Sustainable Transport | Urban Design | User Focus | City Shaping | Road Safety 📸IG: @tobyjrobinson @transitbear
In the Melbourne context I see no single more selfish concept than the individual has the ‘right’ to purpose 10sqm of public space for the storage a private object, their car. The argument of “we pay rego” or “we pay council for a permit” is entirely redundant, as that is the fallacy of the system. It’s undercutting everyone else. How much do you think that land is worth? Even if shared by a couple of people per day, many residential streets are effectively privatised by the residents. Honestly consider this for a moment. Then add the expectation there will be another free to very low-priced 10sqm of storage everywhere you want to go. It’s simply ludicrous. It’s time for a serious conversation in our society about the value of public space and how we use it. Let’s take an example from many inner city areas: someone buys a 100+ year old terrace house on an 80sqm block. No car parking because cars didn’t exist. Then it is expected the owner will receive permited ‘private’ use of 10 or 20sqm of public land 24/7/365 to offset their choice of dwelling.
Radical change of mobility requires new imaginaries! After counting all 12.000 votes across our platforms, the winner of the most powerful #MobilityMeme of 2023 is: 'Street Storage' by Dave Walker! Share it to keep opening up eyes in your networks! The image is one page of his book ‘From A to B’, published by Bloomsbury. And you can find more of his drawings about mobility, and cycling in particular, here: https://lnkd.in/e7Ai677M The list of former winners: 2022: Those shit e-scooters are everywhere by #Schoenescheisse.de 2021: We all sacrifice by Tom Flood 2020: Schrödinger's road space by Emil Maj Christensen Made possible by Urban Cycling Institute & The Lab of Thought
We’re all tired of car dominated streetscapes, but the analogy is unfair. Parking a car on a road isn’t the same as placing a shed there as the registration and licence fees collected from vehicles are paid into the Government’s Consolidated Fund (GCF). The money in this fund is put back into a range of Government services like road programs, transport, education and health services. They also pay towards the State’s Incident Response Service. If cyclists or shed owners want to take on that burden, then maybe the analogy would make more sense.
The science and economics are clear. The parts of a town or city that generate significant wealth and contribute to GDP are the CBD, which includes usable space, restaurants etc. The urban sprawl and endless residential areas, car parks, contributes nothing (actually negative generation). Until we prioritise transit oriented developments and make cars redundant, they will continue to retain precedence on the street.
This is a really powerful meme Toby, thanks for sharing! So relevant right now in some Melbourne metro council areas, where there's a growing gap between their longer-term transport plans (i.e. separated cycling lanes) and what elected members and the public are willing to accept. I see this as an educational and communication challenge, although not an easy or quick fix. Consistency in approach between these metro councils would also help.
go the mighty daves
The 'not enough room' argument is hardly applicable to most streets I've seen in Melbourne, particularly outside the inner city. Illustration: a randomly selected local street somewhere in outer Melbourne.
wow Tony, really?
Recreation & Open Space Planner at Midcoast Council | Member of Parks & Leisure Australia (PLA) National Advisory | JP, Mmnt, ASM, NEM, DFSM, CPLP
9moI have no problem with your argument, because I agree, but my minor issue is in your use of the term "public space". The space that you are referring to is a transport corridor i.e. a road, where people are "storing" their cars. Public space is identified under either the crown land act or local government act of each state. This is land set aside for the benefit of the community, this includes parks, reserves, and in some cases road reserves (but not the actual road). So in your argument the car is either being stored on freehold land (garage or driveway) or a transport corridor. I personally think that cars should not be allowed to be stored on transport corridors, but should only be stored on freehold land, as we do with all other private property. You wouldn't see someone storing their fridge on the road. That way our roads could be better divided for other transport uses, such as cycling.