Contents:
- CAN is now the Cycling Action Network
- CAN Do 2016
- Bike paths credited for rise in cyclists in Auckland
- New talent strengthens the CAN Committee
- More than a million Kiwis cycling into summer
- Way paved for easier consenting of cycleways
- Share the Road signs don't work, says survey
- Swapping car parks for bike lanes increases sales
- No link between helmet laws and head injury rates, says study
- Weblinks
CAN is now the Cycling Action Network
As part of a recent rebranding exercise, CAN is now no longer the "Cycling Advocates' Network", but the "Cycling Action Network".
CAN Project Manager Patrick Morgan says this tweak to our name helps us tell our story.
"After 19 years of advocacy, the Government and many Councils are convinced of the need to invest in cycling. Job done.
"So our mission shifts to making sure that Urban Cycling projects are delivered, and are of good quality.
"This means telling great stories about how cycling has fantastic benefits for our communities: health, liveability, easy transport, good for business and so on.
"It means generating goodwill. Turning on the charm. It means our Councils need to work hard to bring communities along for the ride."
CAN's new logo has been rolled out on CAN's Facebook and Twitter pages. The CAN website will be updated shortly as part of an upgrade.
CAN Do 2016
Hamilton will host CAN's next national cycling summit, the CAN Do, in March 2016.
2016 will be a big year for making New Zealand a better place to ride a bike. A year on from the initial funding boost, we will be looking at our $333 million investment for cycling from the Government, the ambitious plans from Councils, growing knowledge on what is good cycling infrastructure and our flourishing bike culture. Are we getting there? Join your colleagues in cycling promotion to find out.
- 19-20th March 2016
- In Hamilton, the heart of cycling country
- Theme will be 'Cycling Renaissance- sustainable progress; focusing on keeping up the cadence of progress'
More information at:
Bike paths credited for rise in cyclists in Auckland
17 September 2015- New off-road bike paths are being credited for a more than 50 per cent jump people cycling to work or education along a key inner-city Auckland corridor.
Auckland Transport says a survey in the Symonds St - Grafton Gully corridor also shows a big increase in the number of people who are new to cycling.
The survey, taken in June, was conducted nine months after the opening of the Transport Agency's $16.5 million cycleway running 1.9km from Upper Queen St to Churchill St at the bottom of Grafton Gully.
That link joins a 1.5km "protected" bikeway which Auckland Transport has developed along Beach Rd and some adjoining streets for $6.4m, with funding contributions from the agency and the council's city-centre targeted rate.
Read more here:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11514630
New talent strengthens the CAN Committee
The CAN committee is very pleased to announce that Will Andrews and Graeme Lindup were formally installed as CAN Co-Chairs at the CAN Committee meeting on Tuesday 22 September.
This co-chairing arrangement has the advantage not only of spreading the workload, but also allowing Graeme to pass on his considerable institutional knowledge to Will.
We have also welcomed two new Committee members, bringing our Committee membership to eight: Christine Rigby in Auckland, and Jo Mackay in Wellington have joined the team. You can read more about them here:
https://can.org.nz/article/new-talent-strengthens-the-can-committee
More than a million Kiwis cycling into summer
1 December 2015- More than one million New Zealanders regularly get on their bikes, and that number is growing.
The NZ Transport Agency has a target of 10 million more cycling trips annually by 2019, and national cycling manager Dougal List says he's heartened by reaching the million milestone.
"It's fantastic that more than a quarter of our population are getting out on their bike - and the research shows that a further 407,000 are intending to take up cycling in the next six months so we're on track for 10 million journeys annually by 2019 - if not sooner."
The Transport Agency launches its annual Bike Wise programme this month, which Dougal hopes will encourage even more Kiwis to take up New Zealand's fastest growing method of transport.
The annual summer celebration includes Bike Wise Month in February 2016.
Read more here:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1512/S00012/more-than-a-million-kiwis-cycling-into-summer.htm
Way paved for easier consenting of cycleways
11 November 2015- The New Zealand Transport Agency's (NZTA) application for requiring authority status under the Resource Management Act (RMA) has been approved by Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith today.
"This approval will give NZTA requiring authority status under the Resource Management Act, so that it can apply to local authorities to set aside land specifically for cycleways and shared paths in the same way as it is already able to do for roads and motorways. It also enables NZTA to designate cycleway routes. The decision will better enable the Government to deliver on its ambitious plans of both safer and more convenient urban and rural cycleways," Dr Smith says.
Read more here:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1511/S00205/way-paved-for-easier-consenting-of-cycleways.htm
Share the Road signs don't work, says survey
2 September 2015- The US state of Delaware got rid of its "Share the Road" signs about two years ago. Though the signs were designed to affirm cyclists' rights to the road, they were widely misinterpreted - by both motorists and cyclists - as an exhortation to cyclists to stop "hogging" the road, or as a recommendation that drivers and cyclists share a lane (leading to tight squeezes and close passes).
Bike Delaware concluded that "Share The Road" is just 'feel good' signage that placates an interest group but has no safety benefit. And the state dumped the confusing message in favor of a less ambiguous one asserting that bicycles "may use full lane".
A new survey confirms that Delaware had the right idea - and other states should follow suit. In all 50 states, cyclists have a right to the road - including the center of the lane, if that's the safest place for them to be.
Researchers George Hess and M. Nils Peterson of North Carolina State University conducted an online survey of nearly 2,000 people to find out what various road signage means to them. They found that "Share the Road" had no effect whatsoever in leading people to respect cyclists' right to occupy a full lane of traffic. A sharrow helped a little. In the survey, by far the clearest indication that cyclists have an equal right to the road was a sign stating unequivocally that cyclists "may use full lane".
Read more here:
http://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/09/02/share-the-road-signs-dont-work/
Swapping car parks for bike lanes increases sales
5 October 2015- Protected bike lanes require space on the street, and removing curbside auto parking is one of several ways to find it. But whenever cities propose parking removal, retailers understandably worry.
A growing body of evidence suggests that if bike lanes and parking removal are part of a general plan to slow traffic, everybody can win.
In an in-house study of its new protected bike lane on Broadway, Salt Lake City found that when parking removal was done as part of a wide-ranging investment in the streetscape, it converted parking spaces to high-quality bike lanes and boosted business at the same time.
Nine blocks of curb-and-parking-protected bike lanes were created on its historic downtown business corridor. Using its sales tax data, the city compared retail sales along Broadway in the first half of 2013, before the changes, to the first half of 2015. Along the project, sales rose 8.8 percent, compared to 7 percent citywide.
Read more here:
No link between helmet laws and head injury rates, says study
5 November 2015- A major Canadian study has found no link between cycle helmet legislation and head injuries, and has recommended governments focus on providing bike infrastructure to protect cyclists instead.
Between 2006 - 2011 the study recorded hospitalisation data from different Canadian jurisdictions, some with mandatory helmet laws, some without. Of an average 3690 hospital administrations per year in riders aged 12 and over there were 622 hospitalisations per 100 million bike trips in Canada.
The study found helmet legislation did not reduce head injury rates, while female riders were injured less, and areas with a greater proportion of cycling trips saw lower injury rates. The CTC's Roger Geffen says the study provides further evidence cycle helmets aren't a panacea for cycle safety.
Read more here:
Weblinks
Space: Carlton Reid talks about overtaking:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pmw2ckQSU
Car-free days in Jakarta:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/sep/10/cycling-jakarta-dream-copenhagen-indonesia-bike
Road diets: how do they work?
http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/08/a-wonderfully-clear-explanation-of-how-road-diets-work/401951/
Bike 2050: a new multi-disciplinary initiative led by the Sustainable Business Network to accelerate the uptake of cycling in NZ cities:
http://sustainable.org.nz/sustainability-news/bike-2050-and-cycling-infrastructure
Bike that plays records on its wheels:
http://www.lostateminor.com/2011/11/08/bicycle-that-lets-you-to-play-records-on-its-wheels/
The best ways to get to work, according to science:
http://gizmodo.com/the-best-ways-to-get-to-work-according-to-science-1733796033
About e.CAN
e.CAN is distributed approximately every 1-2 months to CAN members, Friends of CAN and other interested people. CAN members also get our bi-monthly magazine, ChainLinks.
To check back issues of e.CAN, go to http://www.can.org.nz/ecan .
About CAN
Cycling Action 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.
To find out more about CAN, go to our website, http://www.can.org.nz.
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address: PO Box 25-424, Wellington 6146 email: secretary@can.org.nz
website: http://www.can.org.nz