January 2020 |
Welcome to Chainlinks newsletter. Thanks for supporting better biking in New Zealand.Looking ahead in 2020Where will your bike take you this year? Whether it's from Cape Reinga to Bluff, like CAN supporter Jess Mazengarb, or across town, there's never been a better time to get on your bike. Our Government has firmly grasped the value of investing in cycling. It's making connections with health, better cities, and well-being. There's more funding than ever for cycling projects. I'm delighted that full funding for SkyPath and SeaPath was confirmed yesterday. But it's not all easy cruising. Some Councils have lost momentum in their cycling projects. Bikelash is a thing. I think we've got better at making our case and building relationships, but we have much to do. There's never been a better time to push for better biking, healthy streets, and great cities. Whatever your riding plans this year, I wish you tailwinds. Patrick Morgan Project Manager, CAN  Contents:Supercharge your bike advocacy at CAN Do 2020 in Cambridge | Summer Near-cationby Patrick Morgan Got any summer plans? We took a short train and bike tour from Wellington to Otaki Forks in January. I call this a 'near-cation'. I recommend Siggy's pie shop in Waikanae and Ruth Pretty's cafe at Te Horo, on School Rd. At Otaki Forks, DoC has a lovely campsite. You can swim in the river, bush walk, or walk, or laze around.
RIP Alastair SmithBy Patrick Morgan It is with a sad heart I must share the news that CAN volunteer Alastair Smith passed away on 20th November. In July 2018, Alastair received a Bike to the Future Award for Outstanding contribution to a bike-friendly future. This award recognises the outstanding contribution made by an individual to the promotion of cycling. In June 2017, Alastair was honoured with an Absolutely Positively Wellington Award, recognising his years of outstanding service to the people of Wellington. More at https://can.org.nz/alastair-smith
|
CAN needs you |
Supercharge your bike advocacy at CAN Do 2020 in Cambridge
Welcome to CAN Do, CAN's annual get-together. The weekend includes our AGM, workshops, training, rides, plenty of food and drink, and a chance to catch up with fellow "CANners" from around New Zealand, at the home of High Performance Cycling in New Zealand. Date: 29 February, 2020 Location: Avantidrome, 15 Hanlin Road, Cambridge Registration: On-line You will supercharge your advocacy skills, with training on effective messaging, networking, and campaigning. This year you get to try track cycling on a UCI track. acting CAN Chair Claire Sherrington, as an accredited cycling coach will be running sessions for those of us who want to pedal the boards. Don't worry if track cycling is not your thing, the Avantidrome is one of the stops on the Te Awa, The Great New Zealand River Ride. From the Avantidrome it's a short pedal in to Cambridge, which after having State Highway 1 moved from traversing the village is undergoing an urban resurgence, with cycling being one of the key transport modes. |
Unravelling the cycling cityBy Patrick Morgan Do you want to learn more about how cycling fits into city life? In 2019 I attended Planning the Cycling City at summer school in Amsterdam. Now you can take the same course online, at no cost. Highly recommended. Here's the blurb: Obscured by its apparent simplicity, cycling is a complex phenomenon. Being an almost perfect human-machine hybrid, cycling is deeply rooted in a plethora of socio-technological systems. Around the world cycling is embraced as an important ingredient to tackle a wide variety of individual and societal challenges. The Netherlands is often seen as an ideal living lab, because cycling has retained its significant share of mobility throughout the country. At the same time, there are large differences in developments across time and space, that allows for a better understanding of potential causal relations. This is also increasingly recognized by (inter)national top tier researchers from many different academic fields. They are uncovering reciprocal relations of cycling with spatial, ecological, historical, social, cultural, economic, biological and political structures. Unraveling the Cycling City bundles the state-of-the-art knowledge that emerges from research and practice on the Dutch cycling system. As such, it provides an easily accessible platform to learn about important causes and effects, to open minds for the complexity of the entire system and to support group deliberations around the world. https://www.coursera.org/learn/unraveling-the-cycling-city
|
Riding makes me happy |
New Zealand Cycle Trail are a great alternative to highwaysBy Sarah Bennett OPINION: Talk about right time, right place. Former prime minister John Key is at a job summit early in 2009 when an attendee bends his ear about the potential of recreational cycle trails. Nek minnit, there's $50 million government bucks in the bank to build a continuous cycleway running the length of the country. And so Sir John's name will forever be synonymous with one of the most significant recreational assets created in New Zealand in my lifetime. Not so well known are names like Rod Peirce, Phil Rossiter and Glyn Wooller, all of whom had new shared-use trails in their sights well before a national cycleway was mooted.
|
Reflections on 2019By Claire Sherrington I am saddened by the number of cyclist deaths. In 2019 year we recorded 16, nine more than 2018. The youngest was Jonathan Michael Woollaston, just two years old on the Pioneer Highway shared path in Palmerston North. The oldest was Tangiwai Lyola Cotter, 80, on Marine Parade, Napier. Jonathan and Tangiwai were somebody's son, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, friend, and neighbour. I have ridden in both these places myself, is that just luck it wasn't me? Or CAN we make it safer for all people on bikes? In contrast, I cycled from Picton to Bluff in December, which exposed me to riding on many highways and secondary busy roads. I experienced massive improvement in motorists’ attitudes, 95 percent of them treated me as an equal road user. (I gave up road cycling for 10 years in Wellington due to the danger, and started back over the last few years in the Waikato). Even oncoming motorists gave me a wave! I believe the tide is starting to turn with motorists’ attitudes, even if it's only in parts of our country. We still have much to do. |
Road to Zero - A New Road Safety Strategy for New ZealandBy Bevan Woodward The Government has released its Road to Zero road safety strategy and action plan. An initial review of the action plan reveals some key initiatives:
It may not meet all of our expectations but I thought this was a pretty good Christmas present from the Government. CAN members have been on three advisory groups, helping the Government create the new strategy. More at https://www.transport.govt.nz/multi-modal/keystrategiesandplans/road-safety-strategy/ |
