We all love a bit of healthy rivalry, whether it’s which is the bigger “second city” in NZ or even which is the “shittest town in NZ”. Bike-friendliness is another metric by which many people seek to answer “where …
Category: Bicycle politics
Anything about politics, politicians, submissions etc.
Flashback Friday – Mythbusting: What a Safe Passing Rule Means
It was eight years ago now since I was involved in the national Cycle Safety Panel that made various recommendations to government, including a number of Rule and policy changes. One of them that got a bit of attention was …
What does the new Chch City Council mean for cycling?
It’s been a few weeks now since the local body elections were held and the dust is settling on the final results around the country. Here in Christchurch we have a new mayor in Phil Mauger and also six new …
Submit on getting a Fringe Benefit exemption for Bikes-to-Work
Connor Read (co-founder of the Shutl e-bike rental service) has alerted me to an interesting but troubling development in the world of fringe-benefit tax (FBT). Many of you may know that current legislation in NZ requires FBT to be paid …
Flashback Friday – Elections 2019: Why are Cycleways always the Easy Beat?
It’s coming up to the end of this term’s local government elections. If you haven’t done so already: get out there and vote! You have until midday this Saturday 8th and you’ll have to hand in your voting papers in …
Flashback Friday: Christchurch – The City that… Cycles ??
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As New Zealand reopens to the world (despite the lingering Covid numbers…), and we start to see more international visitors to our shores, it’s an interesting question as to what impressions they will take away from the various places they …
Flashback Friday: A Presidential Bikeway
Happy World Bicycle Day! This week, New Zealand was in the limelight over in the US as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern got to meet President Joe Biden in Washington DC. Meanwhile, back here in NZ, some quick-build trial cycleways …
Flashback Friday: Would the Draft Cycle Safety Panel Recommendations make a Difference?
Seven years ago I was hugely involved in a significant exercise in the biking space: a national cycle safety panel. It was an amazing experience that led to the forging of many great ongoing connections with some talented people. More …
Flashback Friday: More on why I write submissions
Last week we looked back on some advice from Chrys Horn about the importance of submissions when consultations come out. This week, Chrys continues the theme (first published in Sep 2014) and gives some more examples why submitting can …
Flashback Friday – Submissions: Why bother?
Happy Biketober! I hope you have a fun month… But as we mentioned yesterday, it’s also a time to mourn the passing of a great local advocate Dirk de Lu. One of the things that Dirk was prolific at …
Flashback Friday: A little plug for Spokes Canterbury
Local cycle advocacy group Spokes Canterbury recently had its Annual General Meeting, and reflected on another positive year of progress for cycling in the city. This post (originally from Apr 2014) reminds us of the work that Spokes has …
Better Consultation
As Submissions Convener for Spokes Canterbury for 12 years, now retired, I have some thoughts to share on how consultation might work better. The links are to Strong Towns which offers a rich source of articles on urban planning and …
Northern Arterial Extension – Biking Opportunities Part 2
The second part of this post focuses on the benefits to those who ride a bike, as part of DEMP – Downstream Effects Management Plan. A plan developed for CCC to facilitate the smooth passage into the city of …
Flashback Friday: The spirituality of cycling
Some people often claim that biking seems like a religion to them (or to their other half, if they’re a a long-suffering partner of a biking fan…). So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that our own Steve Muir put that to …
Who are we providing cycleways for?
Recently there was a Facebook post to Chch City Council’s site by someone grumbling about cyclists using traffic lanes in the central city when a cycleway exists on the same road. Not surprisingly, there was quite a bit of animated …
Flashback Friday: Don’t be a D***k – Stop at Red
Nothing gets the cycle-moaners vocal quicker it seems than any hint of law-breaking by people biking. And while that is often a case of “the pot calling the kettle black”, I do still often see some fairly dodgy behaviour at …
Submit on CCC Annual Plan – Take 2
It’s a bit last minute but, if you have a moment, make a quick submission on the revised Chch City Council 2020/21 Annual Plan – submissions close 5pm Monday 29th June. And there are potentially some worrying implications for …
Cycling and Trams
I’ve just finished working my way through Graham Stewart’s wonderful 1993 public tramway book “The End of the Penny Section” (yes, I’m an old public transport tragic from way back…). It tells the really interesting story of how trams …
Flashback Friday: More Cycling in the News
The image of cycling in Christchurch (and New Zealand in general) has slowly changed over the years, from the perception of some strange “hobby” that a few enthusiasts do, to a more everyday activity undertaken by a wide range of …
Flashback Friday: The Cycleway Tax that isn’t
When we think of the hundreds of millions that Christchurch (and NZ in general) is now spending on cycleways, it takes a bit to remember that not that long ago the prospect of finding even $70 million for local cycleways …