Research and publications

We carry out transport research, think-pieces and policy guidance for national agencies, local councils, and other clients, and regularly publish and present to the industry (including many award-winning papers). Below are links to our latest published work:

200 and 300 mm aspectsA formal trial for directional cycle signals is underway, with two sites in Auckland and Christchurch, respectively. The interim evaluation for three of the sites has been completed, and Megan reported on the project status at the SNUG Workshop in Hamilton.

1960 Northern Arterial plan

Axel Wilke showed some historic plans for the Northern Arterial in Christchurch at a "CHAT Club" meeting. We were supposed to have an elevated motorway right through the central city. Charming!

Future travel options appWhat does the near future of transport look like? In Sep 2018, Glen Koorey gave a "pecha-kucha" presentation on Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to an industry transport and urban design presentation evening in Christchurch.

Auckland OnzO bikesDockless bikeshare, a bikeshare system not requiring docking stations, is coming. They can – and do – create huge problems, from footpaths cluttered with broken bikes, to bikes being dumped in waterways in large numbers. But they can also transform cities for the better by giving people convenient access for short trips, complementing public transport, and replacing long walks or short car trips. The authors contend that dockless bikeshare operators should be actively managed by local government. Make it known that dockless bikeshare in your city is by invitation only. Pick an operator you trust, insist that they meet agreed performance targets and thus avoid the many possible pitfalls. Axel presented on these at the 2018 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Palmerston North.

Neighbourhood Greenway crossing of a major roadThere has been considerable recent development of cycling networks around New Zealand cities. To date, these have largely featured on-road cycle lanes, separated cycleways, and shared paths. However, there has been relatively little focus on using neighbourhood greenways as a key part of these active networks.

Neighbourhood greenways are on-road cycling routes featuring low-volume low-speed local streets and safe crossings of busier roads. They are growing in popularity internationally as a low-cost tool for encouraging bike use on quieter streets without dedicated bike facilities, while also introducing street elements to enhance pedestrian and resident comfort and amenity. Glen presented on these at the 2018 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Palmerston North.

Real time display counter in Antigua StreetFor people managing a cycling network, there are over sixty different metrics to help evaluate the impact of engineering, education, encouragement and enforcement interventions. These range from mode share (as measured by the census question on the journey to work mode) to 'hands-up' counts in classrooms to measures of physical activity through the NZ Health Survey. The most direct measure is traffic counts – but the questions of where, when, how, and for what duration we should count requires careful consideration. This paper focuses on cycling traffic counts – primarily the trends in automatic count technology, crowd sourcing, 'big-data', and how manual surveys are still important. The Palmerston North Cycling Network Monitoring Plan is used as a case study to show how count data is managed to help identify what interventions are affecting cycling. John Lieswyn presented on this at the 2018 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Palmerston North.

graph showing e-bike speed distributionIn the last year, the number of e-bikes imported to New Zealand has reached nearly 20,000 units while electric scooters and skateboards are increasingly seen on paths. To inform potential changes in regulation, we conducted a research study on overseas legislation, technology trends, market and safety analyses. Findings include the results of a nationwide survey of both users and non-users, the speed difference between powered and unpowered riders, and recent changes in regulatory approaches overseas. A safe systems approach considering the vehicle, the user, and the road design is applied to an assessment of safety. John Lieswyn presented an interactive workshop on these at the 2018 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Palmerston North.

Cars in quake sinkholeHow do people respond to dramatic changes in transport patterns? What can other communities learn from the transport effects of the Christchurch earthquakes? Glen gave a presentation at the 2018 IPWEA NZ Conference in Rotorua about transport lessons to be learned from the 2010/11 Christchurch earthquakes.

amazed peopleIn his private capacity, Axel made a submission to Environment Canterbury's Long Term Plan (LTP).

truck side skirtGlen presented on the New Zealand patterns in truck / bike crashes at the 2018 Transportation Conference in Queenstown. This is a follow up to the work undertaken by the Cycling Safety Panel in 2014 and in response to the recent increase in cycling fatalities and the increased proportion of trucks involved in those crashes.