Walkers and bicycle riders share many similar issues, both need good places to walk and ride, and both are often at risk in our society, primarily from motorised traffic.

We are all walkers in one form or another, babies, toddlers, school children, young adults and onwards. It has been said that if the world was designed for walkers, it would be good for everyone (except perhaps those who wish to drive fast cars).

One of the keynote speakers is Gyles Bendall, Public Realm Programme Leader, Auckland Council. He will take delegates on a journey through the evolution of the Auckland’s city centre to become more walkable and more humane, with shared spaces at the heart of re-imagining our streets. Some shared space projects have seen a 430%+ rise in retail hospitality takings and a 140% increase in pedestrian foot traffic post-implementation. This has helped turn around the ‘city of cars’ to become more of ‘a city for people’.

The Australian Walking and Cycling Conference will be held in Adelaide on Monday 20 July and Tuesday 21 July, 2015, at the Flinders Uni campus in Victoria Square.