- Cycling Super Highways - My first international big idea was to build Cycling Super Highways. My vision is that anyone will be able to safely ride a bicycle regardless of their age, gender, physical abilities, cycling skills and road safety awareness. When the Los Angeles Department of Transport said “for the bike to catch on we need a revolution in our bicycle infrastructure” they were right. If we really want riding a bicycle to be a central part of our lifestyle, our transport system and our cities we need an ‘infrastructure revolution’. That’s why I created Cycling Super Highways, 7 metre wide bicycle ways with six lanes for slow, medium and fast bicycle riders, completely separated from all parked and moving cars.
- Floating Bikeways made out of waste plastic - My second big idea was a floating bikeway on the Sydney Harbour or on the Thames in London, constructed out of recycled waste plastic and used aluminium drink cans. Let’s use our waste. David de Rothchild built his Plastiki boat using used plastic drinks bottles, Vertec build road bridges with waste plastic and in Kuranda, Australia benches in public places are made from old plastic milk bottles. I’d like us to innovate and build floating bicycle paths from waste plastic. Imagine it. Watch my TEDxQUT talk “Who says building the impossible is impossible?”
- Lazy Sunday Cycle – I was the co-founder of Lazy Sunday Cycle. LSC was all about normal people, in normal clothes on normal bikes. It’s not about no special clothes or specialized and technical equipment. We encouraged and enabled anyone and everyone who wanted to ride a bicycle for fun; people who were 'interested but a little bit concerned' about cycling, people who just wanted to get out there and have a go at cycling, enthusiastic bicycle riders and people who wanted to cycle with other people so that they can chat. It was aimed at young people, old people, families with children, children with stabilizers, people with fancy bikes and people with cargo bikes and people with bikes with baskets!
Why Cycling Rachel Smith?
Why Cycling Rachel Smith?
