Tamworth Regional Council draft active transport plan to make city a walking, cycling mecca

If achieved, the city would become Australia's most bicycle-friendly city, with the highest rate of active transport in the country, according to ABS statistics*.

At the moment almost all transport in Tamworth is by car, with some 92 per cent of journeys by "private transport".

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Just 5 per cent of journeys are by walking and 1 per cent cycling, a rate inline with the national average as measured in the 2016 national census.

But Tamworth Regional Council's new Active Transport Strategy, currently in draft form, aims for an enormous reduction in driving, a doubling in walking and cycling, and an increase in public transport use.

President of Tamworth's bicycle users group, Greg Johnstone, said the 10 per cent active transport target was "a realistic target".

He said the way to get to 10 per cent is simple: the council needs to spend up big on a new linked-up cycling and walking network across the city.

"There's a lot of data around when there's safety-cycling - once you've got infrastructure people come out of the woodwork. With the push to increase the amount of infrastructure you will see growth," he said.

"You build it and they will come vey much with cycling.

"There are a lot of people that are cyclists in our community now - mum, dad, the kids - that would love to ride more often, but just are worried about being hurt."

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The task will be made easier by the increasing densification of the city, he said.

Tamworth council strategy engineer Nick Smith said it's an "aspirational goal" which it would be "nice to achieve".

"We've got a real focus on moving towards a more active transport-friendly community. Active transport can greatly help us in managing our transport network. The less cars that we have on the road and more people utilising active transport the less strain that's putting on our roads," he said.

In all future infrastructure works which council undertakes directly or has some control over the design process for, the provision of active transport infrastructure is to be considered, according to the draft plan.

The plan is on exhibition for public input until May 19.

It should be before a council meeting by July for signoff by councillors, according to Mr Smith.

No city in Australia has achieved that rate of active transport use, with Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart all leading the pack with rates well short of 10 per cent according to the latest ABS figures released in 2018.

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