The most significant 5 min you can spend to encourage cycling in Christchurch for the next 30 years – submit on the CTP

The Christchurch transport plan is out to the public for comments. There is lots of nice talk about encouraging cycling but some very disturbing comments buried very deeply in the fineprint about how any funding to build cycleways will have …

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 …

Vancouver: Separated Bikeways

Greetings from Vancouver! Actually I’m about to head home after a busy week exploring the city and meeting up with many of the world’s foremost experts on matters cycling at the VeloCity Global 2012 cycling conference.

The conference was …

What can we Learn from Vancouver?

Nearly three years ago, our mayor Bob Parker went on a fact-finding visit to America’s “Pacific Northwest” to check out public transport in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. The light rail debate continues to rage on back in here …

Winter Solstice Ride – Thursday 21st June

In Portland, Oregon, each February they have a Worst Day of the Year Ride, where they “celebrate” the depths of winter with a ride around town. Here in Christchurch, we want to mark the shortest day with something a …

Cycling and Snow: It’s the Little Details

The big thaw is now underway in Christchurch, and it’s time to go back to work as well. So off on my trusty steed I headed this morning. Cycling after a snowfall is “interesting” because of the potential ice hazard …

Starting with a Solid Base

For anyone who has spent the past 20-odd months living in Christchurch, the importance of a solid foundation is pretty obvious. Otherwise sturdy homes and other buildings were no match for ground conditions that turned into quicksand when the big …