Category: Bicycle politics

Anything about politics, politicians, submissions etc.

The Long, Long, Long Journey of the Wheels to Wings Cycleway is ready for another twist…

I’d like to invite you to cast your mind way back to mid-2009… Spurred on by some concerns from nearby school children about cycling to school, consultation was undertaken on a proposal to add cycle lanes to Harewood …

Flashback Friday: A complete cycling network for 34 cents a year

About six weeks ago, the Govt’s National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) came out and currently Councils around the country are grappling with its implications for their funding plans, especially when it comes to road safety and sustainable transport projects – …

Flashback Friday: National’s Transport Dystopia

Any day now, we should be getting news of the finalised National Land Transport Programme, which will then inform Councils about what projects they will get funding subsidy for. Not that we should be getting our hopes up too …

Flashback Friday: Council Long Term Plan brings some good cycleway news

In case you haven’t noticed; the Chch City Council is currently consulting on its 2024-34 Long Term Plan (with feedback due Sun 21st Apr). This important exercise every three years sets out the key priorities for the various Council activities, …

Flashback Friday – The GPS: Govt Pro-roads Statement on transport

So, after much bluster and talk, the new Government has released its draft GPS on Transport and it’s perhaps not surprising that it’s mostly roads, roads, roads. I’ll make some more comments on this in a future blog, but it …

Flashback Friday: Roger wants cycling in the city too…

This week, we’ve just had the 13th anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch back in 2011 – it really does seem a lifetime ago now. In the first few years afterwards, a lot of discussions were had about …

Flashback Friday: Are new cycleways OK for existing cyclists?

I had an interesting conversation earlier this week with a reporter, talking about how people are getting used to using our cycleways as they get ever busy, including lots of passing each other and queuing at intersections. It’s a nice …

Cycling in Chch 2023 in Review: The Good, the Bad, the in-Between

And just like that, another year is over and we ponder what has happened since we last reviewed the state of cycling Chch at the end of 2022 – suffice to say that it seems like a mix of things……

Flashback Friday: Draft Govt Policy Statement is good news for cycling

After a fair bit of horse-trading, we finally look like we have a new Government about to be formed. Then it will be interesting to see how much they change existing transport policies, including how much cycling continues to get …

Flashback Friday: Do cycleways = extravagance?

Christchurch City Council is starting conversations about their updated Long Term Plan, and already there have been some rumblings about possible financial struggles. Predictably, cycleways are one of the possible candidates for the chopping block, although I’d be …

Flashback Friday: Cycle-friendly places vs People-friendly ones

If you’ve been anywhere near Cathedral Square lately, you might have noticed the works that have been going on in the southeast quadrant (near Distinction Hotel) to improve the look of the area. It’s part of a wider project to …

Flashback Friday: Can e-scooters and bikes co-exist?

Perhaps I should have re-titled this “can e-scooters and pedestrians co-exist?”, as we’ve just heard that Waka Kotahi (NZTA) have decided to renew their Gazette notice declaring that “e-scooters (up to 300W) are not motor vehicles” and are thus able …

Flashback Friday: Money galore for cycleways

The Government’s latest Budget was just delivered; given the current political environment it was no surprise to see it focus on “the basics” and cost of living. On the transport front, there were lollies for public transport services and fares…

Flashback Friday – The $69 million question: Sign the Petition for cycleways

Many of you may know that the Christchurch City Council’s Annual Plan is currently out for consultation. Submissions close this Monday 10th April, so make sure that you have your say! As is often the case, some cycleways …

Hey world, have you heard of Christchurch?!

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 …

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 …