The City of Ballarat is looking for ideas from the community to make walking safer and more pleasant across the city.
Today, the Strategic Planning team has released the second discussion paper as part of the Ballarat Integrated Transport Plan project - a long term plan to future-proof the city's transport network.
The Ballarat Walking and Pedestrian Network Discussion Paper is intended to prompt discussion within the community about building a more walkable and accessible Ballarat.
The current rates of walking in Ballarat are low, but there is significant scope to improve this situation and it's expected feedback from the community will play a significant role in understanding and addressing the barriers to walking.
To read the discussion paper, or to have your say head to: mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au
In June, the City of Ballarat released the Rail Network Discussion Paper and Ballarat Transport Overview for community consultation.
These documents were the first of a series of five discussion papers for different modes of transport to be released over the coming months.
Each discussion paper explores the opportunities and challenges of each mode of transport across Ballarat's current network, including:
1. Rail network
2. Walking and pedestrian network
3. Public transport network (buses and trams)
4. Roads, streetscapes and emerging vehicle technology
5. Aviation
So far, more than 230 people have contributed to the Rail Network survey.
To contribute to the Walking and Pedestrian Network Discussion Papers, head to mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au and fill out the online survey.
What is the Ballarat Integrated Transport Plan?
It is a long-term vision for Ballarat's transport system, ensuring all networks are efficient, sustainable and well-planned.
An efficient, sustainable and well-planned network where all modes of transport are connected ensures people are linked to one another and more goods can be delivered to markets.
The Ballarat Integrated Transport Plan outlines actions the City of Ballarat can take to improve the transport systems it owns or manages, including footpaths, bicycle infrastructure and local roads.
It also recommends advocacy actions we can take to request improvements to parts of the transport system the state government owns or manages, including major roads, freeways and highways, bus services and train lines.
The plan is underpinned by the 10-Minute City principle of the Ballarat Strategy 2040 - council's long-term plan for the city to 2040.
But the Ballarat Integrated Transport Plan isn't just about transport. It also incorporates integrated land use planning and development, understanding they are both important parts of an efficient and liveable city by ensuring more people can live closer to quality transport options.
Following feedback from the community on each of the discussion papers, the City of Ballarat will release the Ballarat Integrated Transport Action Plan.
This plan will outline actions and a detailed plan of what is needed to deliver those priorities the community highlighted during the consultation phase of the project.
The draft Ballarat Integrated Transport Action Plan is scheduled to be released later this year, with the final Ballarat Integrated Transport Action Plan scheduled for release in early 2020.
