Cycling Network Guidance (CNG): planning and design

ViaStrada and Abley Transportation Consultants were commissioned by the NZ Transport Agency to develop a national framework of guidance for planning and designing for cycling. This project came as a result of the NZ Cycling Safety Panel identifying a need for further guidance and was supported by industry feedback.

The resulting framework, titled Cycling Network Guidance (CNG) was officially launched in July 2016. It provides comprehensive guidance and/or links to appropriate sources. ViaStrada continues to provide ongoing support for NZTA to update existing and add new CNG content.

Stage 1 of the project involved identifying various types of gaps (e.g. no / minimal guidance, lack of clarity, inconsistency between sources, doesn't represent best practice, and overly onerous requirement) in the current guidance, and rating the level of difficulty to address them. This included reviewing a wide range of local, national and international guidance and research, and conducting a survey of industry practitioners. Working with practitioners was critical throughout this project to ensure the delivered framework best suits industry needs. Overall, 68 gaps were identified, of which 50 were identified as ‘Quick Wins' that could be addressed relatively easily, within a reasonable timeframe and without requiring any legislative changes or official trials.

Stage 2 involved addressing many of the quick wins and some of the more substantial gaps, developing the framework content, making it available online and undertaking user-testing with industry representatives to ensure its appropriateness and usability. The framework, titled Cycling Network Guidance (CNG) was officially launched in July 2016. The framework provides comprehensive planning and design guidance and / or links to appropriate sources.

At the IPENZ Transportation Group Conference in March 2016, Megan Fowler presented a paper on the CNG project. At the end of the conference, Megan was awarded 'best oral presentation - people's choice award' for this presentation. The paper and presentation are available for download from this page.

The content continues to be updated by the Transport Agency, including addressing some of the remaining gaps. ViaStrada has led the ongoing programme of tasks for the Agency to update existing and add new CNG content. A paper and poster about these CNG updates was presented at the 2021 NZ Transportation Conference.

The project commenced in early 2015. Axel Wilke was ViaStrada's project lead until mid-2017, when Glen Koorey took over the ongoing project management of new and updated CNG content. ViaStrada is proud to have been involved in this significant project, which as of 2024 is ongoing.