Safer, Greener, More Liveable Streets – Your Council Needs to Hear from You

Every Council in NSW is reviewing its Community Strategic Plan – and this is your chance to shape the future of your neighbourhood. 

The Community Strategic Plan sets the vision for your local area. It guides the Delivery Program and Operational Plan, which determine what can be funded and delivered. If we want streets that are safer, greener, and designed for people – not just cars – now is the time to speak up.

We’ve made it easy for you to send your Council a message – but if you want more information this is a great reference document from the Heart Foundation: Promoting Liveability through the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework. 

📣 What You Can Do

Email your council today (find your council here, draft email here) and tell them that the Community Strategic Plan needs to set Council objectives to:

1. Act on Climate - Declare a Climate Emergency 🌏

Take meaningful action to cut emissions now: stop expanding and building new roads, and invest more on footpaths, cycleways, traffic calming and street greening. 

⚠️ The Facts: 🚗 Breakdown of Transport Emissions (latest data, 2023):

• 19% of Australian greenhouse emissions are transport emissions  

• Road transport alone is 85% of transport emissions - passenger vehicles alone contribute roughly 8–9% of Australia’s total emissions.

• Transport is one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions, especially in urban areas.and emissions are trending upwards and have not declined over the past decade.
  

Council should:

• Adopt a zero emissions target for Council - and embedded vehicle emissions as part of the policy. Zero emissions is more than just green energy. 

• Invest in a Council e-bike fleet - most trips are local ( less than 5 km) ebikes are perfect for short trips. 

• Embed a carbon budget into Council’s road budget - including a carbon budgets will shift investment from being all about roads to considering footpaths and cycleways.   

2. Prioritise Streets for Everyone –make walking and riding safe and comfortable 🚶

Not everyone drives, and not everyone should have to. Councils must plan for everyone, not just drivers. 

⚠️ The Facts:

• 35–40% of people in our community don’t have a driver’s licence.

• 17% of household income goes toward car ownership — a major cost burden.

Council should:

• Follow NSW Guidelines to plan and design streets
  Use the Movement and Place Framework, Walking Space Guide, Cycleway Design Toolbox, and the Road User Space Allocation Policy – which puts people first, not cars.

• Build a Connected, Safe Cycling Network
  Apply for more state funding, and make footpaths and bike lanes part of all road renewal projects.
  Councils spend millions every year on roads — it’s time the 40% of non-drivers got their share too.

• Upgrade or Build 20+ Pedestrian Crossings Every Year
  Local governments now have the power — no warrant or state approval needed. Every leg of every intersection, and every route to schools, shops, hospitals and town centres should be safely crossable.

3. Invest in People-First projects - by using Road Safety Funding 🚧

Build safer streets — not wider roads. Let’s stop funding harm and start building safety.

⚠️ The Facts:

• 🚶 50 people walking are killed every year in NSW — and that number hasn’t changed in a decade.

• 🚗 350 total road deaths per year, on average — the target is zero.

• 👶👵 2 out of 3 pedestrian victims are children or older adults.
  They make up less than half the population but suffer most.

It’s Council’s job to make streets safe for everyone — especially the most vulnerable. Use safety funding for people-first design, not traffic flow.

Council should:

• Adopt a Vision Zero target
  No one should die or be seriously injured on our streets.
  Every life matters — every crash is preventable.

• Invest in safe infrastructure
  ➤ Separated bike lanes
  ➤ Pedestrian crossings
  ➤ Lower speeds, safer intersections

4. Green our Streets - Plant More Trees including road tree planting 🌳

Tree-lined streets aren’t just pretty — they’re life-saving. On hot days, shade makes all the difference for children walking to school, and older people getting to the shops.

Green streets are walkable streets. Let’s make our suburbs safer, cooler, and more resilient — for everyone.

⚠️ The Facts:

• 🌇 In 2022, Greater Sydney’s tree canopy was just 21.7%

• 🌲 The NSW Government’s target is 40% to mitigate heat island effects.  

Council should:

• Plant more street trees, especially in hot, exposed suburbs, Council should use tree canopy as a core planning target and report progress to the Community. 

• Include canopy shade along all walking and cycling routes 

• Set and measures targets to turn  asphalt into urban forest 

• Ensure new developments and road upgrades including trees

5. Make our Streets Safe with 30km/h as default on Local Streets 🚦

It’s time to calm traffic and protect lives. 30km/h streets are safer, quieter, and more people-friendly.

⚠️ The Facts:

• NSW local speed limits haven’t been reviewed since the 1990s
  (Back when Paul Keating was Prime Minister and the internet was brand new!)

• 50km/h is outdated — 30km/h is the international standard for local streets. Survival increases as speeds decrease. 

• 🌍 Global Cities Have Already Acted:

✅ Paris – 30km/h
✅ London – 30km/h
✅ Berlin – 30km/h
❌ Sydney? Still waiting. 

Council should:

• Modernise our streets and put people first – 30 km/h has already been achieved in other Global cities – and proven to save lives and reduce insurance costs. Where  is our 30 km/.h speed limit? 

• Actively ask TfNSW to review speed limits and implement 30 km/h on local streets

🚗 A few more facts  to share with your local Council:

• People feel forced to drive — many have no real alternative due to poor walking, cycling, and public transport options.

• Two-thirds of car trips in cities could be walked, wheeled, or cycled in 15 minutes — but road design discourages it, causing unnecessary traffic.

• Transport is the 2nd largest source of emissions in NSW and growing. Streets are 60% of urban space and dominated by heat-retaining black asphalt.

• Just $3.61 per person is spent annually on walking and cycling — only 0.2% of the NSW transport budget — leading to fewer people walking, especially children.

• 340 people died on NSW roads last year, with 10,000 serious injuries. Pedestrian deaths (around 50 annually) have remained unchanged for a decade.

• Transport injuries cost the health system $848 million in 2020–21.

• Driving harms health: long hours behind the wheel are linked to less physical activity, more smoking and drinking, poor diet, and sleep issues.

• Obesity cost $11.8 billion in 2018 and could reach $87.7 billion by 2032 if we don't act. Physical inactivity is a key target in the National Obesity Strategy.

• Loneliness costs Australia $2.7 billion a year, and walkable, connected streets are one way to reduce it.

We want streets that are safe, inclusive, and climate-friendly. Not just roads for cars. Councils can and should spend more money to make it easier to walk or ride, and reduce the cost of road maintenance for cars. Councils should address all the issues raised above in the Community Strategic Plan.