In case you have been living under a rock lately, it’s been two months now since Lime e-scooters turned up on Christchurch (and Auckland) streets. Judging by the volume of alarmist news articles and letters to the editor, you’d think …
Category: Bicycle politics
Anything about politics, politicians, submissions etc.
Guest Post: Christchurch Will Never Be Amsterdam
Regular contributor Robert reflects on his recent overseas travels and more local happenings:
This week I rode along to City Council Chambers to present a 5-minute oral submission to the hearings panel concerning lowering of some central Christchurch speed limits …
National Land Transport Programme has a bumper crop of cycleways
Every three years, the NZ Transport Agency prepares a National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) that summarises what is going to be spent by the Government and local councils on roads, pathways, public transport, etc. 2018 was the year for a …
Council, CDHB & Otakaro Undermine Safety or how to disadvantage everyone, waste millions and ignore the public’s best interests
For people on bikes getting to and through the central city remains challenging. There is the major north/south cycle route up Antigua Street. Tuam and St Asaph offered as compromised east/west routes connecting to the west via Oxford Tce and …
Stay wider of the rider – sign the petition
We’ve discussed in the past the potential for a rule specifying a minimum space for motorists when passing a bike rider (and all the myths surrounding such a law…). Now it looks more likely that the new Government may …
Council Long Term Plan brings some good cycleway news
Last Friday saw the Christchurch City Council have their final deliberations about the Long Term Plan (LTP), which sets in place how much CCC will spend on various activities over the next ten years. As mentioned earlier, there was …
Cycle-friendly places vs People-friendly ones
You may have seen the new Cathedral Square concept plans released last week by Regenerate Christchurch. They have certainly generated lots of comment (positive and negative), and you might argue about the architectural merit of some of the development ideas. …
Draft Govt Policy Statement is good news for cycling
We’ve heard lots of cycle-friendly murmurings from the new Government since they came into power. But as the saying goes, that all counts for naught until you “show me the money”. That has now happened with the release of …
Christchurch Long Term Plan – More Waiting?
Christchurch City Council has our Long Term Plan, LTP, up for submissions. It covers all aspects of our city and its needs. This article focuses on cycling.
Council is going to need to hear from a lot of us that …
Do cycleways = extravagance?
There’s a worrying trend starting to appear in conversations around Christchurch. Any time that a city agency (City Council, Otakaro, ECan, you name it) is seen to be doing something new, problematic or contentious, social comment seems to very quickly …
Guest Post: Hospital Corner re-done
Guest contributor Ian provides some thoughts about the Hospital Corner cycling saga (remember you are welcome to contribute your own guest posts for consideration):
The problems with the new design for Hospital Corner are set out in this earlier post…
Are new cycleways OK for existing cyclists?
When considering potential objections to cycleways, or “bikelash”, there are the usual suspects to consider, such as businesses worried about losing parking, and motorists worried about getting held up. But another group has also been making noises about some …
The optical illusion behind “I never see any cyclists”
In amongst all of the seemingly endless “controversy” about the new cycleways in Christchurch (well, controversial if you’re a Press reporter…), inevitably there is some online comment questioning the value of the cycleways because “I never see anyone using …
Hospital Corner Redux
After the quakes the then National government produced the Accessible City Plan. It pretended to follow the wishes from ‘Share an Idea’, but clearly only added in cycling where it could after all other modes had been sorted. …
The Gift in the Annual Plan
There is a lot to like in the cycling sections of this Annual Plan. One can always quibble, ask for more, but we are fortunate to have an occasion to be thankful. CCC is going to need a great deal …
The GPS: Govt Pro-roads Statement on transport
If you’ve ever wondered why it is that cycling only seems to get a pittance of the funding that roading does, it’s largely down to an innocuously named document called the GPS. No, it’s not about determining your location …
Ferry Road a link or a gauntlet for the Heathcote Expressway?
This project was already consulted on in late 2016. While a real improvement, it fell short of CCC’s own Cycle Design Guidelines for a Major Cycle Route. Submissions received provided strong support along with requests to improve what was on …
What price for a cycleway?
One of the more contentious issues recently regarding Christchurch’s Major Cycleways revolved around the proposal to purchase two properties in Somerfield to create a new link between Roker and Barrington Streets as part of the Quarryman’s Trail cycleway. This option …
Is Christchurch cycle-friendly enough?
We’ve heard a lot of good news stories over the past year or so as Christchurch has started “rolling out the green carpet” and introducing lots of new cycleways around the city. But I guess the real proof of the …
Who’s Who for Cycling in Christchurch?
In a relatively short period of time, it seems that a number of people and groups in Christchurch have sprung up to help encourage everyday cycling in some way. This was brought home to me a month or so back …