What if the biggest waste of space in Caboolture isn’t empty shops - but empty carparks? (Caboolture is a high growth outer suburb north of Brisbane).

In this episode of Streets and People, Wendy sits down with Steven Burgess, one of Australia’s leading voices on urban planning and parking reform. Steven’s journey started with Brisbane’s iconic New Farm–Teneriffe renewal and led him to ask a powerful question: what happens when we design streets for people instead of cars?

You’ll hear why car dependency costs communities more than just money - undermining safety, productivity, and even our sense of belonging. Steven shares stories of cities that thrive with less parking and more life, and he explains why the outer suburbs face both the toughest challenges and the biggest opportunities.

From urban villages within walking or biking distance, to smarter transport choices, to the economic upside of reform - this conversation reveals practical, hopeful ways your Council can grow into a safer, more connected, and more enjoyable place to live.

Listen in, and imagine what your suburb could become if we stopped paving paradise for parking lots.

To read the report about the post-parking reform transformation on Elizabeth Street, Hobart, see our website page for this episode

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In this People and Projects episode of Streets and People,Wendy speaks with Anna Gurnhill about the Healthy Active by Design initiative, exploring its origins and the significant impact it has on urban planning and community health.

Anna explains how built environments can encourage physical activity and improve heart health, focusing on key principles like walkability, mixed-use land development, and community advocacy.

Anna reflects on her career from cultural geography to active transportation, sharing the Heart Foundation's motivation behind the initiative and its guidelines for creating healthier, more liveable communities. She alsooutlines successful case studies, recent research, and upcoming resources for professionals and community members working to build more walkable and heart-healthy neighbourhoods.

The conversation also highlights the complexities of transport in peri-urban areas and the critical role of community involvement in advocating for better urban designs. Anna’s insights provide a clear frameworkfor anyone working to create cities that prioritise health and accessibility and community members wanting more walkable places.

Links for Show Notes:

• Healthy Active by Design
• Submit Your Case Studies
• Follow Us on LinkedIn
• Community Walkability Resources
• Follow Us on the Facebook Walking Group

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In this People and Projects episode of the streets and people podcast, Wendy sits down with Prue Oswin, a professional engineer and active transport specialist based on the Sunshine Coast. The conversation takes you through Prue's journey, from childhood days spent on bicycles and rollerblades to her experiences as a triathlete and her transition into transport planning.

Prue shares her deep passion for making communities safer and more accessible for active transport. She discusses the gap she noticed in her knowledge after becoming a mother and how it reshaped her approach to transport engineering. Her projects focus on making walking and biking safer, particularly for children. One of her standout achievements? Improving school safety by engaging with the community to identify infrastructure needs, leading to practical, cost-effective solutions like safer crossings that have resulted in more children biking to school.

In this insightful episode, Prue explores the power of low-cost interventions, highlighting how simple changes can have a significant impact on road safety and community well-being. From surveys at local schools to practical solutions for active transport infrastructure, Prue provides a comprehensive look at how we can create safer, more inclusive communities.

For more resources on the topic, check out the following links:

Various Articles: Sidelines Traffic Articles

Yandina Active Transport Infrastructure Improvements Survey Outcomes: Survey Results

Other articles:

• Footpaths: Stranded Assets in the Suburbs
• The All User Triangle

If you're interested in learning more about creating safer streets, this episode is a must-listen! Tune in now and join the conversation on how to improve active transport for all.

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In this People on Projects episode of the Streets and People podcast, we explore road safety education with John Duncan from Brake Australia.

John shares his journey from psychology to road safety, inspired by his father’s experience as a police officer delivering life-changing news to families of crash victims. This deeply personal connection is the foundation to Brake Australia's mission to improve road safety for high school students across Queensland.

Unlike its UK and New Zealand counterparts, Brake Australia focuses on the psychological and behavioural aspects of driving, such as risk assessment and peer pressure. The organisation’s evidence-based programs, developed in collaboration with CARRS-Q and crash research centres, are helping to shift young people's attitudes and behaviours towards safer driving.

John also highlights the crucial role of teachers and parents in delivering and reinforcing these important messages. The impact is clear, with the program achieving significant improvements in student attitudes toward driving. Brake Australia is now scaling its efforts with support from government grants and community partnerships.

Tune in for an insightful conversation about road safety education, community involvement, and how Brake Australia is expanding its reach across the country.

BRAKE Website: www.brake.org.au

BRAKE Parents Dashboard: www.brake.org.au/parents

Register for BRAKE: www.brake.org.au/register-for-brake-now

Support BRAKE: www.brake.org.au/brake-partners-and-supporters

BRAKE E-mobility Safety Program: www.brake.org.au/pmd-escooter-optional-module

BRAKE LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/brake-australia

BRAKE Facebook: www.facebook.com/brakeaustralia

Contact BRAKE: [email protected]

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In this People and Projects episode of The Streets and People Podcast, Andrew Talati discusses the transition from BunchRides to NeighbourlyRide. He explains the motivation behind NeighbourlyRide, focusing on using cycling to address loneliness, encourage community engagement, and promote physical activity.

Andrew also covers the challenges of securing grant funding, the diverse community participation, and the broader implications of building social infrastructure. He highlights the importance of fostering human connections in today’s digital society and how initiatives like NeighbourlyRide help strengthen neighbourhood ties while promoting inclusivity and health.

Join Andrew and Wendy for an insightful conversation on community-based cycling programs and the value of neighbourly connections.

Read Andrew's blog

Go for a NeighbourlyRide

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What if we told you the best way to shape your neighbourhood isn’t with blueprints or boring public meetings - but with toys, laughter, and found objects?

In this People and Projects episode of Streets and People, Wendy chats with James Rojas and John Kamp, the creative minds behind Dream Play Build. These two are flipping the script on community engagement. Forget jargon-filled consultations and slide decks. James and John show how playful, hands-on methods unlock people’s imagination and voice.

You’ll hear how James went from building miniature worlds as a kid in East LA to reshaping real urban spaces. And how John’s background in environmental activism taught him the power of humour and joy to shift hearts and minds. Together, they’ve developed a proven method that uses art, play, and sensory experiences to draw people in, build trust, and deliver real-world results.

Whether you're an urban planner, community organiser, or just want to make your area better, this episode will inspire you to dream, play, and build with your community at the centre.

Dream Play Build: Hands-On CommunityEngagement for Enduring Spaces and Places https://islandpress.org/books/dream-play-build (discount code PLACEIT)

One of Planetizen's top planning anddesign books of 2022: https://www.planetizen.com/features/119960-top-urban-planning-books-2022

You can contact them at www.prairieform.com⁠GetAroundCaboolture.au

This People and Projects episode of the Streets and People podcast explores a confronting but crucial topic — suicides in the transport system and their exclusion from Australia’s official road safety data. Host Wendy speaks with Professor Milad Milani, whose research shines a light on intentional road crashes, a hidden part of our road trauma story.

Together, they unpack the challenges in identifying and classifying suicide-related crashes, and how this affects both prevention and support. They discuss statistical patterns, vulnerable demographics, and why it's essential to include these incidents in road safety strategies. This sensitive conversation about suicide runs until 17:38.

From 17:38 onward, the discussion shifts to the broader landscape of road safety improvements in Australia — particularly progress made up until 2023. However, Milad explains how this progress is now under threat with the increasing presence of much larger vehicles on suburban streets, posing new and growing challenges for vulnerable road users.

This is a powerful and timely conversation that calls for open dialogue, more compassionate systems, and stronger policies that respond to emerging risks on our roads.

Connect with Milad https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4267932/

We chat about recent articles Milad has published in The Conversation.

• Suicide or accident? The hidden complexities of intentional road crashes in Australia https://theconversation.com/suicide-or-accident-the-hidden-complexities-of-intentional-road-crashes-in-australia-248673
• Australian roads are getting deadlier - pedestrians and males are among those at greater risk https://theconversation.com/australian-roads-are-getting-deadlier-pedestrians-and-males-are-among-those-at-greater-risk-256994
• Drivers of SUVs and pick-ups should pay more to be on our roads. Here’s how to make the system fairer https://theconversation.com/drivers-of-suvs-and-pick-ups-should-pay-more-to-be-on-our-roads-heres-how-to-make-the-system-fairer-252381
• Even calm people can fly into a rage behind the wheel. Here’s how to curb your road rage – before it’s too late https://theconversation.com/even-calm-people-can-fly-into-a-rage-behind-the-wheel-heres-how-to-curb-your-road-rage-before-its-too-late-244402
• Most car-ramming incidents aren’t terrorism – but they’re becoming more common and crowds need better protection https://theconversation.com/most-car-ramming-incidents-arent-terrorism-but-theyre-becoming-more-common-and-crowds-need-better-protection-257628
• In Australia, 1 in 5 road deaths is a motorcyclist. We can make them safer https://theconversation.com/in-australia-1-in-5-road-deaths-is-a-motorcyclist-we-can-make-them-safer-250652
• Here’s why some people still evade public transport fares – even when they’re 50 cents https://theconversation.com/heres-why-some-people-still-evade-public-transport-fares-even-when-theyre-50-cents-249739
• E-bike popularity is booming. But are they as safe as regular bikes? https://theconversation.com/e-bike-popularity-is-booming-but-are-they-as-safe-as-regular-bikes-242703
• Electric car sales have slumped. Misinformation is one of the reasons https://theconversation.com/electric-car-sales-have-slumped-misinformation-is-one-of-the-reasons-240545

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Walking, biking, riding—and meeting changemakers along the way.

In this People and Projects episode of the Streets and People podcast, host Wendy sits down with Emmanuelle Bugara, an active transport enthusiast from Lille, France, who, with her partner, is setting off on an extraordinary global journey.

Their mission? To walk, cycle, and use public transport across continents, connecting with people who are reshaping the way we move through cities. Emmanuelle believes that leadership in transport change comes not just from top-down policy but from stories, lived experiences, and everyday people choosing different ways to move.

They’ll explore bike lanes in Bogotá, public transit in Tokyo, and pedestrian paths in Toronto. Along the way, they’re hoping to meet city-shapers, local advocates, and curious citizens who care about active mobility and want to share what’s working.

If you’re in one of these places (or know someone who is) reach out and say hello:

Cities:
Lille, London, Cardiff (Wales), Dublin, Belfast, Reykjavík, Cincinnati, New York, Toronto, Montreal, Detroit, New Orleans, Nashville, Santiago, Melbourne, Sydney

Countries:
France, UK, Wales, Ireland, Iceland, Canada, USA, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, French Polynesia (Tahiti), New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, China, India, Turkey

Whether you’re running a community bike project, working in city planning, or just love getting around on foot, Emmanuelle would love to meet you. This episode is a call to connect, to share what’s working, and to celebrate the joy and freedom of moving through the world under your own power.

Follow their journey. Share your street. Change the story.

During the episode, we discuss these too!

The movie Tomorrow (in French Demain) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4449576/

To contact Emmanuelle: Les Lunettes Jaunes (Yellow Glasses) https://www.linkedin.com/company/les-lunettes-jaunes/posts/?feedView=articles&viewAsMember=true and ⁠https://www.facebook.com/people/Babel-tour/61557164720879/⁠

Connecting people with songs: Instagram Babel Tour Sing with us: https://www.instagram.com/babel_tour_singwithus/

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On today's People and Projects episode of the Streets and People podcast, Blair Turner, a leading road safety expert, discusses the Austroads guide "Facilitating Speed Management Change: Example Case Studies from Australia and New Zealand."

Drawing on his international experience and consultancy work, he unpacks key lessons from real-world examples, focusing on how to effectively implement speed reductions. The conversation explores the role of local governments, the importance of communication and community engagement, and how speed management links to broader outcomes like health, equity, and environmental sustainability. Turner highlights the practical strategies that make change possible—and the pitfalls to avoid.

The new Austroads document on speed case studies (https://austroads.gov.au/publications/road-safety/ap-t381-25)

The World Bank guide to speed management (https://www.globalroadsafetyfacility.org/publications/guide-safe-speeds-managing-traffic-speeds-save-lives-and-improve-livability)

The Speed management hub (https://www.globalroadsafetyfacility.org/speed-management-hub)The Guide to Mobility for Livable Pacific Cities (https://www.theprif.org/community-of-practice/15th-prif-community-practice-guide-mobility-for-livable-pacific-cities)

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What if the real danger on our streets isn’t reckless drivers—but the people who designed them?

In this powerful People and Projects episode of The Streets and People Podcast, traffic engineer and author Wes Marshall joins the show to unpack the hard truths behind his provocative new book, Killed by a Traffic Engineer. With two decades of experience and a sabbatical spent studying global best practices—including time in Australia—Marshall invites us to rethink everything we thought we knew about road safety.

Why do our roads still kill thousands each year, even as technology advances? Because, as Marshall reveals, many of our transportation systems are built on outdated assumptions, misaligned priorities, and silent values that prioritise speed over human life. And the worst part? We often blame the victim—labeling crashes as “accidents”—instead of fixing the systems that enable them.

This episode is a must-listen for city planners, engineers, elected officials, and anyone who’s ever wondered, “Why isn’t my street safe?” Marshall makes the complex accessible, using bite-sized chapters in his book and clear language in this interview to show how small changes—and smarter questions—can lead to life-saving results.

Whether you’re a professional or just passionate about safe streets, this conversation arms you with the insight and confidence to speak up, push back, and demand better. Because safe design isn’t a luxury—it’s a choice.

Where to buy Wes' excellent book new, used or ebook: https://booko.com.au/9781642833300/Killed-by-a-Traffic-Engineer-Shattering-the-Delusion-That-Science-Underlies-Our-Transportation-System

Check out Wes Marshall's website: Wes MarshallAnd on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/wesmars.bsky.social

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