Kids cycling during COVID-19: A pop-up phenomenon or the new normal?

Over the last few months, we have faced different phases of isolation and parents have had to think of imaginative ways to get their kids out of the house to exercise in a safe and socially-distant way. Exercise has been one of the few reasons we could leave home, and for many this saw a rediscovery of walking and bike riding around our neighbourhoods. During this time, I was delighted by the lack of traffic, something that has previously been a deterrent for many families taking up cycling and often made walking less pleasant. While traffic levels are once again beginning to return, there is a desire to build space for this type of activity in a (dare I say it) post-COVID world. Or indeed, as the recent re-lockdown in Melbourne has highlighted, there is a need to build space for kids to walk and cycle safely in our urban areas for longer-term resilience.

But how can we retain the progress made in getting kids back on bikes, now and into the future? Some pop-up successes are arising at local government levels such as Sydney’s Randwick Council, where residents successfully lobbied to keep part of the carparks at Clovelly and Chifley beaches available for the rest of winter 2020 for kids to ride and scoot. On a larger scale, there are also the 12 km of pop-up bike lanes in City of Melbourne and 8 km in City of Sydney which are being installed to help people get around in a socially distant way.

GHD has recently been assisting Schools Infrastructure NSW as well as a number of local councils with planning for active transport around schools. We have found that there is a real appetite to better understand cycling needs of children and to grow the number of kids getting to school by bike. We thought now was the time to highlight some of the aspects in our own rule book for planning for cycling for kids.

For primary school-aged children, safe infrastructure is paramount as they learn to navigate their urban areas by bike. Perceived safety is also important for parents and caregivers to feel comfortable to let children ride. The other piece of the equation is continuity, which ensures children cycling are connected seamlessly from origin to destination. Often continuity is lacking in tricky situations such as intersections and high activity areas where infrastructure stops right where clarity for the cyclist is needed most. The golden rule for this age group is a mix of safety and continuity to create a cycling environment where both children feel comfortable and parents caregivers feel comfortable sending their kids. 

What does ‘safe infrastructure’ for children look like?

In some states and territories it is legal for cyclists of any age to ride on footpaths. In Victoria and WA only children under 13 can ride on footpaths. In NSW the cut off age is 16. To get children cycling, more cycling infrastructure should be provided which sends a clear indication that children are welcome and the built infrastructure encourages it. It’s not sufficient just to presume that the footpath is enough. So what is appropriate infrastructure for children cycling?

• Bike lanes should be separated from traffic and pedestrians: In some cases this might not be possible or appropriate. And in lower pedestrian environments shared paths created from footpaths in residential areas can be suitable, but they usually don’t attract the same level of use and can be contentious if they are just taking space away from pedestrians.
• In some situations on-road cycling can be appropriate: This includes where there is very low car traffic volumes, very low traffic speeds and there has been significant traffic calming to ensure low design speeds and the visual indication to drivers of cyclists being present. The image below shows ‘Safe Active Street’ treatment in Perth, WA which has these features.

What about crossings?

Infrastructure should also be continuous so that parents and caregivers have comfort that children have a seamless route to school and do not have to make potentially risky decisions about where to go or how to cross streets. Where there are no signals, street crossings can be confusing for kids who are not sure who has right of way. In an intersection which has a lot of traffic turning onto a side street, a treatment example which is clearer to children is the raised kerb with zebra crossing which sends a clearer indication to kids and drivers that pedestrians and kids on bikes have priority. 

Cycling is an edifying rite-of-passage for children. They experience freedom, independence and build their decision making skills. But as we see traffic slowly creeping back into our once urban ghost-towns, it now becomes incredibly important to think about infrastructure which will keep kids safe while cycling – long term not just in during the current crisis.