Active transport is getting to places by walking or cycling and right now our city is not nearly ambitious enough on delivering the infrastructure to support it. The only way to reduce traffic and congestion on our roads is to provide people with viable alternatives to driving and active transport is one of the best ways to do this.

The cycling lanes that we are seeing pop up around the city aren’t the right approach. If we want to encourage cycling then we need to build a fully separated cycle network that minimises the amount of contact between bikes and cars. This will make cycling a viable mode of transport and give beginners the safety they need to become comfortable with it.

• Recognise the significant potential of cycling for short to medium distance trips
• Deliver an electric bike share program, perhaps through a partnership with the City of Newcastle, to make cycling as a mode of transit more beginner friendly. The Fernleigh Track and Warners Bay foreshore would be excellent hubs for the initial rollout of the bike share program.
• Widen footpaths with high pedestrian movement to allow both pedestrian and bikes to efficiently use them. This could include seperate pathways for pedestrians and cyclists along places like the Warners Bay foreshore.
• Prioritise expanding the network of separated cycleways to reduce the intimidation people face when cycling on roads with other vehicles and ensure that cycleways reach destinations people want to go to rather than just scenic routes.
• Expand the coverage of footpaths across the city to get pedestrians off the road.
• Work toward ‘vision zero’ road deaths and serious injuries as improving the safety of the transport system is a critical component of encouraging walking and cycling.

Right now, our city’s public transport is unreliable, slow, and uncomfortable. Why would anyone voluntarily take the bus if it’s just going to get stuck in the same traffic that a car gets stuck in? Most people do not base their lives around timetables for public transport services. If public transport offers a reliable option when people want it, they will use it. However, when it boxes them into choosing an infrequent and inflexible option people will instead choose to drive. In order for a service to be reliable, it needs to be affordable, efficient, and provide people with flexibility.

• Rollout more bus lanes and bus priority at intersections to reduce trip times when using public transport. This will also improve trip times for drivers as more people will be encouraged to use public transport which will reduce the number of vehicles on the road and thus reduce congestion and traffic.
• Support the rollout of electric buses and lobby the state government and Newcastle Transport to trial electric buses in Lake Macquarie.
• Set goals to increase the share of trips made on the City’s roads that use the most efficient and sustainable transport options, such as public transport, walking and cycling.
• Make bus stops more accessible and increase the number of stops that have seating and digital timetables.
• Make interchanging between bus routes easier by improving pedestrian movement and service frequency at key transport hubs like Charlestown.
• Support initiatives to increase passenger rail usage such as the Glendale Interchange, the Lower Hunter Freight Bypass, and Hunter LinkRail.
• Promote high-proximity mixed use development around existing rail stations instead of commuter car parks.

More accessible public transport and a fully separated cycle network will certainly get our city moving, but a ferry network operating on our lake will truly bring it all together. Every city can run better buses, every city can build cycleways, but not every city has a lake at its centre. That is what sets us apart from every other city and we should use it to our advantage to build a unique transit network that serves the needs of our disconnected city.

People aren’t going to walk or cycle to places if they are far away which is why we need to prioritise mixed use high-proximity development. This is development that combines the places people live, work, and shop into the same area. Currently in our city most people live in low density single family suburban sprawl which is isolated from the commercial hubs people want to go to. There is rarely an in between option which severely limits choice for homebuyers. Building this ‘missing middle’ will support walkability, locally-serving retails, and public/active transportation options. It will also tackle rapidly rising house prices which keep people out of the housing market by increasing supply in a sustainable manner.

The lack of this ‘missing middle’ option is putting the brakes on our city’s economy because if people are forced to drive to spend their money, they aren’t going to pick up a few things at the local convenience store, they are going to go to shop in bulk at a large supermarket. This means small businesses suffer from our car-centric urban planning.

• Promote high-proximity mixed-use development which combines residential, commercial, and leisure uses in the same space to promote stronger, more integrated communities and reduce the need to travel. This would include ensuring as many people as possible have access to green spaces such as gardens, playgrounds and parks close to where they live as well as the shops they need to use on a regular basis.
• Commit to an end to suburban sprawl and vote against new large-scale greenfields developments including the Link Road Rezoning and Myall Road development.
• Work towards burying power lines to increase visual amenity and tree cover, and to facilitate increased footpathing.

Our public spaces should be built for people, not cars, to encourage people to use more sustainable modes of transport which will benefit our health, connectivity, and economy. This will benefit small businesses because sales are generated by foot traffic and window shopping. You can’t window shop when you’re driving past in a fast car and if you need to drive to get to your local shops then you’re going to go to the supermarket, not the small corner store.

• Create highly walkable town centres which improve local amenity and multi-modal road safety, encourage development and job growth, and support public transport use.
• Rollout more reduced speed zones of 30km/h in areas of high pedestrian movement and residential streets to make our streets safer for children, pedestrians, and cyclists.
• Install more end-of-trip facilities for cyclists, such as short stay multiple parking corrals and long stay secure bike lockers near businesses.
• Support traffic-light sequencing changes that prioritise public transport, cyclists and pedestrians, and investigate ways to make traffic-lights smarter such as by adjusting to and predicting demand to reduce the amount of time spent waiting at traffic-lights.
• Manage parking for streetscape amenity, town centre vitality and to support transport mode shift.
• Investigate replacing some parking spaces in areas of high pedestrian movement with outdoor dining or small childrens playgrounds to make public spaces more friendly to people rather than cars.

Local government plays an important role in promoting health, fitness, and community in our city.

• Create more free fitness opportunities in outdoor spaces such as exercise equipment strategically placed along our footpath and cycling networks to promote fitness and social gatherings.
• Investigate the establishment of more fenced dog-friendly parks.
• Support building more lake baths following the success of the re-establishment of the Belmont Baths.
• Increase shade cover in parks and playgrounds (e.g. shade sails over play equipment and seating areas).

• Promote regular formal meetings between the Council’s representatives and First Nations representative bodies.
• Ensure a high proportion of new public spaces created by Council are given Awabakal names and, where possible, look to rename existing spaces back to their traditional names.
• Ensure that at all Council events and Council-sponsored events there is respectful public recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people employed by the Council.
• Improve our citizens’ knowledge and understanding of our rich Aboriginal heritage including through accessible arts projects, interpretive signage, and better resourced online communications.
• Increase the availability of localised Awabakal education programs including language, history and culture to schools, especially primary schools.

• Return general waste bin collection to a weekly schedule rather than fortnightly.
• Seek state and federal funding to increase jobs in local recycling infrastructure.
• Increase the reuse of coal ash generated by our coal-fired power stations and work to reduce heavy metal pollution in our lake.
• Investigate the feasibility and benefits of a 4-bin system like what has been introduced in Melbourne where glass is separated from the general recycling bin to improve recycling outcomes.
• Ensure that mowing and maintenance of road islands is more proactive. Extremely tall grass blocks views around corners which reduces safety and visual amenity.
• Investigate the replacement of regular bin collection with communal bins in walkable neighbourhoods. This concept has had success in countries like the Netherlands and removes the hassle that surrounds scheduled bin collection such as keeping waste next to your house for up to a week (or more if you miss bin day). Bin collection is also a detriment to visual amenity and pedestrian movement on collection day as bins litter the side of the road.

• Implement environmental design strategies for public spaces that foster crime prevention through improved visibility, lighting and safe pedestrian movement.
• Resist the introduction of architectural and design strategies which discourage rough sleepers and skateboarders from public spaces.
• Trial a free shower, laundry and charging facility for vulnerable people in Lake Macquarie to use and socialise at.
• Increase the number of public bathrooms, showers, and charging facilities in high pedestrian areas to make it easier for people to use walking and cycling as their mode of transport.

• Declare a climate emergency and ensure climate impact is considered in decisions the Council makes.
• Implement a target of carbon-neutrality for council assets by 2030 and carbon-neutrality for all of Lake Macquarie by 2040.
• Ensure the Council’s investment funds are not invested in high carbon-emitting companies and projects.
• Work towards a 100% rollout of green technology and zero-waste resources across Council assets.
• Establish regular air and water quality monitoring and make the data freely available.
• Support increased usage of electric vehicles in ways that still promote a shift to active and public transport as primary modes of transit.

• Ensure local businesses are always prioritised for council projects to re-invest council funds directly into the local economy.
• Promote local small businesses and local economic development rather than the relocation of multinational corporations into the area.
• Work to move the majority of council jobs to permanent rather than contract as the nature of contracting means many leave their positions due to uncertainty surrounding contract extensions which leaves the council with expensive training burdens and loss of experience.

• Support citizens during Lake Macquarie’s transition to a greener economy by promoting training, retraining, apprenticeships, and work experience for green jobs. This will particularly extend to workers likely to be affected by the reduction in global demand for coal.
• Look to set a minimum level of council funding and standard measures to help schools support students with their mental health.
• Look at ways to increase accessibility to Lake Macquarie’s library network.
• Building on the success of Newcastle City Council’s Digital Library in Wickham, promote further access to technology in our library network including increasing the number of 3D printers and other STEM equipment.

• Increase the inclusion of members of the public in council meetings and decisions.
• Commit to having open consultative meetings on a regular basis where North Ward residents can raise their opinion on upcoming council decisions.
• Call for more open public access to council data to ensure decisions are not made behind closed doors.
• Increase council outreach to schools to promote the importance of local government to young people and get their feedback on council decisions as local government policies affect them but they are not able to vote in council elections.