OPINION: The appallingly high number of cyclists killed on New Zealand roads in the last few weeks might prove to be a statistical blip, but the probability is that it signals a trend.
That is the consequence of a deadly equation: more cyclists on the roads and roads ill-equipped to accommodate them safely.
The current proposal is for a shared path (for both cyclists and pedestrians like Ara Harakeke) to be constructed from Takapu Station through to Kenepuru Station and for most part following the railway corridor. Porirua City Council will pick up the pathway from Kenepuru Station north.
Advantages of the current proposal
a) Will travel past the existing MTB skills area developed by TORRC, hence there will be greater exposure and opportunity to use this cycling asset.
Those bereaved by the deaths of five cyclists in as many days over the last week may be assured of the sympathies of us all.
But in turning from individual tragedy to examine the wider implications for road-user policy, it is important to keep the matter in perspective.
This is not an epidemic, nor even an upsurge, but a statistical blip. On average, 10 cyclists die on New Zealand roads each year.
The Great Harbour Way will provide a cycleway and walkway to link Wellington and Lower Hutt, so it was logical that the newly-elected leaders of the two cities – Celia Wade-Brown of Wellington (right) and Ray Wallace of Lower Hutt (centre) – took part in this morning’s mayoral ride.
Several hundred cyclists accepted the invitation from Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown and gathered under the sails on Queens Wharf in readiness for the ride.
The death of a young woman cyclist, a visitor from Britain, on Tamaki Drive last week demonstrates yet again the need for a better accommodation of all the ways in which people enjoy this jewel of a road. Motorists, cyclists, joggers, strollers, are all drawn to the flat waterfront drive with its headlands and bays and sweeping views of the harbour entrance and inner gulf and deserve to be able to use it more safely.
Red double-decker buses and black cabs have long been iconic symbols of London, but Britain's capital may soon become just as famous for its distinctive blue and silver rental bicycles.
As its public transit system struggles to cope with growing passenger loads, London is starting to embrace cycling. This year it launched a new bicycle-sharing system that allows residents to rent a bicycle from hundreds of locations in central London.
Blame is hard to prove, but campaigners argue trifling penalties gives little incentive for drivers to change their behaviour
Is a £200 fine and three points on your licence an appropriate punishment for killing a cyclist on the road? According to Kingston magistrates' court, where last month Joao Lopes pleaded guilty to "driving while eyesight was such that you could not comply with the requirements of a prescribed eye test", it is.