Community engagement for cycleway design
Client:
Transport for New South Wales in partnership with bd infrastructure
Project Overview:
The Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway project faced a unique challenge – balancing the perspectives of local opposition to the cycleway’s construction with the vocal support of cyclists across Sydney who were eager for this new infrastructure. The key issue at hand was the provision of an efficient cycleway without the need for cyclists to lug their bikes up large flights of stairs.
Objective:
To gather community and cyclist insights into the design of the cycleway for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. To achieve this, the Sydney Harbour Bridge Cycleway Community Bike User Group (CBUG) was established.
Our Role:
Captivate Consulting was tasked with:
- Facilitation: We facilitated two CBUG sessions, spaced apart to allow attendees to digest the information, formulate opinions, and come back with informed questions or suggestions.
- Engagement Design: Collaborating closely with the project team, we designed activities to present information on the proposed design, which had previously won through an architectural competition.
- Site Visits: A unique element of our approach was on-site visits, allowing participants to visualize the constraints and opportunities in person.
- Visual Feedback Mechanism: We prepared large scale images of the site, enabling attendees to provide feedback in a visual and hands-on manner using photographs, characters, and markers.
Challenges:
Challenges included:
- Scope Management: Some panel members occasionally diverged from the given remit, discussing alternative options or questioning the need for the cycleway. Our challenge was to guide the discussions back to the core mission – providing feedback on design options.
- Balancing Interests: We had to balance the interests of locals opposed to the cycleway with the desires of the larger cyclist community.
Outcome:
Our facilitated sessions not only provided the project team with invaluable community and bike user perspectives but also ensured that the feedback was specific to the design options. The visual and tactile methods of gathering feedback were particularly effective in fostering constructive dialogue.
The contentious plan to build an elevated cycleway beside the Sydney Harbour Bridge has cleared one of the final hurdles to its construction after the state’s heritage council approved designs for the project.
Why Captivate for Community Engagement Consulting:
Captivate Consulting’s hands-on and immersive approach to facilitating community engagement sessions ensured that a diverse set of stakeholders felt heard and involved. This approach also provided Transport for New South Wales with actionable insights to refine their cycleway design.
Start engaging with your community today.
Fill in your email address below and we will be in touch to discuss your next project