Flexi posts are a waste of time. They get broken off quickly, maybe dent a couple of bumpers, and that’s it. Look at the ones on North Parade – you can’t because they lasted a week max.

Over time, I expect Christchurch will end up like Australian cities, where on-street parking goes away in the CBD and arterial roads, and we end up with two traffic lanes each way with no space for anything else.

The consultation plans say that “no physical changes are proposed to the Bealey intersection”, but I think it’s worth asking the question of whether that’s good enough. Given that the north side of this intersection already has a cyclist signal phase protected from turning traffic, the same phase could be used for southside bikes too. Alternatively (if new signals are too much hassle/cost), put the cycle lane between a left-turn lane and a through/right lane to avoid the problem of turning traffic.

It does occur to me too that this “paint-only” street treatment could be enhanced by a few strategically placed flexi-posts in the buffer space, e.g. next to the lefthand cycle lane leading up to Bealey, as well on some of the lane taper sections and in front of some of the new planter boxes and kerb extensions. That avoids blocking driveways or parking bays, but gives a slightly better feel of a “separated cycleway”.

Interesting to hear your feedback Chris about Hereford St; I haven’t had a chance to ride there yet. I would note that the old (pre-quake) Hereford St cross-section had no cycle lane and so you were generally stuck in the middle of slow-moving traffic – often quicker to get off and walk. At various points in the development of the rebuilt street, a similar option was also on the table but the decision was made to provide separate bike lanes to get around that issue (those cycle lanes should be 1.8m too, by the way).

Kia ora,
With regards to the cross section dimensions:
1) How narrow can vehicle lanes that take buses be?
2) How do these compare to other buffered cycle lanes across the city (e.g. Tuam St east of Madras, Manchester just north of the Avon)?
3) Is there a standard width for the buffer for it to be effective? I was reading the NZTA guidelines yesterday.
4) Would including the buffer in the width of the cycle lane (so there is no painted buffer) encourage drivers to pass too closely as they do in all other cycle lanes?
5) What treatment encourages the safest road placement for both cyclists and drivers?

Thanks