Flashback Friday – Cycling in Zürich: An uphill challenge

This week I have been spending time in Wellington, looking at some proposed cycleway routes and observing bike behaviour in our capital city. Although similar in size to Christchurch, Wellington suffers from having a lot of hills that limit the

Flashback Friday: Cycling in Nantes and #VeloCity2015 Conference

Like many parts of the world, Europe is starting to attempt some semblance of post-lockdown normality (even despite the ongoing Covid infection numbers…). In the cycling world, that meant another recent Velo-City cycling conference two weeks ago, in Ljubljana,

Flashback Friday: Cycling in Utrecht

Happy Easter! I hope you’re managing to get in some bike rides to work off all the additional chocolate… It’s been an interesting week, not least because I managed to catch Covid. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that my symptoms have

Flashback Friday: Reflections on a Month in the UK

With all the recent Govt announcements allowing more easy travel in and out of NZ once more, it feels like the world has suddenly opened up again. People are talking about doing the travel they’ve had to postpone for the

Flashback Friday: Cycling in Bristol

Any time that someone claims their city is too hilly for lots of cycling (and conversely, that’s why everyone bikes in Chch…) I invariably think about all of the hilly cities I have visited around the world that somehow buck

Flashback Friday: Study Abroad – First Stop: London

Remember that thing called overseas travel? Long before Covid, it was a thing apparently… And back in my previous university job it was a regular thing to visit places overseas to check out their transport systems (call it a busman’s

Flashback Friday: Interesting cycle stuff from New York

I’m still struggling to get many original posts out there right now – seem to be straight back into a busy workload for the year. So for now, another Flashback Friday will have to suffice, again returning to my North

Flashback Friday – Adelaide: Sharrows

They are fairly common nowadays across Christchurch, but it wasn’t that many years ago that sharrow markings on shared cycle streets were a new concept in the city. And at the time, we sought some inspiration from overseas places that

Northern Arterial Extension – Biking Opportunities Part 2

The second part of this post focuses on the benefits to those who ride a bike, as part of DEMP –  Downstream Effects Management Plan.  A plan developed for CCC to facilitate the smooth passage into the city of …

Have your Say on north Colombo St link

Ever since the Papanui Parallel cycleway was created, it’s been a really useful way to get to the central city from the northern suburbs. There’s just been one problem: once you are south of Bealey Ave there has been no …

Flashback Friday: The 1000-Day Challenge

When we think about how long it is taking to deliver the much promised convention centre, multi-use arena/stadium, and metro sports centre (to say nothing of inner-city housing), getting things done here in a three-year timeframe seems

Flashback Friday: Will Christchurch be an Accessible City for Cycling?

If you think about all of the features of the new central city (including the “controversial” ones like St Asaph St and the 30km/h speed limit…), then they had their genesis in a transport plan released seven years ago by

Flashback Friday: Vancouver Neighbourhood Greenways

Christchurch now has a  number of “neighbourhood greenway” cycle routes, but I first encountered them in Oregon (Portland and Eugene) and subsequently Seattle and Vancouver. They’re not like conventional cycleways, where there is some kind of marked lane or separated

The Oxford Gap – Almost there

If the St Asaph Street upgrade could be described as the ‘flashpoint of debate’ for the Accessible City programme, then the Oxford Gap (Oxford Terrace from the Hospital Corner intersection to the junction with Antigua St linking into The …

Guest Post: Christchurch Will Never Be Amsterdam

Regular contributor Robert reflects on his recent overseas travels and more local happenings:

This week I rode along to City Council Chambers to present a 5-minute oral submission to the hearings panel concerning lowering of some central Christchurch speed limits

Photo(s) of the Day: Heathcote Expressway taking shape

The rollout of Major Cycle Routes continues apace, with construction currently underway of the first section of the Heathcote Expressway. Already there is a fair bit of progress on the section from Ferry Rd through Charleston and Woolston towards …