My family came from Beirut in 2009 when I was twenty-two and finishing engineering. I did a Masters in transport planning at Melbourne and have worked in the field since 2013 — first at a state-government agency, the last six years for a Melbourne metropolitan council in the north (which I will name in any piece relevant to my employer). I live in Brunswick West with my partner and a Yuba Spicy Curry cargo bike that has done more for my neighbourhood-knowledge than any data layer.
What I write about. The actual walkability and bike-network of Melbourne’s inner north, audited route by route. Brunswick West’s bike network — what’s connected, what’s a “shared zone” lie, what isn’t there at all. E-scooter Melbourne in 2026 — the council-by-council coverage map and the suburbs the city is pretending to support but isn’t. Walking from Brunswick to the CBD — the routes that actually work and the ones Google Maps still pushes you onto. Fifteen-minute-neighbourhood mapping for the inner north, with the data layers shown.
How I work. I cite. PTV-GTFS for transit; council-published bike-network plans with the version date; OpenStreetMap and council GIS open-data portals for pedestrian infrastructure; my own walked or cycled audit logs with the date. I do not write about a route I have not personally traversed in the last three months. I disclose my council employer by name on any piece that touches my employing council’s geography or programmes, and I recuse from any verdict on my employer’s projects.
Where you’ll find me. Brunswick West since 2018. Capital City Trail four times a week. The 19 tram on rainy days. Northcote Plaza on a Saturday morning. The Brunswick Velodrome on Tuesday nights when I’m pretending I still race.
Conflicts of interest. I am employed as a transport planner by a Melbourne metropolitan council in the north. The council is disclosed by name in the byline footer of any piece that touches its geography, programmes, or capital works. I recuse from any ranking, verdict, or critique of my employer’s projects. I have no relationship with any commercial mobility provider, ride-share, e-scooter, or bikeshare operator.
Sample headlines I’d write:
- “Brunswick West’s bike network: what’s actually connected, what isn’t (a five-route audit)”
- “E-scooter Melbourne 2026: which suburbs the city’s pretending to support”
- “Walking from Brunswick to the CBD: the routes that actually work”
Articles by Sami Khoury are based on his own walked or cycled audits and council-published or PTV-GTFS data with the version date cited. His council employer is disclosed in the byline footer of relevant pieces.