Contents:
- Shopping on foot or bike is important to the economy, says NZTA
- The Model Community story in New Plymouth and Hastings
- Te Ara Ahi trail now connected up
- Move over Amsterdam, the London cycling revolution is in top gear
- Re-write traffic rules to make streets cycle-friendly, says Transport for London
- Government pledges £94 million to boost cycling in England
- Cycle helmet cameras 'fuel tension'
- Bike riders save economy $21 on each commute
- One Less Car: More money for me, more money for you!
- Why cycle cities are the future
- Edinburgh lowers speed limits
- Weblinks
Shopping on foot or bike is important to the economy, says NZTA
August 2013- NZ Transport Agency's new Research Report 530, "Reallocation of road space", shows that sustainable transport users account for 40% of the total spend in the shopping areas and account for 37% of all shoppers who completed the survey. The data indicates the pedestrians and cyclists contribute a higher economic spend proportionately to the modal share and are important to the economic viability of local shopping areas.
The study also identified that retailers generally overestimate the importance of on-street parking outside shops. Shoppers value high-quality pedestrian and urban design features in shopping areas more than they value parking and those who drive are willing to walk to the shopping precinct from other locally available parking areas.
Download the report here:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/research/reports/530/
The Model Community story in New Plymouth and Hastings
16 August 2013- Model communities are urban environments where walking or cycling is offered to the community as the easiest transport choice. Here NZTA explains how and why the NZ Transport Agency selected New Plymouth and Hastings to become New Zealand's first Model Walking and Cycling Communities.
They also record the journey New Plymouth and Hastings have taken towards becoming model communities- hopefully inspiring other communities wishing to invest and develop their walking and cycling facilities.
Read more here:
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/planning/process/model-communities.html
Te Ara Ahi trail now connected up
26 August 2013- A four-year vision became reality yesterday when an underpass connecting two ends of the Te Ara Ahi (Go Thermal by Bike) cycleway was officially opened.
The underpass beneath State Highway 5 at Waiotapu allows cyclists touring the 70km route from Rotorua to Orakei-Korako to cross the busy road safely. It was officially opened by Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa kaumatua Nando Fraser, along with Rotorua Mayor Kevin Winters and Rotorua MP Todd McClay, who both cycled the 34km to the tunnel. "It was very enjoyable," Mr McClay said.
Read more here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503438&objectid=11114431
Visit the trail's webpage here:
http://www.nzcycletrail.com/thermal-bike
Move over Amsterdam, the London cycling revolution is in top gear
24 June 2013- The full extent of how cycling has taken over London can be revealed today.
The biggest ever census of bike use in the city reveals one in four road users during the morning rush hour is a cyclist - and on key routes such as river crossings and roundabouts bikes even outnumber all other vehicles.
Separate Transport for London figures already show that cyclists now make 570,000 trips in London every day compared with 290,000 trips in 2001.
Bikes now account for 24 per cent of all road traffic in central London during the morning peak and 16 per cent across the whole day.
Read more here:
Re-write traffic rules to make streets cycle-friendly, says Transport for London
12 July 2013- Boris Johnson has written to transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin with a shopping list of changes to the DfT's traffic sign rules, which the mayor says could improve road safety, particularly for cyclists.
Transport for London's proposals include changes to the rules for cyclists turning left at signalised junctions, and a new law giving pedestrians and cyclists legal priority to cross side-road junctions.
Read the full story here:
http://www.transportxtra.com/magazines/local_transport_today/news/?id=35190
Government pledges £94 million to boost cycling in England
14 August 2013- England will get its biggest investment into cycling ever, after the Government announced a £94 million spend on supporting two-wheel transport in regions across the country.
With local contributions, the total new funding for cycling comes to £148 million between now and 2015, with the money to be spent on a number of projects to build new cycle networks and upgrade old ones. As part of the funding, the Government also promises to cut red tape that can prevent cycle-friendly road design and hold-up projects.
Announcing the new funding, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Following our success in the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Tour de France, British cycling is riding high - now we want to see cycling soar."
The hope is that the investment will raise England's level of cycling to put the country on a level footing with countries such as Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, where cycling rates are much higher. Currently, only 2 per cent of trips in the UK are made by bike, compared with 14 per cent in Germany and almost a third in the Netherlands.
Read more here:
http://www.fleetdirectory.co.uk/news/government-pledges-94-million-to-boost-cycling-in-england/
Cycle helmet cameras 'fuel tension'
5 August 2013- Cyclists using helmet cameras are "fuelling tensions between car and bike users" by venting their frustrations online.
Kah Chan, a behavioural expert at the Victoria University of Wellington, says in a new study that hundreds of videos surfacing online, taken by the lightweight devices attached to rider's helmets, are "further antagonising the two groups".
However, University of Canterbury transport engineering senior lecturer Glen Koorey, a member the Cycling Advocates Network, said cameras could help "defuse tensions in some situations".
He said motorists could be deferred from acting "a bit silly" if they noticed they were being filmed, and cameras could provide evidence to avoid a "he-said-she-said situation".
Read more here:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/transport/9002998/Cycle-helmet-cameras-fuel-tension
Bike riders save economy $21 on each commute
31 July 2013- The Australian federal government wants to increase the number of people who make short trips by foot or bicycle after a report card on the performance of Australia's cities found rapid changes in the labour market would pose big challenges to transport infrastructure.
The economy benefits by more than $21 every time a person cycles 20 minutes to work and back and $8.50 each time a person walks 20 minutes to and from work, according to a policy statement released by Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday.
Mr Albanese said the construction of walking and riding paths was relatively cheap compared with other modes of transport. A bicycle path costs only about $1.5 million a kilometre to plan and build.
The government has agreed that, where practical, all future urban road projects must include a safe, separated cycle way.
Read more here:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/bike-riders-save-economy-21-on-each-commute-20130730-2qxdg.html
One Less Car: More money for me, more money for you!
19 August 2013- CAN member Hank Weiss recently blogged: "My family eagerly decided to forgo a second car four years ago when we moved to Dunedin, New Zealand; a decision we have never regretted. It turns out by doing so, we are not just happier, healthier, and polluting less, but we are also considerably wealthier while helping our local economy through the 'multiplier effect'. Let me explain."
Read more here:
http://spokesdunedin.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/one-less-car/
Why cycle cities are the future
6 August 2013- The 2010 launch of the "Boris Bike" - London's cycle hire scheme, named after mayor Boris Johnson - was the clearest indication to date that cycling was no longer just for a minority of fanatics but a healthy, efficient and sustainable mode of transport that city planners wanted in their armoury. There are now more than 8,000 Boris Bikes and 550+ docking stations in Central London. And the trend's not unique to London: Wikipedia reports that there are 535 cycle-share schemes in 49 countries, employing more than half a million bikes worldwide.
However, the real question is: will cycling actually change the city? Will it result in new urban forms or, as the title of Australian academic Dr Steven Fleming's new book predicts, a "Cycle Space"? Like Fleming, I believe so. I believe that cycling might just be the catalyst for a 21st Century urban renaissance.
Read more here:
http://www.archdaily.com/409556/why-cycle-cities-are-the-future/
Edinburgh lowers speed limits
26 August 2013- Edinburgh is set to become the first 20mph (30 km/h) city in Scotland under pioneering plans to boost walking and cycling.
Speed limits will be reduced from 30mph in all residential areas, shopping districts and streets heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists. The city centre will also become a 20mph zone. Only arterial, trunk and main roads will be exempt from the new restrictions.
Expensive traffic calming measures - such as road narrowing and road humps - are unlikely to be widely introduced but additional speed advisory signs would be installed to alert drivers to the change.
The ground-breaking plan, which has been successfully piloted in Marchmont, has been welcomed by cycling and motoring pressure groups, amid evidence that cutting speed reduces accident statistics and road fatalities.
Read more here:
Weblinks
How to prioritize bike projects: advice for advocacy groups:
http://greenlaneproject.org/blog/view/how-to-prioritize-bike-projects-5-rules-from-portlands-bta
Indianapolis Cultural Trail: the biggest bicycling infrastructure achievement in North America that you've never heard about:
Bicycling: The safest form of transportation? also described here as a "money-printing fountain of youth":
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/06/13/bicycling-the-safest-form-of-transportation/
Mackinac Island: the one city in America where cars have been banned since 1898:
http://www.treehugger.com/culture/one-city-in-america-where-cars-have-been-banned-1898.html
Maya Pedal: bicycle powered machines in Guatemala:
Australia's bicycle riding shearers of the early twentieth century:
http://veloaficionado.com/australias-bicycle-riding-shearers-of-the-early-twentieth-century/
Streetmix: redesign your street, all from the comfort of your own web browser:
Musical bicycles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZp5RSoudn0
Velo City 2014 conference: will be in Adelaide:
Cycling in the US from a Dutch perspective: much the same could be said of NZ:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2THe_10dYs
Planning checklist for cycling: from the Bicycle Network in Australia:
http://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/general/bike-futures/94793/
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About CAN
Cycling Advocates' Network (CAN) is New Zealand's voice for cyclists. We want to see cycling become an everyday activity in NZ. CAN's membership includes experienced cyclists, advocates, engineers, planners, local and regional councils, bike shops, and local advocacy groups throughout the country.
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