Research and publications

As part of the consultation on the proposed South Dunedin cycle network, Dunedin City Council organised a Cycling Forum. Despite a very wet night, 100 people crammed into a conference room at Toitu to listen to eight speakers. ViaStrada's Axel Wilke presented on the rationale behind the network planning for South Dunedin.

ViaStrada is carrying out research on bicycle lane separators for VicRoads.  Glen Koorey (University of Canterbury) reported on the research at the 2013 Transportation Conference in Dunedin. The research was carried out in two locations in Christchurch. In conclusion, implementing low-profile separators on existing roads has effects on road user behaviour. In the separated area, motor vehicles encroach less into the cycle lane. However, the encroachment reduction is only slight, and could perhaps increase again due to drivers becoming accustomed to crossing the relatively low separators. Therefore, the combination of low-profile separators and vertical posts is a relatively inexpensive way (especially compared with kerb reconstruction) to increase the effectiveness of cycle lane separation.

Glen Koorey presented at the 2013 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (Washington DC) on studies investigating whether a suitable maximum traffic volume on local streets could be identified. A residents' survey on four conventional "local" streets with varying traffic volumes in Christchurch found that those living next to higher volumes felt that their streets were busier, noisier, less safe and they tended to have less personal involvement and/or knowledge of their neighbours. An appropriate environmental capacity appeared to be around 1,500-2,000 vehicles/day.

A subsequent study looked at further Christchurch streets with treatments such as street calming and tree plantings, and a higher environmental capacity of around 2,000 vehicles/day was found for the surveyed streets. This suggests that appropriate street treatments can increase the environmental capacity, which has implications for local councils who want to maintain road traffic carrying capabilities without having unsatisfied residents.

ViaStrada and CDM Research have carried out research on bicycle lanes at roundabouts for Austroads that was first presented at the 2012 Bike Futures conference in Melbourne. In comparison to other intersection controls, roundabouts have shown to have lower crash rates for motorised vehicles. However, the risk for cyclists at these intersections is often greater, especially in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, and there is conflicting evidence about the effectiveness of cycle lanes at roundabouts.

Axel Wilke was asked to give a presentation to the Otago / Southland branch of the Transportation Group. The presentation is a slightly modified version of the conference presentation to make it more relevant to a Dunedin-based audience.

ViaStrada is carrying out research on bicycle lane separators for VicRoads. Axel Wilke presented on progress at the 2012 Bike Futures Conference in Melbourne. Wide separators had previously been trialled in Victoria, Australia, but this research looked at narrower separators, where there is insufficient space for the wider option.

Two products were considered and the preferred option was sited at two locations in Christchurch where vehicles regularly encroach into the cycle lane. Driver behaviour was monitored before and after installation and cyclist feedback sought to create a picture of driver behaviour and cyclists' perceptions. This information was used to inform decisions on the installation of additional hardware at the sites.

ViaStrada and CDM Research are carrying out research on bicycle lanes at roundabouts for Austroads. At the 2011 Bike Futures Conference, Tony Barton gave a presentation "Providing for Cyclists at Roundabouts - Integrate or Separate?". The presentation given by Axel Wilke at the 2012 Bike Futures Conference built on Tony's presentation, and gives the research team's preliminary findings, based on a review of relevant literature, fieldwork and crash analysis.

This technical note and poster proposes a glossary of cycling facility terms with the aim of reducing confusion amongst practitioners. It was presented at the 2 Walk and Cycle conference in Hastings, New Zealand in February 2012.

For the Kaiapoi Town Centre project, a Reference Group of community representatives was established to work alongside the design team and council staff. The group was made up of about a dozen people representing business, mobility impaired users, schools, emergency services and residents.
 
We worked hard at four workshops held over three months to deliver the desired street plan and associated transport changes. This paper outlines how the group was formed and interacted, the key issues that arose and the process of selecting the final plan that found support from the group.

Following on from the 2008 NZTA funded investigation by ViaStrada into methods of continuous cycle counting, this conference paper summarises the literature on the latest methods, count durations, how many sites are needed, and where they should be placed to gain a representative sample of the cycling levels throughout a given network.

This 2012 paper presents the development process, planning, and implementation to date of the programme for Hamilton City, builds on an earlier paper presented at the 2011 Transportation Conference and puts emphasis on the implementation part of the project.

ViaStrada's Andrew Macbeth and John Lieswyn reviewed the Golden Mile corridor using the Safe Systems Approach, and controversially suggest a people and place focus ahead of vehicular movement.