S3E3 PnP Lucy Saunders about Healthy Streets App
Table of Contents
- What Is Healthy Streets
- Why Public Health and Streets Connect
- How the Healthy Streets App Works
- Subjective vs Measured Street Experience
- Small Changes Big Impact
- Schools Community and Collective Voice
- Disability Inclusion in Healthy Streets
- Practical Advice for Councils
- Why Healthy Streets Matters Now
What Is Healthy Streets
Healthy Streets is a public health–driven framework that helps communities evaluate how their streets feel and function. Developed by public health specialist Lucy Saunders, the approach connects everyday movement with long-term wellbeing.
Rather than starting with cars, traffic flow, or road capacity, Healthy Streets starts with people. It asks:
- Can you walk side by side in conversation?
- Is there shade?
- Is it easy to cross?
- Does the street feel calm and welcoming?
The Healthy Streets app translates those questions into a simple 5-minute web-based survey. The tool allows anyone to rate their street and share results with neighbours or council.
Why Public Health and Streets Connect
Lucy Saunders comes from a public health background. Her career has focused on preventing illness and early death by addressing environmental causes.
Modern streets often make life “effort free”. We drive instead of walk. We sit instead of move. Over time, this reduces daily physical activity and harms both physical and mental health.
The Healthy Streets app reframes streets as health infrastructure. Streets are not simply transport corridors. They are:
- Places for movement
- Places for conversation
- Places for rest
- Places for belonging
When streets discourage walking, cycling, or scooting, they undermine community health. When they support everyday movement, they build resilience.
How the Healthy Streets App Works
The Healthy Streets app is web-based. You do not download it from an app store. You open your browser and complete the survey online.
There are two parts:
1. The 5-Minute Feeling Survey
This captures subjective experience:
- Noise
- Comfort
- Shade
- Ease of crossing
- Social interaction
Different people score the same street differently. Professionals may score higher. Parents, mobility-impaired residents, or people travelling with children often score lower.
That difference is not a flaw. It is insight.
2. The Measurement Survey
This takes around 15 minutes. It asks simple observational questions:
- How much shade cover exists?
- Are footpaths wide enough?
- Is there lighting over pedestrian areas?
- How many vehicles pass?
This second layer identifies concrete design gaps. It turns feelings into actionable evidence.
When complete, the app generates a shareable report with notes and photographs.
Subjective vs Measured Street Experience
Healthy Streets recognises a key tension. At first glance, many Australian streets look nice but closer inspection often reveals:
- Narrow footpaths
- No shade on one side
- High traffic speeds
- Wide curb radii
- Poor crossing points
As Lucy explains, people who have travelled elsewhere, or who experience disability, often score streets lower because they see what is missing.
The Healthy Streets app invites that deeper look.
It slows perception down.
It turns casual observation into structured reflection.
Small Changes Big Impact
Healthy Streets does not begin with expensive megaprojects.
Common small improvements include:
- Planting sustainable verge greenery
- Installing bike stands
- Fixing uneven pavers
- Adding shade trees
- Improving intersection crossings
These modest interventions can transform a journey from stressful to manageable.
Importantly, Lucy emphasises balancing critique with praise. Highlight what works well, so councils protect good features while fixing problems
Schools Community and Collective Voice
Schools are powerful catalysts.
In New South Wales, school route audits grouped issues into:
- Immediate fixes
- Small upgrades
- Larger redesign projects
Healthy Streets works especially well around schools because:
- Parents are motivated
- Children’s safety resonates
- Neighbourhood streets benefit everyone
Secondary students aged 13+ can complete the survey themselves giving young people a structured civic voice.
Collective submission strengthens impact. When multiple residents submit reports and summarise key themes, councils cannot dismiss feedback as a single voice.
Disability Inclusion in Healthy Streets
Disability is broader than wheelchair use.
Lucy highlights sensory, cognitive, and mobility impairments
Many disabled residents have less access to cars, making accessible streets even more important.
The app allows users to indicate disability types anonymously. This data helps demonstrate systematic inequity.
Accessible design includes:
- Wider footpaths
- More shade
- Longer crossing times
- Resting places
- Reduced traffic stress
Healthy Streets makes these needs visible.
Practical Advice for Councils
Lucy’s advice is simple:
Take your team outside.
Fill in the survey together
No budget required. No policy rewrite needed. Just observation.
For junior staff, this can spark internal conversation. For elected members, it builds empathy. For communities, it builds shared language.
Engagement requires effort. People rarely complete surveys spontaneously. Standing alongside residents and guiding them through the process dramatically increases participation
Timing matters. Engagement works best when:
- Change is proposed
- A safety concern is active
- A local project is underway
Why Healthy Streets Matters Now
Lucy concludes with mindfulness.
Drive with care.
Walk with awareness.
Ride slowly enough to notice the birds.
Healthy Streets is not just a tool. It is a lens.
It shifts attention from traffic to people.
From throughput to wellbeing.
From assumption to listening.
In outer suburbs, regional towns, and established cities alike, the question remains:
Have you thought about how your street feels?
www.healthystreets.com
surveys.healthystreets.com
Video Short introducing the tool:
https://youtube.com/shorts/Kx4zpLefqEg?feature=share
3-minute explainer:
https://youtu.be/srwpMkq3UEg
Listen to Will’s episode here:
https://getaroundcaboolture.au/will-symons-bike-lane-planning/
Podcast theme music: Doctor Yes | Yari | Bensound
GetAroundCaboolture.au
