News: October 2008

  Cyclist Anne FitzSimon fights for space with traffic at the Trafalgar St lights. Ms FitzSimon says there should be a national campaign on bike safety because Nelson City Council campaigns are not enough. She believed a third of motorists were drifting into bicycle lanes and advanced stop boxes - the green area cyclists wait in at traffic lights - which was a safety problem. Motorists know not to drift into other lanes, so the same care should be taken not to drift into bike lanes or advanced stop boxes, she said. Mrs FitzSimon wants to see police target motorists to educate them on keeping cyclists safe. "They need to realise we are human beings." She cites parts of Waimea Rd and all the curves on Rocks Rd as the main problem areas where vehicles cut into cycle lanes. "Every time they drive in them, unless they are parking, it's illegal....

Plea to raise driving age to stop 15-year-olds killing Article in The Press, Friday 17th October 2008

Following my interview on Radio NZ on 23 Oct 2008 about compulsory helmet wearing legislation, I got contacted by a few cyclists expressing concerns about me campaigning against helmets. For clarification, I had an interview of about 10 minutes with the reporter. When you then translate that into one sentences that gets broadcast, naturally the message gets somewhat truncated. Here's a transcript of what did get broadcast: "So what the minister is basically referring to is that the moment that the compulsorary helmet wearing legislation was introduced, it is estimated that the number of people cycling dropped by a good 20%." During the interview, my main messages were: CAN has been calling for an objective review of the law for a number of years. This is part of our policy statement. Some of our members believe that the compulsory wearing of helmets should be...

Dear CAN Wellington,  We hope this production of HEAT will be of interest to you and your members. Please let me know if you need any other information. $5 TICKETS FOR HEAT –  Just get on your bike! HEAT has one special seat to experience the show every night! As the production is run entirely off the power grid – using  solar, wind and renewable energy means, we’re inviting one audience member to create their own power – watching the show on a monitor in the foyer powered by an exercycle! Please note the show is 100 mins long – you don’t need to peddle fast, but you do need to peddle for the entire show! Please note – this production is suitable for years 12 & 13 upwards only – contains nudity Sincerely, Brianne Kerr Ice Floe Productions proudly presents the STAB season of: HEAT A woman, a man, and a penguin – theatre of the Antarctic  Sometimes...

Expert says NZ should aim for zero road toll More than 400 people are killed on the roads every year in New Zealand, but a visiting Swedish traffic safety expert says we should be much more ambitious in our policies and aim for zero road deaths. Professor Claes Tingvall is the controversial keynote speaker at a seminar at the University of Otago, Wellington this week and has been invited to enhance discussion of road safety in this country. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0810/S00098.htm I attended this presentation today. Some of it is drawn from this presentation: (http://www.esafetysupport.org/download/working_groups/IRM%20(2)/13%20Anders%20Lie.pdf) My notes: Professor Claes Tingvall, Monash Uni and Swedish Road Administration "Foreigners can say things you can't say in your own country." Vision Zero does not mean zero fatalities. It is: 1. a vision for...

Cyclist death shows need for safer infrastructure and motorist education After the tragic death on Pleasant Point Highway of a young cyclist out training the local cycling advocates group, Squeaky Wheel South Canterbury is calling for urgent improvements in roading design and motorist education. Squeaky Wheel spokesperson, Jon Harris says that the death of this outstanding young member of our community shows that rapid progress must be made towards making our roads safer for cyclists. Alice Baker was out training on her cycle when she was struck from behind by an even younger driver. "The crash is a terrible blow for both families. It should be a wake-up call to all roading authorities and road users in South Canterbury. With the drive towards more sustainable transport, unless changes are made to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists on our roads, we are going to...

"Protagonists on both sides of the bitterly-disputed Lovelock Ave debate have returned to their corners, and now await the judges' decision. A resource consent hearing into the issue - reconvened following two days of hearings earlier this month - was adjourned yesterday, after a right of reply from Dunedin City Council planner Darryl Sycamore, and closing submissions from council counsel Michael Garbett. Commissioners Roger Tasker and Allan Cubitt and city councillor Colin Weatherall plan to undertake a site visit and, barring calls for more evidence, should then consider the matter. The council wants to realign Lovelock Ave to allow the Dunedin Botanic Garden more room for the rhododendron dell. The realignment would allow relocation of propagation houses and administration buildings, and deal with what are said to be safety issues related to the road. The plan has proved...

9:08AM Tuesday Oct 21, 2008 Police are appealing for witnesses to a crash which left a south Canterbury cyclist on a training ride dead at the weekend. Alice Swainson Baker, 24, a laboratory technician, of Rosewill Valley, northwest of Timaru, was among five people killed on New Zealand roads over the weekend. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10538611&r...

"Hundreds of cyclists, walkers and roller-bladers took advantage of a sunny spring day to welcome the opening of the extension of the harbourside cycleway-walkway to Maia, on the harbour's edge in Dunedin yesterday. Harbour Cycle Network co-ordinator Steve Walker said he had cycled the 1.3km extension from Maia to the Ravensbourne Yacht Club and said it reinforced his views the cycle-way was "one of the most beautiful in the world". The extension, which cost about $350,000 and was funded from a national pool for such projects, was started in May and finished recently. It runs from the Ravensbourne Yacht Club to opposite Jessie St, in Maia. The first 1.2km section of the cycleway, which starts at the end of Magnet St, near the Otago University Rowing Club, cost $220,000 and was completed in 2006. Mr Walker said the plan was to continue to lobby the Dunedin City Council and...