News

We've set a new standard; what an outstanding Transportation Conference! Gemma Dioni from ViaStrada was the convenor for the 2020 conference with a theme "equity in transportation", and there were a large number of new elements included to great acclaim. Over 200 delegates came to Christchurch for this 3-day industry gathering. ViaStrada staff gave four presentations. It will be a steep challenge to follow for Auckland in 2021. Well done, Gemma!

New Zealand e-bike sales match our July 2017 "extreme growth scenario" prediction. Fascinating; the market is literally exploding!

With our partners Urban Connection, ViaStrada is pleased to be appointed to the New Zealand Transport Agency national speed management panel for implementation of the Safer Speeds programme on state highways from 2020 onwards.

2019 is drawing to a close. It's been a busy year and now it's time to relax. And slow down; not just at work but also on our roads. Our last day in the office will be Friday, 20 December. We'll be back from 6 January.

ViaStrada are studying crosswalk changes for cyclists and pedestrians being trialled in Dunedin, at the State Highway 1 intersections with Albany Street. This is part of the official trial required by the NZ Transport Agency. Please help us out by participating in the survey.

Recently ViaStrada assisted with the development and presentation of the Transport Agency's first webinar on walking & cycling topics, namely measuring and monitoring these active modes. The resulting (free) webinar is now available for viewing and listening to.

We are pleased to announce a recent arrival to the ViaStrada team for the summer - Niklas Höing! Niklas recently completed his transportation Masters at the University of Wuppertal, Germany and was keen to get some overseas working experience. He will be working for us between October - March, as well as taking the opportunity to have a good look around New Zealand. Welcome Niklas!

We are pleased to have submitted our report for this complex project, a formal Traffic Control Device trial of directional cycle signals. It involved four locations in Christchurch and Auckland, and we carried out baseline surveys, then observed and surveyed user behaviour (of both people cycling and driving) after everybody got used to the new signals, and the same again a further year down the track.

Congratulations to Palmerston North City Council for opening the He Ara Kotahi bridge today. ViaStrada's Axel Wilke undertook the feasibility study in 2014 for possible bridge locations and how this could link into a network of shared paths.

We were delighted to meet Joshua Gregory last week when he visited the office with his mum, Megan. Joshua arrived in the early hours of 23 March, weighing in at 3.9kg. Welcome Joshua!