First up, huge thanks to all of our Bicycle User Group volunteers who have made the Bicycle NSW Council Election campaign such a resounding success.
We were so pleased that 111 of our 200 candidates (56%) who pledged to be a #CouncillorForActiveTransport were elected into office.
The clear mandate for active transport was not a surprise. As has happened many times before, in many corners of the world, politicians who focus on sustainable transport and greener cities win votes.
Check out our interactive map to see where the #CouncillorsFor Active Transport are.
An extract from the interactive map showing results in the Greater Sydney and Illawarra areas. The darker colours highlight where a higher proportion of elected councillors have signed the Bicycle NSW pledge.
9% of all elected councillors across NSW have signed the pledge. 43 of 128 councils now have at least one council member who has pledged to support active travel.
This is all thanks to dedicated members of the BUGs. The regions with the strongest proportions of pledges are all in areas where grassroots volunteers are most active. Primarily, Sydney’s north (40%), Sydney’s southeast (28%), Sydney’s southwest (21%), and the Illawarra (27%).
The news was positive in Newcastle
Newcastle advocates were very pleased with the election results this year. Five of their 12 councillors have signed the Bicycle NSW pledge, and another five are supportive of active travel even though they didn’t sign the pledge.
Phillip Hansom reported, “Newcastle elected three Greens candidates, who campaigned strongly for improved cycleways. That’s their best result ever. Along with Labor and independents who support active transport initiatives, it leaves only two liberals elected who oppose it and campaigned against them in favour of car infrastructure. That’s a pretty good outcome.”
It was great to see such a clear commitment to improving active transport infrastructure in Newcastle! (Images: Newcastle Greens)
Bike North ran an amazing election campaign
Cycling in Sydney’s northern suburbs is supported by Bike North. Bike North volunteers led a very effective campaign this year and the LGAs they cover have seen some great gains for active transport as a result. In Willoughby, 11 of 12 councillors have signed the Bicycle NSW pledge! This included a Bike North member, Andrew Nelson, who successfully ran for election for the first time.
Willoughby councillor Michelle Chuang sending a clear message to Vote Bike while on the campaign trail in Chatswood (Image: Bike North)
Willoughby’s lacklustre draft Cycling Strategy and Action Plan has just been on exhibition. Bicycle NSW hopes that the new group of #CouncillorsForActiveTransport will champion the development of a fantastic final strategy, packed with great actions to make cycling through Willoughby’s patchwork of lively 15-minute neighbourhoods as safe and convenient as possible.
Decades of ongoing advocacy in the Illawarra
Illawarra BUG wasn’t particularly active in this election. But IBUG members were not surprised that 7 of 12 councillors elected in Wollongong signed the pledge. President Edward Birt said the pledge was a fantastic initiative and it will be useful for holding councillors to account. However, the number of pledges achieved in the Illawarra wasn’t the result of one election campaign. It was built on the back of decades of advocacy.
IBUG volunteers across different local government areas have worked year-round with their councils over decades to establish positive relationships and to keep active travel in the spotlight. They meet regularly with councillors and council staff, and have done so over multiple election cycles.
“There are some very committed people who have been involved with cycling advocacy in the Illawarra and who are on a first name basis with all of the councillors and staff at the council,” says Ed Birt.
These positive relationships have led to the creation of advisory committees, changes to traffic committees and infrastructure plans, as well as translating community vision into clear objectives and policy documents.
Successful advocacy isn’t just about election campaigns!
“I meet with the council staff fairly regularly throughout the year. We’ve got a good relationship,” says Ed Birt. “It always is difficult to get true collaboration happening. Keeping active transport front of mind for councillors is important when it comes to considering allocating dollars to projects or improving infrastructure across the city.”
A local focus is the ‘secret sauce’ of BUGs
Part of the reason our BUGs are so effective is that local advocacy has the power to build lasting solidarity. University of Sydney Associate Professor in Urban Geography Amanda Tattersall studies coalitions and campaigns. She has found that “groups with strong local roots can evolve and endure better than larger, more dispersed groups.”
The strongest groups will establish a broad but cohesive movement which accommodates different interests and demographic backgrounds and represents a broad swathe of the local community.
That’s the real achievement of our BUGs.
Bicycle NSW staff with BUG members at the Martin Place Christmas Tree after the December 2023 BUG Christmas Ride (Image: Bicycle NSW)
The #CouncillorForActiveTransport pledge was a successful campaign tool
But it's the BUGs who made it effective. And it is the BUGs who will do the hard work of ensuring that councils stick to their commitments.
“Now that we’ve got councillors and Mayors in place, we can continue to use that pledge throughout this cycle,” says Ed Birt. “I will be speaking to some councillors later this month and I will raise the pledge with them in terms of their ongoing commitments to active transport in the city.”
Help us make an impact at every election
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