Melbourne’s congestion problems

Apologies, yes another Melbourne-based article, but traffic congestion is a relevant issue in all Australian cities, so please, apply the thoughts and comments here to your locale. “If we rethink the way we use our streets, we can avoid the extreme measures adopted in much of Europe to introduce a congestion tax or to ban cars altogether.”

Silent ‘life and death’ risk lurking in electric cars

Electric cars don’t make a lot of noise, and while that’s a safety issue for all pedestrians, it’s particularly a problem for blind or vision-impaired pedestrians. Interviews here with Blind Citizens Australia president Fiona Woods, staff from Monash University’s Accident Research Centre, and Electric Vehicle Council policy head Jake Whitehead.

Neighbourhood Streets – The Padbury experiment

“The Padbury Experiment was conducted in the Perth suburb of Padbury to explore the impact of reducing the speed limit on residential roads from 50km/h to 30km/h. The goal of the experiment was to transform roads into streets and create a safer and more liveable community. The intervention was designed to be self-enforcing, using appropriate road and path widths, reducing forward visibility, and speed control devices to ensure that vehicles cannot travel at more than 30km/h.”

Related iMOVE projects: Your Street, Your Say: Better streets for Darebin and Safer cycling and street design: A guide for policymakers

Perth tree conference investigates ways to boost city’s dwindling canopy

Data has shown, of all the capital cities, Perth has the least tree canopy, with less than 20 per cent of its area covered. And it’s a number that is declining.” When you’re talking city liveability, health and wellbeing, that’s not good news!

Work for car-free Golden Mile in Wellington to start this weekend

The early works to pedestrianise central Wellington streets as part of Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) have started.

Australia’s ‘most efficient air taxi’ completes its maiden test flight

Vertiia is an Australian-made, electric, Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and it has just had its first trial flight in the Central West region of New South Wales. More information on the aircraft on the AMSL Aero website.