Cycle paths – important for keeping our aging population fit and well?

Separated cycle paths are an important part of a cycle network because they can help people get the cycling bug and to build their confidence to cycle and to manage in traffic.

My mother (currently in her mid 70s)  had …

How do we make the new Christchurch cycle-friendly? Fri 14th Sep

An interesting opportunity coming up to see some cycling inspiration both close to home and from around the world: To wrap up the University of Canterbury’s 2012 Eco Week  activities there will be a “double feature” on campus next Friday …

What do Cyclists want?

What do Cyclists want?

It depends on who you ask. People have differing opinions on what they want, in part dependent upon their own skills and experience.

While it is not at all clear just what improvements in cycling infrastructure …

Public Bikes for Christchurch?

An interesting news item in The Press on Thursday about a young entrepreneur looking to introduce public bikes to Christchurch. Bicycle Ventures director Robert Henderson has partnered with fellow public bike scheme Nextbike in Auckland, and already has trials …

Roger wants cycling in the city too…

Last week we looked at CERA’s new Central City Recovery Plan and how it might cater for cycling. You might know that CERA’s CEO Roger Sutton is pretty keen on cycling; is that likely to translate into the new city?…

Ilam Road Project – submissions due now

Anyone who uses Ilam Road to access the University or other nearby facilities might be interested in what the City Council is proposing to do to it in the near future. This project was first looked at nearly three years …

Cycling Missing in the Neighbourhoods

suburban-nation-rise-sprawl-decline-american-dream-andres-duany-paperback-cover-art“Suburban Nation – The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream”
Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck

10th Anniversary Edition
North Point Press 2010

Suburban Nation is three architects’ vision for how our burgeoning population can …

Cycling in the News

There have been a flurry of cycling-related articles in the local news lately; looking at the online versions, they have also attracted a fair amount of discussion (and rant, vitriol, …):

  • Christchurch City councillor Aaron Keown waded into the helmet

The Orthodoxy of the Highway – The true believer’s approach to transportation planning

Back in the 1940’s urban planners found that building or expanding roading increased traffic congestion. This point was further reinforced in NY in 1973 when the West Side Highway collapsed and the predicted traffic chaos was instead a reduction in …

Vancouver: Neighbourhood Greenways

Some of the best cycle routes I encountered in Vancouver had virtually no cycle facilities on them… The City of Vancouver (pop.600,000 within the 2.2million Greater Metro area) has about 450km of bike routes. While some of that is conventional …