Research and publications

This paper looks at ways of addressing conflict between people on bikes and motor vehicles at signalised intersections that have separated cycleways on their approaches. Megan undertook a background literature review and visited seven cities in North America as part of a study tour. She investigated relevant sites with a variety of different treatments and spoke to people involved in the planning, design and operation of those sites.

The NZ Transport Agency engaged MWH and ViaStrada to investigate options for amendments to several give-way related road user rules. Our report was published on the Transport Agency website in February 2017. Follow up work with regards to drafting some of the Road User Rule amendments is underway.

Glen Koorey gave two presentations at the Neighborhood Greenways workshop held in Washington DC, US, as part of the 2017 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. This workshop was convened to explore the state of research and practice for neighbourhood greenways in North America and the world, and to identify priorities for future research and project development.

Glen Koorey gave a presentation at the 2016 TRAFINZ Conference that provides an overview of the arguments for lower speeds in New Zealand, including the effects on safety, amenity, and encouragement of active modes. It also addresses some of the common objections and concerns voiced by some parties, including: "Lower speed limits alone won't change traffic speeds", "The real safety problem is poor drivers and poor roads", "The public in New Zealand don't want lower speeds", etc.

Gemma demonstrated the planning and design methods employed by a multi-disciplinary team to deliver 13 major cycleways.

At the 2016 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Auckland from 6 to 8 July, John Lieswyn in a paper co-authored with Axel Wilke, presented on E-bikes: legislation, policy and design considerations of an empowering technology.

With improving batteries and economies of scale driving lower prices, electric bicycles (e-bikes) are becoming more popular worldwide. Specialty retailers are opening across New Zealand to cater for demand. This paper suggests aspects of cycleway design that should be updated to better accommodate e-bikes.

John Lieswyn presented his paper "CV Link: California's new paradigm in shared use pathways" at the 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Auckland, 6 to 8 July.

The Coachella Valley (CV) Link is a proposed US $100+ million, 80 km trail along California's Whitewater River for Low Speed Electric Vehicles (LSEVs), bicyclists, and pedestrians. Construction begins in 2017, and when complete it will be the largest such facility in the United States. The project breaks new ground in scope, speed of implementation, and design characteristics.

At the 2016 2WalkandCYCLE Conference in Auckland, Glen Koorey and co-author Karyn Teather presented a paper which explores the different types of existing and potential cyclist in Christchurch. They looked at how cyclist numbers might increase with the introduction of new infrastructure that addresses their concerns.

There is growing national interest in New Zealand's urban environments in the use of other modes of transport that reduce dependency on single occupancy car use. If more can be learned about the types of potential users and the attractiveness of different facilities, it will be useful in planning future infrastructure.

With the current significant investment in cycling in New Zealand, many people hope that we can grow cycling usage levels to match those found in several parts of Europe. A lot of focus here is on physical treatments such as protected cycleways and 'Copenhagen lanes', but will that be enough to initiate significant travel behaviour change?

Glen Koorey presented a paper jointly authored with Axel Wilke at the 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in Auckland, held from 6 to 8 July, exploring these issues.

Glen Koorey presented at the IPENZ Transportation Group Conference in March 2016, with co-presenter John Lieswyn. Their paper was titled Making Space: Innovative Ways to Fit Multiple Modes within Narrow Cross Sections.

Increasingly in New Zealand, there is a desire to provide road space for a range of different road users, including cycles, buses, and light rail. For many typical NZ road corridors (e.g. a standard 20 m road reserve) it can seem difficult to achieve this. However, many overseas examples offer inspiration (sometimes unconventional) for ways forward.

Glen and John were awarded "highly commended practice paper" for their paper. They would be happy to apply their experience in this area to street reconfiguration examples in New Zealand.