Citation

Napier I. Transp. Eng. Aust. 2001; 7(1/2): 7-13.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Engineers Australia)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Having a Travel Bug or the Travel Bug can imply on the one hand a real physical sickness or on the other a mental state akin to being lovesick. In our love affair with the private motorcar that seductress can often blind us to the dark side of her character. Acceding to her demands can lead to the neglect of others and a dangerous dependency which is not good for our health. The Millennium encourages us to look back at the relatively short history of the car and the major influence it has had and to look forward to how some of its perceived failings and impacts, particularly as they affect pedestrians, can be overcome. Since the days of King John of England and the Magna Carta, such problems and grievances have often been set out in the form of a Charter. In the modern era we have had a number of Charters in this field culminating last year at a National Pedestrian Summit in the drawing up of the Australian Pedestrian Charter. The paper provides a commentary on the aims and principles of the Charter and how these can be implemented in the new millennium. Looking forward to a new millennium in which walking can regain its role as an effective, pleasant and healthy transport mode, our suggestion for the most appropriate travel bug is therefore the millipede.

Language: en