Meet the volunteers behind the new advocacy tool
We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new tool designed to help you engage with your local candidates and assist us with our campaign. This tool allows you to easily identify all the local candidates in your electorate and email them directly. To make it easier for you, we have prepared a generic email for you to use - just add specific information to our prompts to make it relevant to your local area.
https://www.betterstreets.org.au/emailcandidates
Meet Jemima
Jemima Cummins is a graduate Transport Planner at Arup, based in Naarm (Melbourne). Jemima is passionate about improving liveability in our cities and towns, especially in the face of growing social inequality and climate change. She studied a Master of Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne, where she wrote a thesis on just transitions. As part of her studies, Jemima also completed an exchange with the Urban Cycling Institute at the University of Amsterdam. Jemima has also worked part-time as a research assistant, looking into children’s mobility. In her spare time, Jemima loves getting out on her bike - whether that be to her favourite bakery or somewhere in nature.
Question: Why do you want better streets in your neighbourhood?
“Streets make up a huge proportion of public space in our cities and regions. Yet they are too often designed for optimising the movement of cars at the expense of the safety, enjoyment and convenience for everyone who isn’t driving - either by choice or means. Better streets hold the key for improving our day-to-day lives and those of who we travel with, for generations to come.”
Question: Why are you volunteering to support Better Streets + the open letter?
“I want to contribute to a cause I’m passionate about and have a wider reach than what I do in my day-to-day work as a transport planner. I believe it is so important to learn from and be part of a community that goes beyond the geographical/ employment / social boundaries it is so easy to get caught in.”
Meet Will
Will Symons is a Graduate Transport Planner at Stantec, based in Melbourne. Will studied a Master of Urban Planning at the University of Melbourne and wrote his thesis on the institutional barriers to the implementation of safe cycling infrastructure in Melbourne. Having experienced world-leading sustainable transport networks while living in Sweden, The Netherlands, and Finland, Will is motivated to contribute towards a future in which Australian cities and towns provide residents with safe, connected and accessible active transport infrastructure. Will is assisting Better Streets with the development of the federal election email campaign which seeks to highlight the benefits of active transport to election candidates all over the country.
Question: Why do you want better streets in your neighbourhood?
“Our streets are public space - they have so much untapped potential. The movement for better streets can help people to reimagine what their street can offer them, rather than the status quo situation of our streets being predominantly a place to use and store cars in. Among countless other reasons, I want better streets so that people are provided with transport choices rather than being forced into car dependency, so that children can walk, scoot and ride to school safely, and so that all members of the community can simply enjoy being outside in a pleasant environment.”
Question: Why are you volunteering to support Better Streets + the open letter?
“I am volunteering for Better Streets because I want to contribute to the movement that brings active transport into the political conversation in Australia. So many amazing outcomes could be unlocked if the federal government meets the Better Streets ask for increased funding for active transport projects. There is huge power in community action, and I am excited to see where this federal election campaign can take us.
Want to Get Involved?
We invite you to join Catherine and our other dedicated volunteers in advocating for better walking and cycling infrastructure. Together, we can create safer, healthier, and more sustainable communities across Australia.
We are looking for more volunteers to help us in this important campaign! If you are passionate about making a difference and can commit to volunteering your time (ideally 3 hours/week), please submit your interest to Sam Johnson, Vice President of Better Streets Australia, at sjohnson@betterstreets.org.au.
Stay tuned for more volunteer profiles and updates on our campaign. Together, we can make a difference!
Proposed Cycleway Network (source: Bicycle NSW / Better Streets Northern Beaches)
Photo: Artistic Render of the Curl Curl - Freshwater Cycleway (source: Northern Beaches Council)
