Bike Futures 2011

FORTHCOMING CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne: Wednesday 12th – Friday 14th October 2011

With the transport crisis a long-term reality for Australian cities, there has never been a better time to improve liveability by embracing the benefits of bicycling, according to Harry Barber, CEO of Bicycle Victoria.

“Bikes bring back the human scale of public spaces, changing streets from places to avoid into places to congregate,” he says.

He is looking forward to discussing bicycling and its role in transforming cities into liveable spaces at Bike Futures 2011 in October.

Now in its third year Bike Futures has become the key annual professional development for national and local leaders, planners, designers and builders to use bike transport and recreation to advance their communities.

“Bike riders have emerged as a critical indicator species of liveability,” says Mr Barber.

“In towns and cities around the world business and civic leaders, questing for the secret to attracting talent and innovation, are reaching for the Bike Plan,” he adds.

Bike Futures 2011 will discuss how to take the next steps from providing bike infrastructure – essential for mobility – to changing the ways cities work.

“When Bike Plans are done well, we know we will find a healthy social and economic ecology. There is little doubt that bikes subtly but powerfully transform the street, calming it, warming it, making it magnetic to people and their conversation and commerce,” Mr Barber said.

Bike Futures 2011 will bring together world leading experts as well as some of Australia’s leading practitioners on how to best respond to the issues confronting communities as they embrace the bicycle revolution.

The three-day conference is presented by the Bicycle Network and hosted by Bicycle Victoria.

Keynote speakers:
Gil Penalosa is an internationally renowned liveable city advisor and is passionate about creating cities for people. He is Executive Director of the Canadian non-profit organization 8-80 Cities <http://www.8-80cities.org/>  and also works as Senior Consultant for the renowned Danish firm Gehl Architects.

Gordon Price is the Director of The City Program at Simon Fraser University. Gordon has served many terms as a City Councillor in Vancouver, BC. As the Vancouver Sun declared when Price stepped down from the City Council, “‘Councillor Bikeways’ has done more than any other elected official to shape the city and the way we use it”.

Other speakers include:
•    Timothy Papandreou, San Francisco Sustainable & Active Mobility Strategy
•    Robyn Davies, Transport and Main Roads, Qld
•    Jim Betts, Secretary, Victorian Department of Transport
•    Sara Stace, Director, National Urban Policy, Major Cities Unit   
•    Rebecca Lehman, GTA Consultants
•    Cameron Munro, SKM Consulting
•    Nicholas Elliot, City of Moreland

Workshop themes for the three days will include: innovative and human design, linking local initiatives with the bigger picture, shared paths and shared spaces, cycle tourism and how Vancouver BC has become the world’s most livable city.

“The conference brings together ideas, solutions and practical strategies to meet the challenges provided by the bike riding boom,” said Mr Barber.

Public inquiries Bike Futures 2010:
Call Bicycle Network on: 1800 616 600 or visit http://bikefutures.conferenceworks.net.au/

Media inquiries: John Myers: (03) 9818 6339 or 0409 215 120