We have developed and updated transportation policy, planning and design guidelines for various national agencies. These have generally involved identifying and adapting best-practice international guidance to provide cutting-edge guidance for the industry. This expertise also feeds into the guidance we pass on in our industry training and other presentations.
Training & guidelines
Industry Training
Over the years, ViaStrada has run or contributed to several industry training courses on a variety of topics, including cycle and pedestrian planning & design, urban street design, and SIDRA modelling. Our expertise and presentation skills have allowed us to train thousands of people in these topics.
Cycle planning & design
ViaStrada in conjunction with NZ Transport Agency runs a series of industry training courses (fundamental and advanced) to introduce the principles of planning and design for cycling in New Zealand. The content of these training courses reflects NZTA's Cycling Network Guidance, which ViaStrada has been involved in developing and updating since 2016. We have also developed guidance for NZ Cycle Trails and rail crossings.
Pedestrian planning & design
Worldwide, streets are being opened to people on foot, with spectacular benefits to communities in terms of traffic and personal safety, economic well-being, community cohesiveness, and physical health.
ViaStrada has assisted with the development of walking guidance and tools from NZTA (e.g. the Pedestrian Network Guidance) to enable better practice in meeting the needs of people walking. We have also contributed to industry training in this area.
Public transport design
Our team has reviewed parts of the Public Transport Design Guidance (PTDG). We designed early in-lane bus stops for New Zealand, from which valuable experience has been gained. We have developed improvements to economic analysis of in-lane bus stops. At ViaStrada, you will find knowledgeable staff who can provide guideline development based on longstanding industry experience.
Presentations & lectures
Many of ViaStrada’s staff have a wealth of knowledge and experience on various transport topics, building on their work in industry and research. As a result, we are often asked to deliver presentations and guest lectures to tertiary training courses, industry forums, or other public events.
If you have a transport subject where you would like some expert coverage of the issues to a target audience, please get in touch with us.
SIDRA modelling
SIDRA INTERSECTION is powerful software developed in Australia by SIDRA SOLUTIONS and used commonly in NZ for the design and evaluation of individual intersections and networks of intersections.
SIDRA TRIP, another product by SIDRA SOLUTIONS, is designed for vehicle trip assessment using supplied road data. Outputs include Speed, Operating/User Cost, Fuel Consumption, Emissions, and Noise.
Urban street design
How do you organise the competing demands for space on our urban road corridors by various user groups and make streets more accessible to everyone and also safe and attractive places to live, work and play? ViaStrada have long experience in multi-modal urban street design, based on international good practice, and have assisted clients to redesign their own street corridors as well as assist with industry training.