Stereotypes dictate that only inner-city greenies and middle-aged men in Lycra care about cycling. But the Bicycle NSW council election campaign is finding otherwise!
Bicycle NSW wrote to all current councillors standing for re-election on September 14th to introduce our organisation and our key asks. We asked them to sign a pledge to be a #CouncillorForActiveTransport2024.
There are 128 councils, each with 5 to 15 councillors. So, we sent over one thousand emails!
As of 15th August, 100 candidates from 51 different councils have signed the pledge. That means that 40% of councils in NSW now have one or more councillors publicly supporting active travel.
This is just the start!
Over the next 4 weeks, we plan to identify many more champions in local government who we can work with over the next 4 years.
But first, let’s look at the geographic, political and demographic spread of the first group of #CouncillorsForActiveTransport.
Debunking three myths
Bicycle NSW volunteer and founder of Sydney Cargo Bikes Monique Ewen has analysed the data. And the findings debunk several myths about the people who support active transport.
Local politicians cannot be typecast. Our election campaign clearly shows that councillors who back walking and cycling projects are not restricted to the major cities, they don’t all lean to the left side of politics, and they are definitely not all older men!
Myth 1: Bike riding is only for the ‘inner city elites’
Concern for active travel is spread across the state in proportion to population density. One quarter of councillors who support active travel are based in Country NSW.
Geoff Hudson, a Greens candidate for Albury City Council, was quick to take the Bicycle NSW pledge to be a #CouncillorForActiveTransport. “As a dedicated cycle commuter, recreational cyclist, runner and dog walker, I experience the challenges faced every day by people who want to move around our city by bike and foot - from lack of connected paths and trails to road reconstruction projects which put zero priority on the safety of cyclists and other active transport users,” says Geoff. “As a nurse, I have worked directly with people who face many barriers to leaving their homes. The lack of a footpath on their street should NOT be one of them.” Geoff loves being part of the Albury Wodonga Parkrun on the Warriga Trail. (Image: Geoff Hudson)
According to the latest ABS data, 58% (4.7 million) of the NSW population (8.1 million) lives in Greater Sydney. This was closely reflected in our councillor pledges with 60% from Greater Sydney. Whereas 12% of pledges were from Regional Metro areas around Newcastle and Wollongong, and 28% from Country NSW.
Where the first 100 #CouncillorsForActiveTransport are located (Image: Bicycle NSW)
The majority of pledges so far are from the east coast electorates: Metropolitan Sydney (60), Illawara (9), Hunter (4), North Coast (6) and South East (3). But there were also pledges from the Central West (11), Riverina (4), and North West (3). Councils with the most pledges are Bayside (11), Wollongong (7), Camden (5) and Orange (5).
The spread of pledges across geographic region (Image: Bicycle NSW)
Myth 2: Only left-wing greenies care about active travel
Concern for active travel stretches across the political spectrum and is not restricted to a single party. We received pledges from Liberals (2), Labor (17), Greens (50) and independents (18), as well as several members of local area parties (11).
Is it not only Greens candidates who support active transport! (Image: Bicycle NSW)
Myth 3: Only middle-aged men in Lycra think cycling is important
There was no gender bias in the pledges we received from the first councillors to support our campaign. We have received slightly more pledges from women (52) than men (48). View the full list of pledges here.
One thing is clear: Local politicians want the very best for their communities
Half of the candidates wrote heart-warming comments when they signed the pledge. They set out why they plan to be a #CouncillorForActiveTransport. They mentioned policy work, lifestyle choices, health and wellbeing, safety, and protecting the environment.
Quite a few mentioned their own personal commitment to cycling and walking. There were specific mentions of kids walking and cycling to school. Many also wanted to see cars deprioritised, especially around schools and town centres.
But the main theme was accessibility. Particularly for more vulnerable road users including women, children and the elderly, as well as people with permanent or temporary disabilities.
Councillors want cycleways, shared paths, public transport, pedestrian crossings, slower speed limits and better signage. These are the key things that make cycling and walking accessible to the whole community.
A ‘word cloud’ based on the comments by candidates (Image: Bicycle NSW)
Many councillors expressed gratitude for the advocacy work done by Bicycle NSW.
Claire Bocking, a Greens candidate for Waverley, said: “I have a car-free family, so I'm often riding bikes with my kids to school or riding to work. I strongly believe safer, shadier, 'better' streets offer many benefits to the whole community. I'm grateful for all the work Bicycle NSW has done and proudly pledge to be a #CouncillorForActiveTransport2024 to advocate for better streets for all.”
Mila Kasby, an incumbent Greens councillor for The Hills Shire Council, wrote: “Thank you to Bicycle NSW and Bike North for your great advocacy and very worthy submissions.”
We will share more of these comments over the next few weeks (Image: Bicycle NSW)
What are the next steps?
We are asking our community of friends, Members and Bicycle User Groups to help find more champions among the candidates in their area.
Please get involved in the campaign!
- Contact your candidates to advocate for projects in your area. Campaign resources, our election ‘asks’ and sample letters are in our campaign guide here.
- Encourage them to take Bicycle NSW pledge.
- Thank any candidates who have already signed the pledge. An updated list is here.
We want to see elected councillors in every LGA carrying the torch for walking and cycling!
One more thing. This is important!
If you are not a Bicycle NSW Member, we ask you to join our family. You will enjoy a raft of membership benefits and support our advocacy campaigns.
As our Members know, Bicycle NSW is the only on-ground peak advocacy body in NSW that employs staff in NSW and regionally. We work very hard every day to make NSW better for bike riding.
But we are only funded by membership fees and public donations. We need more help to do our work.
Not quite ready to sign up? Then please buy Bicycle NSW a coffee (or three!)
