Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

In September 2014 the City of Sydney released a Draft Walking Strategy and Action Plan (the "Plan") and sought public comment on the plan, with a closing date of 17 November 2014. This submission is in response to that request. We note, for the record, the Plan's connection to the Walk21 Conference held in Sydney in October 2014, hosted by the City of Sydney and the NSW Government, and billed as the world's leading conference on walking.

Action for Public Transport (NSW) is a public transport users' advocacy group, active in Sydney since 1975.

We support the Plan. We draw your attention to draft report of the Australian Government's Department of Infrastructure and Transport dated October 2012 titled "Walking Riding and Access to Public Transport". That report, and the public submissions made in response to it, may provide the City of Sydney with useful material with which to further develop the current Plan. They are available at http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure/pab/urbanpolicy/active_travel/.

We draw attention to two matters of detail which we would like incorporated in the Plan.

1. Walking around the city and its environs would be made much more attractive if the waiting time for pedestrians at traffic lights could be significantly reduced.
2. Intersections with "Stop" or "Give Way" signs currently have the white stop line for vehicles aligned with the kerb of the intersecting street. As we recall, this was introduced some two decades ago to enhance motorists' sight lines and (perhaps) to save them some micro-seconds in travel time. The result has been that these vehicles, when they stop, obstruct the natural path of pedestrians, which is usually adjacent to the property boundary or building line of the intersecting street. Pedestrians are forced to choose between passing in front of, or behind, the vehicle obstructing their path. There are multiple safety implications in this scenario.