Can Adelaide Become a City for People not Cars?
Joan Carlin. 2002.8
"There is much more to walking than walking - walking is the key to liveable cities"
"Adelaide is a unique city"
- some of the opening statements from Professor Jan Gehl at a public meeting on Wednesday July 17 in the Adelaide Town Hall.
Professor Gehl was presenting his report: Public Spaces and Public Life (PDF) which was commissioned by Adelaide City Council, Planning SA and the Capital City Committee.
Professor Gehl went on to show how changes from a car dominated city to a people-friendly city have occurred in his home city of Copenhagen. There is overwhelming evidence that more roads and more parking results in more traffic. In Copenhagen travel to work is one third by car, one third by bicycle and one third by public transport. Creation of more public spaces has encouraged more people (an increase of five times from 20 years ago). There are now 5,000 outdoor café seats, and outdoor eating and drinking has extended to around 9 months of the year!! He also showed slides of other European, US and Australian cities to illustrate what is possible.
Some of Jan's comments about Adelaide
- Adelaide has 35,000 car parking spaces compared with 3,000 in Copenhagen, 8,000 in Stockholm, 12,000 in Lyon… We don’t need any more!
- There are 330 unnecessary interruptions to pedestrians making their way from one end of Adelaide to the other. This especially affects disabled and elderly people.
- The 11-second (or shorter) pedestrian green light must be the shortest in the world! No wonder there is so much jaywalking!
- There has been a half-hearted gesture to accommodate cyclists - but the positioning of cycle lanes between parked cars and the car lanes is very dangerous.
- There are no activities in the Mall at night.
- Adelaide has a lot of very wide streets which offer many opportunities for redesign.
- The river Torrens is a well kept secret!
- The flat terrain and good climate make Adelaide a perfect city for cycling.
Some of his recommendations
- Bike lanes need to be situated next to the pavement and protected by a curb.
- We need to celebrate the Squares by making them easily accessible and attractive to people.
- There needs to be a pedestrian/cycling link from the Market to the Railway Station.
- More park&ride options to keep cars out of the city.
- There needs to be an attractive pedestrian connection from Hindley Street through the Mall to Rundle St East. This would rejuvenate the mall at night and make it safer.
- There should be curbs for cars crossing streets NOT for pedestrians. Pedestrians should not have to press a button to get permission from cars to cross a street - the cars should have to give way.
- Evaluate the street frontages to make them more attractive especially at night (ie shops should not be closed by metal shutters).
Professor Gehl said that the recommendations could not be implemented all at once - when quizzed as to where to start he suggested that moving bike lanes next to the footpath (and putting in a curb) would be a good place to start - especially as the Council is seriously considering putting in place a bicycle scheme whereby bikes can be picked up at one venue and dropped off somewhere else). If that bike plan is implemented before making cycling safe we could see a number of dead cyclists who are used to the safety afforded them in many European cities!
The report is available at Adelaide City Council - Research Documents. Or ask for a copy from the Customer Centre of the Council; the paper report is priced at $30 but in our opinion should be free to anyone interested enough to ask for it. We suggest you try!!
On Thursday Professor Gehl accepted an invitation to visit Christie Walk - he spent more than an hour at the site and was very impressed by what we are doing here.
Response from Council to the Report
Adelaide City Council meeting 22 July 2002(from the Minutes) - motion without notice 'Public Spaces and Public Life' Moved Councillor J Brine, seconded Councillor Ventura That:- (1) The principles and concepts outlined in the "Public Spaces and Public Life - City of Adelaide: 2002" report as prepared and presented by Prof Jan Gehl be supported. (2) The findings and recommendations of the "Public Spaces and Public Life - City of Adelaide: 2002" report as prepared and presented by Prof Jan Gehl be included in considerations when drafting the design of future capital projects and the development of relevant Council strategies and policies. (3) A report be prepared for council within the next month developing a priority list of actions stemming from the recommendations in the report. (4) The report and Council's action list be referred to the Capital City Committee with a view to agreeing joint strategies and projects for the implementation of the recommendations. Discussion ensued. The motion was then put and carried. |
2007.2.8