Earlier this week, I attended the NZ Walking Summit here in Christchurch, organised by pedestrian advocates Living Streets Aotearoa. It was a fairly well attended forum, with delegates from around the country coming to hear the latest thinking on creating …
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A shout-out to dog owners
Many of my recreational rides involve some cycling on shared paths around the city. Depending on the time of day (and day of week), there are usually at least some other cyclists, walkers or runners around.
Shared paths have been …
Flashback Friday: Suburban Car Parking and the Bike
This week I’ve been doing some more industry cycle planning/design training around the country. Amongst the various discussions at these sessions is how to deal with on-street parking, often to free up space for better cycling options. It’s a perennial …
Photo of the Day – Protected Cycle Corners
While turning left on a bike is often seen as the simplest manoeuvre you can do when riding, the biggest risk is that you will be side-swiped by another passing vehicle as you turn. This is not surprising, as drivers …
Flashback Friday: Munich: Cycling for a Big City
Happy Matariki! Earlier this week, I mentioned how Christchurch had rated fairly well amongst large cities worldwide in the People for Bikes 2023 City Bike Ratings. Perhaps not surprisingly, three large Dutch cities, The Hague, Utrecht, and Amsterdam feature in …
Cycling is on the Up in Chch – and even the World is recognising it…
Last week, the Chch City Council released the latest cycle count stats showing that cycling numbers in the city are continuing to climb, up 6% from the same time last year and 30-40% up since 5+ years ago. As the …
Flashback Friday: What can Christchurch learn from The Netherlands?
This week we heard the fantastic news that a large chunk of local streets in Chch will soon see their speed limits lowered – bravo! For some people, speed management still seems like a strange (and unnecessary) facet of our …
Joy on the Port Hills
Despite living and cycling in Christchurch for many years, my first ride up the Port Hills was only nine months ago. Until then, I’d mainly cycled on the flat and only ever ventured up the hills for the odd walk, …
Flashback Friday: Do we see each other? Check again
As mentioned the other day, while my partner is really enjoying her new bike commute to work, it’s not without its challenges. At one crossroads intersection nearby, she regularly finds motorists driving across her path (despite her being on …
Confessions of a Newbie Cycle Commuter from Jafa-land
What’s it like to take up cycling to work when you’ve never done it before? That was the interesting test when my partner Tracey landed a new job at Christchurch Main Hospital and decided that commuting there by bike was …
Flashback Friday: Cycling in London – More Pictures
Currently I’m working on a couple of interesting and somewhat related projects. One is some research looking at how ways to reallocate road-space (e.g. remove a traffic lane for a cycleway…) can reduce vehicle-kms travelled. The other is to …
A road well-travelled: Cycling along the Christchurch Northern Corridor
I’m really pleased to welcome a new writer to our fold: Angela Cassidy! Angela is a particular fan of recreational riding, so look out for more posts about some of her travels – here’s the first one…
One of the …
Flashback Friday: 2014 Winter Solstice Ride Highlights
It’s been a chilly couple of weeks in Christchurch (and much of the rest of the country apparently); a reminder that winter has arrived. It looks like the cooler temperatures are set to ease off from this weekend , which …
More people than you think in Christchurch are cycling – and a growing number are female…
It’s a regular trope I see often on social media of all stripes – we shouldn’t bother doing much for cycling because it’s only a tiny fraction of the population we’re catering to. This confusion seems to stem from the …
Flashback Friday: Separated Bikeways in Portland
So, the much-debated Park Terrace cycleway gets to live to fight another day; glad to see it. We will now await with interest the results of the current consultation about it (closes this Sunday!). Temporary or “quick-build” cycleways like …
Flashback Friday Photo of the Day: North Hagley Pathway Works
Shared paths have a mixed reception from various users of them, especially when they’re not particularly wide. It’s why there is often a push to have separate walking and cycling paths where possible. The alternative is to at least widen …
Have your Say on the Park Terrace Cycleway
As was posted last week, there is a new pop-up cycleway installed along Rolleston Ave and Park Tce next to Hagley Park. The main motivation was to alleviate active mode travel congestion while the museum is being redeveloped, but …
Flashback Friday: Münster – Germany does Cycling too
Earlier this week, I ran another Cycle Planning & Design industry course here in Christchurch. While increasingly it showcases some of the good practice cycling to be seen around NZ, we also include a few nice examples from overseas where …
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…
First Look: Rolleston Ave / Park Tce Cycleway
As mentioned briefly the other day, Rolleston Ave and Park Tce in the central city have had a bit of a rapid makeover in the past few weeks, creating a new interim separated cycleway while major refurbishment works are …