Maribyrnong Citizen of the Year 2023 award recipient Dr John Symons said he started his work looking at road and bike safety after he wanted to allow his son to ride his bicycle around the area.
“I was really keen for him to ride around independently,” he said.
“They were just so unsafe.”
Dr Symons said since he founded BikeWest in 2017 and the Maribyrnong Active Transport Advisory Committee, there had been an upsurge in conversations around the benefits of active transport.
“We still have a long way to go,” he said.
Dr Symons said active transport options, such as cycling, had a lot of benefits for individuals and entire communities.
“It promotes social cohesion and it promotes independence in younger children,” he said.
“Active transport is absolutely vital for our towns and cities.”
In addition to his work within the west, Dr Symons has also worked as a research fellow with Victoria University’s Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, with his work ranging from helping to rebuild the education system in Syria alongside UNICEF to modelling the economic benefits of treating vision loss in collaboration with the Fred Hollows Foundation.
He said receiving the award was “very humbling” and congratulated the other award winners and nominees.
“It’s actually the other peope that are nominated that give the award value,” Dr Symons said.
Other award recipients were:
* Volunteer of the Year – Sanda Aye;
* Youth Leadership Award – Daniel Melican;
* Community Strengthening Award – Andy Fithall;
* Enterprise Maribyrnong Award – Sheridan Rose Shaw (MAMAWEST), Alyshia Clarke (Dance 4 All) and Julian Hills, Restaurant Navi;
* Active Maribyrnong Sporting Award – West Footscray Football Club;
* Arts Award – Bernadette Fitzgerald; and
* Mayoral Award – State Emergency Service Footscray Unit, Inspector Paul Morgan and Flood Warriors.
Matthew Sims
