Engaging communities on street changes

Date: 25 March 2025

Venue: Customs House

City planners and stakeholders interested in cycleways, walking projects and streetscape upgrades are welcome to attend!

Event overview

Community resistance is a natural part of any street or transport project whether it involves cycleways pedestrian improvements or road changes. The way engagement is handled can contribute to how a project is successfully implemented.

Engaging communities on street changes is a professional forum focused on best practices for consultation and engagement.

Through keynote talks, what do you do panel discussions and interactive exercises this event will explore:

why communities resist change and how to respond effectively
proven strategies for public engagement in street and transport projects
case studies on managing opposition and building public trust
practical tools to navigate difficult conversations and improve project outcomes

Join the bike bus to Customs House!

Before the forum we invite attendees to experience the infrastructure firsthand with a guided ride:

8:30AM: free bike tune ups and share the path engagement at Belmore Park Central
10:00AM: bike bus departs from Belmore Park to Customs House arriving just in time for the event start

We encourage participants to bring their own bike or use a share bike and join us for the ride.

Event program

10:30 welcome and introductory remarks

10:45 Keynote speech - What do you do if your project sparks resistance, petitions or even protest?
Mark Ames from Strategic Cities specialises in building public support for contentious urban change using strategic engagement and communication to help practitioners manage the conversation about change

11:00 Engagement for cycling in the City

11:10 Panel discussion - Riding the change:

navigating resistance without backtracking
principles of engagement are the same for cycleways, pedestrian zones and street transformations
real world examples of managing difficult conversations across transport projects

Panelists

Estelle Grech Policy manager for Committee for Sydney
Maab Ch Senior community engagement coordinator for City of Sydney
Sandra Quan Communications and engagement manager for Infrastructure NSW
Adrian Barritt Director, Mobility+
Shayne Mallard Director, City Futures, Liverpool City Council

11:45 Audience Q and A

12:15 Close

This forum is about engagement not advocacy ensuring that projects are shaped through meaningful consultation rather than reactive decision making.

Register now to be part of the conversation