Impacts & community benefits of a regional active travel network

Just as in urban centres in NSW, there is expected to be population growth pressure on transport infrastructure in regional cities and towns. Present figures show that NSW regional areas are automobile-centric, with 63%reporting that they drive to work.

The aim of the Evaluation of the Wagga Wagga Active Travel Plan project was to assess the impact of the plan on that city’s inhabitants, and to gauge the success of the recently completed, integrated ,57 kilometre-long active travel network in shifting commuters from cars to active transport modes.

This was a two-and-a-half-year study, involving iMOVE, Transport for NSW, Wagga Wagga City Council and the University of Sydney, and its final report is available for download below.

Although this particular piece of work originated and was conducted in the city of Wagga Wagga, the intention is that this project will provide critical data to inform policies for NSW regional towns and councils seeking to improve infrastructure for active travel, in addition to national and international knowledge about the outcomes and benefits of active transport infrastructure development.

About Wagga Wagga

Wagga Wagga is the largest inland city in NSW, with a population of 65,000 which is expected to increase to over 80,000 by 2040.

In 2018 the city prepared an Active travel Plan, proposing an interconnected network of shared cycling and walking pathways across Wagga Wagg. It would improve on an existing collection of lower quality pathways for cycling and walking, along with extending it from 19km of paths to 57km.

Building the new network commenced in 2019 and was primarily completed in December 2023. The associated Wagga Wagga Active Travel Plan was underpinned by the overarching Wagga Wagga Integrated Transport Strategy and Implementation Plan 2040.

This project sought to identify factors to encourage uptake of active travel and active recreation in response to this infrastructure build, and the barriers that inhibit use.

This is pioneering work in this area of transport, as:

… to date, no published research on regional active travel infrastructure projects in Australia exist and there are very few studies evaluating the broad community benefits arising from significant active travel and active recreation infrastructure. Therefore, this project will contribute to filling a major gap in the current evidence.

The specific questions this project sought answers for were:

1. Was the infrastructure completed as planned?
2. To what extent is the network being used? How has use of the network changed over time?
3. Who uses the network? How, when and for what purpose?
4. In what ways have use and users changed over time?
5. Is there a relationship between network use and physical activity behaviours?
6. How has the Wagga Wagga community benefited from the Active Travel Plan network to date?
7. What are the barriers to network use and how might barriers be overcome in the future?
8. What are the potential benefits of the network for the Wagga Wagga community and how can these be realised?

Methodology

Data for the project was gathered from a number of sources:

• Online community survey in 2021, with a follow-up in 2023.
• Counts – including continuous automated total user counts from 15 counters installed on the network, along with yearly visual counts (manual observations) of users on the network in October to November 2021, 2022, and 2023
• Intercept surveys – collected from actual network users at seven different locations, conducted between October to November 2022, and again in the same period in 2023.
• Interviews were also conducted with 8 organisations in Wagga Wagga with large numbers of employees (i.e. 130-1,500)), selected with the aim of assessing the impact of the network on workplaces and travel to work.
• 15 schools participated, taking part in interview and observation of school end-of-trip facilities (bicycle and scooter parking).
• Additionally, interviews were conducted with key community representatives.

Report findings

Network use

The shared pathways were built over the three years previous to the commencement of this study. The key use of the network was for recreational pedestrian and cycling activities. Over the course of this study there was found to be sustained use of the network and a slight upward trend in use over the past three years on most of the links.

What the research did uncover was that in locations where there were competing needs for a mixed-use pathway (cyclists and pedestrians) and when one mode dominates, the amenity for the competing mode can be reduced.

Paths more distant from the CBD were used more by cyclists than pedestrians, while pedestrians were more commonly using trip attractor links and those close to the CBD. Pathway users have predominantly taken up the opportunity to use the shared pathways for the purpose of being physically active. A lower proportion of trips on the shared pathways were for commuting with around one in seven users identifying this as their main purpose.

Data from the study indicates:

… that there is significant potential for future increases in user traffic on all network links. However, over the past two years, the number of locations across the city where network users are joining the network has increased indicating a broader section of the community has taken up t The high proportion of networks users stating that physical activity was their primary reason for using the network, and the association between increased network use and increased physical activity, indicate that the network infrastructure is strongly supporting physical activity behaviours of the community.

It is especially encouraging to see that not only those who were sufficiently active were using the network, but that nearly half of those surveyed on the network links were classified as being insufficiently active. From a chronic disease prevention perspective, this is the group of people most likely to gain health benefits from being more physically active. While there is some indication of greater male than female use of the network overall there is equity across levels of education which is encouraging and indications of use by adults of all ages.

Also:

The high proportion of networks users stating that physical activity was their primary reason for using the network, and the association between increased network use and increased physical activity, indicate that the network infrastructure is strongly supporting physical activity behaviours of the community.

It is especially encouraging to see that not only those who were sufficiently active were using the network, but that nearly half of those surveyed on the network links were classified as being insufficiently active. From a chronic disease prevention perspective, this is the group of people most likely to gain health benefits from being more physically active.

While there is some indication of greater male than female use of the network overall there is equity across levels of education which is encouraging and indications of use by adults of all ages.

Barriers to use

A consistent finding from the surveys was that had “… been insufficient education and promotion of the opportunities provided by the network to the community, such that many residents are unaware of the full extent of the network and how it can be used.”

On this feedback from workplaces and key local organisations has been provided, and it remains for Wagga Wagga City Council to consider how to best respond to both the feedback and the task.

A significant barrier to increased use of active travel, particularly in terms of use for commuting, is the strong car culture of the city, as noted by the survey participants. Workplaces cited a lack of end-of-trip facilities as their reason to for their low commitment to push active travel.

Shifting from the workplaces to schools, the barrier to increased use relates to road safety, which again aligns with a domination of the city’s car culture. Navigating dangerous crossings, being too young to cycle to school alone, and safety and other risks of travelling alone for primary school students, and again reasons related to end-of-trip facilities (inadequate and poor quality) were the main barriers reported for the schoolchildren cohort.

Community benefits

Barriers aside, there was extremely positive feedback from the community about the build of the network. Highlighted were the potential benefits for health and wellbeing, community connectedness, the city’s liveability, and attracting tourists and cycling tourism.

Conclusions

This research project found that the construction of the Wagga Wagga Active Travel Plan network of shared pathways has had numerous positive benefits for the community including providing pleasant and safe places for active recreation and active travel that are being increasingly used by a wide range of residents, enhancing community attractiveness and amenity of the city which also supports tourism, and encouraging equitable participation in physical activity.

There is considerable potential to increase use of the network and achieve even greater impacts and benefits for the community in the future through education, promotion, community collaboration and activation.
Finally, this work has shown that regional cities working with state and local governments can “… influence policy and practice around changes to the built environment, enhancing opportunities for active travel.”

Download the report

Download your copy of the final report, Wagga Wagga Active Travel Plan Evaluation Project: Final Report, by clicking the button below.

The Transport for NSW wrap-up of the project is available at: Wagga Wagga Active Travel Plan Evaluation

Watch the webinar

On 23 July 2024 iMOVE held a webinar in which outcomes from this project were presented. Watch a recording of the webinar at: How to encourage active travel uptake