Ditching car parks for bike lanes could help struggling high street shops

1 week ago 8

Removing kerbside car parks and turning them into cycling lanes could marque Brisbane much liveable without hurting tiny businesses, a researcher argues.

Boundary Street successful Brisbane’s eclectic West End was utilized arsenic a lawsuit survey by University of Queensland researchers, with Associate Professor Dr Dorina Pojani concluding it would beryllium “appropriate and desirable” to crook astatine slightest 1 on-street parking lane into a motorcycle lane.

Boundary Street successful West End has been utilized successful a probe task to observe whether removing car parks for a bicycle lane would impact businesses.

Pojani said contrary to fashionable perception, the parking occupancy complaint connected Boundary Street was mostly little than 60 per cent connected weekdays.

That was due to the fact that 42 per cent of visitors walked there.

Of the 214 radical surveyed for the project, 40 per cent said they drove oregon were driven to the area, portion 16 per cent cycled oregon utilized nationalist transport.

Nearly one-third of backstage car users travelled little than 3 kilometres to Boundary Street, and much than fractional travelled little than 10 kilometres – distances that could beryllium travelled by bike.

And astir 1 successful 10 of those who drove determination lived successful West End.

Pojani said businesses benefited from foot, motorcycle and autobus postulation much than cars due to the fact that of a much predominant travel of customers.

“This is wherefore reassigning parking from 1 broadside of the roadworthy to a cyclist lane would marque amended usage of that space,” she said, adding they should besides beryllium connected to the motorcycle network.

The study, published successful Australian Planner, focused connected conscionable 1 thoroughfare successful West End, a suburb with 1 of the highest rates of progressive commutes successful Brisbane – astir 20 per cent.

But Pojani said the findings were applicable elsewhere.

“The perfect solution is to not person on-street parking astatine all, but alternatively person multi-storey and underground parking lots, and repurpose kerbside parking abstraction for walking, cycling, scooters and trees,” she said.

“Not lone is this amended visually, it besides improves accessibility and keeps the streets cooler.”

Brisbane Times spoke to visitors and concern radical connected Boundary Street, with astir supporting the idea, including Rhianon Ellis, who said West End’s colonisation was “exploding”, and encouraging much radical to usage progressive transport would amended congestion.

“People tin travel and walk their time, they don’t request to interest that they’ve lone got fractional an hr of parking,” she said.

Swop store manager Nicci Dimblon thinks the thought has merit.

Swop store manager Nicci Dimblon said labelled motorcycle lanes would beryllium a “smart move”.

But 1 shopkeeper was disquieted that radical would not beryllium capable to transportation their buying location by bike, and section Wayne Galvin said adjacent with 2 lanes of parking, radical already recovered it hard to get a park.

Researchers recovered drivers and non-drivers spent a akin magnitude of clip connected Boundary Street – astir 2 hours connected mean – but drivers spent astir $49 each, walkers $30, nationalist transport users $16 and motorcycle riders $22.

Pojani said erstwhile probe showed limiting parking could pb to much radical walking, cycling oregon utilizing nationalist transport, portion a survey successful downtown San Francisco recovered non-motorists spent much per period than car users due to the fact that they visited the country much often.

“It is not needfully the lawsuit that drivers person stronger purchasing power; it whitethorn simply beryllium that they question to maximise the instrumentality connected their little predominant visits to Boundary Street,” she said.

“It is worthy noting that larger and/or longitudinal studies person recovered that bicycle riders walk much implicit time.”

Pojani said parking should inactive beryllium provided for radical with disabilities.

The probe included a nationalist forum with 60 people, surveys of 214 pedestrians, and observations of parking turnover.

Greens councillor Trina Massey said creating pedestrianised, harmless streets for progressive question was important for inner-city suburbs similar West End.

“While this survey is welcomed, enactment for this proposition can’t hap without further in-depth assemblage consultation with residents, assemblage groups, section businesses, and those visiting West End,” she said.

But Massey said walkable, safe, accessible precocious streets had been shown to thrust much ft postulation to tiny businesses.

A Brisbane City Council spokeswoman said determination were nary plans to region kerbside parking connected Boundary Street, wherever determination are presently much than 50 car spaces.

“These spaces assistance guarantee section businesses tin beryllium accessed by residents who bash not unrecorded nearby,” she said.

“However, assembly does see roads, parking, and kerbside abstraction arsenic portion of each planning, on with immoderate applicable research.”