Better Streets volunteers and coalition members were amongst the crowd who were part of the (re)opening of College Street cycleway. Some even watched on with tears of joy. This represents a significant win for the better streets advocacy community in NSW over many years.
 
The College St cycleway was originally built in 2010 and quickly became a popular route for over 2000 riders a day. However, in 2015, the NSW Government removed the cycleway, which was a low point for cycling in NSW. Thanks to the persistence and hard work of activists, community members, and the City of Sydney, the cycleway has been reinstated, and we couldn't be more excited. 
 
The event today was celebrated with speeches and from Lord Mayor Clover Moore and the Minister for Cities and Active Transport Rob Stokes MP, and a joint ribbon cutting. The crowd was cheering, and there were even occasional tears of joy. We presented Minister Stokes with a card of thanks – signed by hundreds of us from Better Streets.
 
This cycleway represents a major link that will eventually create a fully separated, safe cycleway from Bondi Junction to Circular Quay and beyond. This is an important step towards creating a more sustainable and active city, and we are proud to have played a part in making it happen.
 
At Better Streets, we believe that activism and persistence can result in positive outcomes for our communities – and one of the best ways to do this is to bring politicians and the community along us for the journey. The reopening of the College St cycleway is proof of this, and we look forward to continuing to advocate for safer, more accessible streets for all.

City of Sydney are hosting a several Open Street events as part of their "Sydney Streets" programme. These events are a great way to demonstrate how traffic calming / removal and the beautification of streets can support businesses and encourage people to enjoy their streets. 
The transformation is remarkable. The reduction in noise, stress, smells and emissions introduces opportunities to rest, eat, socialise, dance and enjoy the space. 
Better Streets supports the beautification of streetscapes and encourages councils to try interventions like this so their communities can expeirence the 

Better Streets representatives met with Minister Stokes to discuss our five key asks. Whilst Stokes will not be running for the upcoming state election, he emphasised that any future minister needs to retain “active transport” in their title to ensure that there is a voice in cabinet. Hopefully one day this won’t be needed, however in our current environment we still need a minister to champion active transport and better streets.
We also discussed the important co-benefits for health and climate change action, because walking and cycling are key in helping us achieve net zero and healthy, connected communities.
Better Streets emphasised that one of our roles is to give politicians at all three levels of government, and whichever party they may represent, the assurance that our community and alliance members want these changes for better streets: active travel to schools, safer traffic speeds, more pedestrian crossings, improved streetscapes to support local businesses, and safe cycleways. 

Minister Stokes' office confirmed that the current Government has committed $1.2 billion to active transport projects this year and over the next three years, including through grants to councils and as part of the delivery of major projects such as Metro and motorway projects. This would bring the NSW Government’s total spending on active transport to more $2 billion between 2014-15 and 2026-27.


We are continuing to meet with politicians in the lead up to the NSW election.

Photo source: Twitter @RobStokesMP