Buddy Up for Sustainability

The Sustainability Trust is looking for volunteers to help act as bike buddies. Bike buddies offer support for those who would like to start cycling regularly. They do this by cycling with people to their common destinations, usually as part of commuting, and doing such things as pointing out good routes, giving tips on coping with traffic, providing pointers on cycle maintenance, or hints on how to carry gear and cope with wet weather. The Trust is running a travel behaviour change programme focusing on the southern and eastern wards of the city, and would like to offer bike buddy services among the range of resources for participants. If you are interested in being a bike buddy, send a note to Patrick Morgan at Patrick@morgan.net.nz
 
The Sustainability Trust is a not-for-profit organization formed in July 2003 to offer education and deliver community projects on urban sustainability. Its ‘Getting Around’ project was piloted in 2006-07 in Hutt Valley, and this year it is delivering the project in the southern and eastern wards in partnership with Wellington City Council.
 
The project encourages people to consider transport options for getting to regular destinations. The aim is to help lower personal car use while maintaining or extending benefits for individuals and for the community. In this wider context, the Trust also offers the opportunity for people to meet with its staff to discuss transport options. The Trust follows up on such meeting to help people keep their travel change commitments, and to monitor the project’s success. Their website is www.sustaintrust.org.nz. 
 
Christmas Party
Join us at our festive season/ Christmas party to celebrate another trip around the sun. Wellington cyclist extraordinaire Eleanor Meecham will inspire and entertain us with tales and a slideshow of her 5500 km ramble through Patagonia, the hilly bits of Argentina and Chile, and the salt flats of Bolivia. She may also bring copies of her new book, Llamas and Empanadas (see  http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?SBN=9780143006404&pag... for a sample), so if you are looking for that special gift ...
 
Munchies and refreshments provided.
 
When: 6pm, Tue 4 December
Where: Thistle Hall, top of Cuba St, next to Karo Drive.
What: Ales and tales.
 
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Cycling and Cancer
Following discussions with CAW member Sridhar Ekambaram and Louise Cheetham from Living Streets Aotearoa, the Cancer Society of New Zealand is keen to promote walking and cycling as active modes of transport to reduce incidence of cancer. 
 
Sridhar and Louise recently met with health promotion managers Dr Jan Pearson and Raewyn Sutton who said they will include more information on their website on physical activity, and provide links to CAN and LSA for more details on cycling and walking. Jan and Raewyn would also like to be involved in walking and cycling events and promote them. They will also co-ordinate with us to make sure we all promote walking and cycling in all future submissions on various transport and health issues.
 
The news comes as the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research released its second expert report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. The report lists the following 10 recommendations: 
• Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight. 
• Be physically active as part of everyday life. 
• Limit consumption of energy-dense foods. Avoid sugary drinks. 
• Eat mostly foods of plant origin. 
• Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat. 
• Limit alcoholic drinks. 
• Limit consumption of salt. Avoid mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes). 
• Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone. 
• Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed. 
• Cancer survivors: Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention. 
 
Wellington Parking Policy Update
 
Wellington City Council has sent its feedback on submissions for their draft Parking Policy and Implementation Plan. The council has received a wide range of submissions and considered the full range of views.  Based on the views expressed, a revised policy was recommended and adopted by the council on 26th Sep 2007.
 
In the summary of submissions received, the council has "noted" all recommendations made by CAW.
CAW's recommendations were -
- Remove all on-street car-parking to make way for cycle lane or bus-cum-cycle lane.
- Car park capacity should be regulated to achieve council's objective of reducing number of cars coming
into the CBD
- Privately owned commercial car parks should also be regulated for capacity and fee.
- Where car parking is necessary, should not be a hindrance to cyclist's safety.

Our suggestions for cycle parking has been accepted and council officers will consider the suggested locations to look for any quick and easy wins. The council has also noted that it has limited influence on existing privately owned car parking buildings. While our recommendation on regulation of the level of car park capacity to reduce number of cars coming into the CBD is being reviewed under District Plan change 48, the existing provisions are generally endorsed.
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Interestingly, the council has also "noted" recommendations that are diametrically opposite to CAW's, mainly that there should be no reduction in number of car parks and car park fees should not be increased as they are already at a very high level. These recommendations have come mainly from the retailers association and AA NZ.
 
In their revised policy document, there are policies specific to CBD, Inner Residential area and Suburbs.
 
CBD - On street parking will be to support retail and entertainment facilities. Commuter and residents parking is not a priority. Golden Mile will be a corridor for public transport, walking and cycling (yippee!). New taxi ranks will be located on local streets in preference to arterial, principal and collector streets and Golden mile (Does this mean existing taxi ranks will not be relocated?).
 
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any mention of cycling and walking for the Inner residential and
suburban areas.
 
On the whole, the policy looks like a business as usual recommendations, with just some slight modifications. What will be interesting to see is its implementation, which will be undertaken over a period of 3 to 5 years.
- Thanks to Sridhar Ekambaram for making the CAW submission and following up with the above report.
 
CAW and the Digital Strategy
 
CAW has established a partnership with CAN, Spokes and Bike Taupo in order to implement an innovative Information and Communication Technology project that will enable cycling advocates to use the internet more effectively. The groups have received a grant from the Digital Strategy Community Partnership Fund. The funding is for the implementation of a Content Management System, and training for cycling advocates to become skilled in web publishing and in the use of wikis and other tools for online collaboration.
 
"This upgrade will have a significant impact on the way CAW recruits new members and mobilize existing members", notes André Cymbalista, CAN Digital Strategy Project Manager, "It will also improve our network's ability to engage in campaigns and coalitions, and naturally, networking. The information that CAW already has, and the new content that CAW will be creating, will become far more accessible than today".
 
For more information about CAN and the Digital Strategy, please visit the CAN Digital Strategy Blog at
http://http://www.can.org.nz/ dsblog/ , or contact André Cymbalista by email: andre@can.org.nz. 

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Events
REMINDER - WILD WELLINGTON 6 / 12 HOUR MOUNTAIN BIKE RELAY 
SATURDAY 17 NOV, Mt Victoria. 12 hour Epic - 10 am - 10pm. Push Play 6 hour Challenge - 10 am - 4pm Teams of 3 – 4. A 6.5 km course featuring wild down hills, wicked single track and some cruisy stuff. Great whether you are strictly social or want to go hard out. Entries are limited due to space restrictions, and will be on a strictly first come basis Go to www.wildwellington.co.nz for all information and online entry.
 
ALSO CHECK OUT Events for activities in the Wellington area.

Membership Renewal
As of November the 8th, Cycle Aware Wellington has a healthy membership of 104.  The number of new members has risen steadily this year, partly due to nation-wide CAN initiatives, and we’ve welcomed back some old friends too.  Look out for your renewal notice in December and join up again to help make Wellington a great city to cycle in!
 
Be Part of The Change
 
A Be The Change promotion to reduce climate change is on tour – and as cycling will be part of the package, it
would be worth showing support!
 
Spearheaded by Greenpeace, Oxfam and Forest & Bird, Be The Change will provide advice and encouragement to community groups and individuals from Bluff to Kaitaia, and from the cowshed to the boardroom, on reducing their personal impact on the climate. There are already a number of great climate change initiatives happening around New Zealand. Be The Change aims to capture and showcase these initiatives and show there's a growing movement of people who care about climate change, in order to inspire others to take action. A Be The Change Climate Rescue Bus will take the campaign message out to communities across New Zealand, beginning in Bluff on November 8th and ending in Kaitaia on December 12th. The biodiesel-fuelled bus tour will include a mobile exhibition of impacts and causes of climate change, an opportunity to learn about everyday solutions we can all put to use in our own lives, and a web centre where people can sign up on the spot to Be The Change. The bus will be at Civic Square in Wellington on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 November, from 10am-5pm. Check out  www.bethechange.org.nz  - they already have some stuff about cycling, but you might have ideas to add.
 
 
2007 Cycling Conference
 
The 2007 Cycling Conference was held in Napier last weekend, CAW member Sridhar Ekambaram attended… and
gave these impressions…
 
The conference has given me a lot of energy and enthusiasm about cycling and among things I learnt - Lycra and latex-clad cyclists are not strange species. All cyclists should be projected as “normal” people doing a “normal” activity. There is nothing wrong with cyclists and cycles. It is just a perception people have developed over the years
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    Do not try to force cycling as a solution down the throat of non-cyclists. In a democracy, this doesn’t work and only tends to build added resistance to cycling. Just (social) market cycling as a normal activity that is fun -filled and has many benefits (Do not project it in comparison to the metal monster). Let people decide what can be achieved by cycling and if, by any chance, this can be extended to commuting as well. Just give people the choice thru positive social marketing and let them decide how they want to use it.
    Also look at how recreational cyclists can become commuter cyclists as well – again thru social marketing with a
positive approach.
 
Cycle Into Summer But Keep Going By Bike
The November 4th Bike the Bays, part of the Wellington Cycle Into Summer programme (http://www.feelinggreat.co.nz/events/sport-and-recreation/528-cycle-into...) was cancelled but is likely to be rescheduled. Check out the website for updates. The Wednesday 7th breakfast on the other hand went ahead in perfect weather – as shown by the following pictures. As Illona Keenan said: ‘It was a beautiful morning, one of those days where cycling is THE means of transport.  The Council provided a cereal breakfast and People’s coffee provided the right kind of drugs.  There were probably about 200 people between 7.30 and 9am.  CAW was there with membership forms and sign up sheets and a number of people thought we were doing a fab job.’