The Harbour Bridge opportunity

On the basis that there’s a silver lining to every dark cloud, the threat of the “clip-ons” falling off has resulted in an accelerated strengthening project which may also facilitate the addition of cycling and pedestrian transit across the Bridge.

Hooray!

For a long time cyclists have voiced their dissatisfaction at not being able to cycle between the Shore and Auckland city. Having personally cycled over the Sydney Harbour bridge and Vancouver’s Lions Gate bridge it seemed such an anachronism to return home and find that in the 21^st century Auckland cyclists are still expected to take the ferry.

Our new cycle-friendly Council has an excellent opportunity now to promote this cycling option, and complement it with an updated cycling strategy that links the bridge in to the current/proposed network. Even better would be to create a cycle corridor parallel to the motorway up to Oteha Valley Rd – if we can create a corridor for buses, and if we can create a corridor for cyclists along the North-Western motorway, why not a cycle corridor on the Shore? A corridor on the western side would be preferable so the prevailing winds blow the pollution away from the cycling lane.

The Herald article at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/story.cfm?c_id=214&objectid=10472441 (Cyclists and walkers may get to use bridge) painted a fairly confident picture that the bridge crossing for cyclists was feasible, but the downside came right at the end of the article:

“But new North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams, while agreeing a cycleway would be "ultimately" desirable, said Auckland had plenty of other transport needs, such as better bus services.”

Hardly enthusiastic support from someone who is supposed to be pro-cycling, Andrew! Yes, bus services are important, but we’ve already spent hundreds of millions on the Shore bus lanes. Let’s peel off a little bit of funding for cycling facilities to compensate for the massive under-investment cycling facilities have missed out on in the past.

Please, please, please – get a Council resolution together so the powers that be see the Shore as enthusiastic advocates of cyclists and pedestrians crossing the bridge!

On a personal note, this will be my last post for a while. I’m taking a well-earned break from my Project Manager role with EDS at Smales Farm, and will be touring Indochina until late January 2008. Needless to say, I plan to do a bit of mountain biking and road cycling while away!

I’ll look forward to seeing a whole lot of new cycling initiatives taking shape when I return :-), and will be happy to continue a dialogue with anyone who wants to listen.

Cheers

Steve

The election results are out!

Well, what a surprise – Andrew Williams pipped George Wood for mayor! George didn't bother responding to my survey, while Andrew rated himself “Generally in favour”. Now I don't pretend to take the credit for Andrew's victory – I suspect the Whenuapai airport controversy had more to do with it!

But I would like to thank the North Shore Times, CycleWire, Sportzhub and the CAN website for publicising the URL of this blog, and helping make cycling one of the election issues. I know that many candidates received requests from cyclists and cycling organisations. Thank you for your patience in responding – view it as confirmation that there are many cyclists out there who don't believe enough is being done quickly enough to improve facilities for our most vulnerable road users.

Just how much this blog influenced opinion is hard to say, but I'd like to think it made some difference. And the feedback I received from many people vindicated my decision to survey and publish – thanks for your support.

So on to the results.

From my previous posts you'll recall that over 80% of candidates were either enthusiastic advocates or generally in favour of cycling initiatives. I'm delighted that of the 16 successful Councillors, 13 (81%) fall in to the same category.

Recall that each candidate was asked how they will treat cycling initiatives if elected:

A. Enthusiastic advocate
B. Generally in favour
C. Ambivalent
D. Generally not in favour
E. Cyclists should get off the road

Here's how our newly elected representatives responded:

MAYOR
Andrew Williams B

COUNCIL
Northern Ward

Julia Parfitt B

Callum Blair No reply

Margaret Miles A

Joy Brett B

Lisa Whyte B

Harbour Ward

Grant Gillon B

Tony Holman B

Heather Brown B

Ann Hartley A

Vivienne Keohane B

Central Ward
Dianne Hale A

Andrew Williams B

Chris Darby A

Kevin Schwass No reply

Jan O'Connor A

Ken McKay C

While I didn't survey them, Christine Rankin and Joel Cayford were the successful ARC councillors representing the Shore. I don't know Christine's views, but I'm delighted Joel was re-elected. Joel is well known for his environmentally friendly views, and his focus on public transport and the benefits of cycling.

My plea to all successful candidates is this.

As you sit down at the Council table and in the Committee rooms you will be making decisions that will have a long term impact on our wonderful city. Please promote the vision of the Shore as a great place to live, where people , lifestyle and the environment come first, and make your decisions accordingly.

Cheers - Steve

Getting our kids on bikes

Every day we hear of the obesity epidemic and its attendant health consequences – heart disease, diabetes, stroke, osteoarthritis. We watch TV programmes that exhort us to wind back our body clock, be the biggest loser, and even to downsize our pet!

Our kids especially are at risk – despite their natural inclination to be physical, there are just too many opportunities for kids to be inactive and overeat the wrong kinds of foods.

I firmly believe that getting our kids on bikes can help both to counter the obesity epidemic and reduce vehicle congestion around schools, but there are a number of challenges to be overcome first - both practical and psychological.

I'm hoping that a new people-friendly Council with Regional and Central Government support will pick up on some of these challenges and make things happen. And the good news is that all the potential councillors I surveyed believe that not enough kids are cycling to school, so I hope the initiative of getting kids on bikes will receive widespread support.

Cycling facilities

Firstly, some of the practical steps. Most kids live within cycling distance of their local school, so what facilities do they need to get them between home and school?

Safety and risk mitigation are the biggest factors here. Historically our roads and footpaths have been built for motor vehicles and pedestrians, with cyclists barely registering on the design radar. Fortunately this is changing for new designs, but action needs to be taken to improve existing facilities to make them more cycle friendly.

Younger children (late primary through junior high school) still find it daunting riding on the road, cycle lanes or not. These kids need off-road cycle facilities, with wide “share with care” combined cycle and pedestrian paths. The new Shakespeare Rd and Akoranga Rd paths are good examples. The use of escorted “cycle trains” (the cycle equivalent of the “walking school bus”) are another excellent way to get our kids cycling to and from school safely.

Older and more experienced kids travel faster and have the maturity to cope with on-road cycle lanes – in fact it's dangerous (and against the law) for them to ride fast on footpaths due to interaction with pedestrians and cars exiting driveways.

Intersection design also plays a major part in promoting cyclist safety. Green-painted cycles lanes, early start boxes and other cycle-friendly facilities all help cyclists, and increase drivers' awareness of their presence.

Also within design scope are fun areas for kids to use their bikes. Parks, integrated skateboard areas, BMX tracks and mountain biking all have a part to play in getting kids active, outdoors and having fun with their mates.

School facilities

There's not much point getting kids to school by bike if there are no facilities for them on arrival. Kids need bike racks, lockers, showers (for some), and canteens with healthy food choices to refuel their bodies, so schools have a part to play as well. Primary schools can also take the lead with bike skills courses so kids are aware of the rules, are taught to check their bikes, and learn to ride safely.

But there's more to getting kids on bikes than just making facilities available and improving safety. While these are pre-requisites, psychological factors also contribute. I consulted widely (!) here and got feedback from my two daughters – past and present students at Rangitoto College and Westlake Girls.

Coolness

Sadly American culture has indoctrinated our kids, and it's just not cool to cycle. Coolness seems to be derived from the antics of Hollywood dross and rapper “bad” boys (and girls). What happened to our Kiwi role models? Give me Sarah Ulmer over Paris Hilton, or Hamish Carter over Snoop Dog any day!

Parenting and the media both have a part to play here. Parents are our first role models, particularly for younger kids. With Mum and Dad out on bikes – down at the park, along the beach or blasting Woodhill – the kids will surely follow. As teenagers naturally rebel against parents, our sporting heroes with help from the media can contribute by promoting healthy outdoor activity.

It may never be super cool to cycle, but even if it got to the “acceptable” stage and cyclists weren't regarded as fitness geeks we'd be a long way there.

The car culture

The Kiwi passage to adulthood is defined by the motor vehicle. There are few countries in the world where 15 year olds can get their licence and drive high performance modified sports cars. As we see from regular news reports this is often a recipe for disaster. The simple steps of raising the driving age to 17 and restricting the type of cars young drivers can drive unsupervised would have multiple benefits:

• Kids begin driving later when their maturity and risk analysis faculties are better developed

• Cars are less likely to be used in boy-racer scenarios

• Kids are more likely to cycle at 15 and 16 to get around, increasing their fitness and road skills

• When moving in to a car at 17, kids will be more likely to respect the rights of cyclists, having spent more time as one themselves.

In summary, I like to believe in the “critical mass” theory. With better facilities for cyclists, there will be more people out on bikes. With more people comes a perception that cycling is safer, and kids get out there too. With even more cyclists, cycling becomes a viable means of transportation for all, demanding and receiving more planning and design consideration, and acknowledgement from motorists.

A “virtuous circle” if you like that benefits the community through improved health and reduced pollution, and benefits motorists because there are fewer cars on the road. Everyone wins – but the lead has to come from those who govern us, as they decide how to spend our rates and taxes. I hope our new Council will govern us wisely.