Queensland Walking Strategies

Video transcript

The Queensland Walking Strategy is very important.

It was launched in August of 2019.

It sets the direction to encourage Queenslanders to walk as part of their everyday routine and lifestyle.

So, the strategy is a high-level strategy which really helps us to understand how we can plan for walking in the region.

So, having accessible infrastructure is so important for the Toowoomba region and our community, as well as being important for people's mental health and their wellbeing.

We need to make sure that walking is a priority so that we encourage more people walking every day and reduce traffic congestion in our urban areas.

Walking is important to maintain good health and wellbeing.

We want local people to be able to walk safely and comfortably to and from the city's numerous parks and public spaces.

Whether we're on foot or walking with the aid of a mobility device like a wheelchair, or pushing a child in a pram, walking is an important part of life for everyone.

As part of the 2022/2024 Action Plan, Queensland's gone from having no Walking Network Plans in place to now having over 80 Walking Network Plans in place across Queensland, either part or fully funded by TMR, and there are more to come.

These practical plans provide an opportunity for communities to give feedback about where they walk and the ideas about how to improve the conditions for walking.

To get the communities involved in these Walking Network Plans, we reached out to them through social media, to the community groups, we contacted the schools within the walking areas.

The pop-up stores were held in places such as shopping centres and at community events.

So, we're trying to get people that regularly walk through the area to give us their feedback and also just people that rely on walking as transport and people that just choose walking.

Planning for walking is that first important step to create better networks and more attractive places for everyone.

We've had over 200 participants in our Walking Infrastructure Masterclass, which helps upskill our engineers and our planners to plan and design high-quality walking routes.

So, we've worked with TMR through these walking strategies.

We've prepared three walking plans, one for the Toowoomba City Centre, one for Highfields, a suburb to the north of us, and one at Oakey, which is one of our major regional townships.

So, we're here at Milton train station and we're so excited to profile this location because it features a raised priority crossing right in front of front of the train station.

Anyone who is older or has a disability or pushing a pram, can easily access the train station.

As part of the Queensland Walking Strategy, Ipswich City Council is improving walking between Ipswich Hospital and the city centre to encourage the community and visitors to travel and explore by walking.

TMR has achieved a lot since the Queensland Walking Strategy was launched.

We have been collaborating with local government, state government, peak walking bodies and the community to deliver actions that will help make walking an easy choice for everyone, every day.

So, we really are grateful to TMR for their support for these strategies because it's such an important priority for us and our communities.

The main message is to make sure that we prioritise walking and make it easy and comfortable to walk in your local area.