Note - this post was updated in September 2025
If you are working in the built environment industry and are keen to expand your knowledge of providing high quality active transport facilities, there are two courses for you in NSW!
Designing for Pedestrians and Bicycle Riders
This is a two-day course from Transport for NSW, designed to give traffic and transport professionals an in-depth understanding of current NSW best practice for the design and provision of facilities for pedestrians and bicycle riders.
The course is run twice a year by leading experts Warren Salomon and Dick van den Dool. Warren and Dick have worked together for 3 decades at the coal face of cycling infrastructure development in NSW, including the very controversial but now much-loved Bourke Street Cycleway. They penned the influential 2005 NSW Bicycle Guidelines which was used by government and industry for over 15 years.
The 2005 Guidelines have been superseded by the Cycleway Design Toolbox, the Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 6A: Paths for Walking and Cycling (2021) and the Design of Roads and Streets manual. The course dives into all these documents, as well as recent policies strategies that support active transport.
The two days consist of a mixture of classroom presentations, site visits to local facilities via foot and bike, and a technical group assignment where participants work in teams to develop integrated solutions for a local transport corridor.
A number of treatments are discussed, including both off-road bicycle paths and low-stress 'Quietways'. Intersection design that incorporates facilities for the safe interactions of all road users is emphasized throughout the course content.
A group discusses the detailed design of the Bourke Street Cycleway in Sydney (Image: Bicycle NSW)
One of the perks of the course is the incredibly extensive resource package that participants receive as part of the course fee, which includes a significant number of government documents and guidelines, educational videos, international best practice handbooks, and more,
The course is suitable and open to staff from the Transport for NSW, council officers and transport consultants within both the public and private sector. The fee is $920 plus GST.
Bicycle NSW has sent several team members on the course over the last few years. This has enhanced our understanding of how integrated street design can meet the needs of all types of cyclists and pedestrians, and how our towns and cities can accommodate sustainable transport modes safely and effectively.
For further information:
Head to the Transport for NSW Training Courses page on the Barros Van Den Dool website.
To register, contact:
- Course coordinator: Dick van den Dool
- Email: dvd@barrosdool.com.au
- Phone: 02 9349 4810
- Mobile: 0418 234 026
Cycleway Design short course
The University of NSW Australian Graduate School of Engineering runs a short course on Cycleway Design. This is a longer, more involved deep dive into the details of cycleway design.
The course also explores the complexities of delivering cycleways in urban environments, including the planning, design, management, and evaluation of cycleway projects.
The need for this course was discussed with former NSW Minister for Active Transport Rob Stokes and City of Sydney Manager of Cycling Strategy Fiona Campbell at the Thought Leaders Series: The Future of active transport in NSW event.
Held over 6 weeks, this interactive, blended program features a mix of online webinars, individual and group design activities, face-to-face workshops, and site visits. Participants unpack each element of cycleway and work in teams to develop a separated cycleway project. The group project focuses on selecting the most appropriate treatments and resolving intersections. There are opportunities to experiment with modal filters, landscaping, parking offsets, in-lane bus stops and priority crossings.
As most of the teaching and group work session are online, students only need to be in Sydney for the 'Immersion Day', spent cycling across the Eastern Suburbs exploring existing bike infrastructure. This makes the course very accessible to regional students.
Bicycle NSW Bike Planner Sarah Bickford measuring the width of a cycleway at Green Square during a very wet Immersion Day in August 2025 (Image: Bicycle NSW)
Bicycle NSW joined the Cycleway Design course in 2025. It was rewarding to work with talented planners and engineers from private practice, several councils and state agencies. Participants came from Queensland and Victoria, as well as many part of urban and regional NSW, all bringing different perspectives on best-practice design to the discussions.
The course costs $3,850.00.
For more information and to register interest in the 2026 course, head to the UNSW Australian Graduate School of Engineering (AGSE) short courses page