Cycle planning & 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.

ViaStrada in conjunction with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) runs a series of training courses to introduce the principles of planning and design for cycling in New Zealand. The courses are aimed at anybody planning, designing or reviewing roads or other facilities used for cycling (and other micro-mobility devices). This includes planners, general roading engineers and road safety practitioners. Local body politicians, people involved in the health sector, students and cycling advocates can also attend the courses.

ViaStrada staff augmented their extensive experience using and designing cycle parking with a literature review of European guidance, the Australian standard (which has substantial gaps), and the very lengthy Austroads guidance. Our project lead, John Lieswyn, was at that time a board member of Bikes Welcome, an NGO dedicated to improving cycle parking across New Zealand, and had been developing a best practice guide already.

Since 2006, Axel Wilke has been a guest lecturer at the University of Canterbury for the Masters of Transportation course covering the following topics:

ViaStrada was the engineering advisor to the New Zealand Cycle Trail (NZCT) project. We have developed a comprehensive design guide (about 100 pages) for trail designers and project developers.

KiwiRail and the New Zealand Transport Agency have led the development of a New Zealand design guide for pedestrian and cycle facilities at rail crossings, both alongside roadways and stand-alone. ViaStrada was commissioned to develop this guidance and worked with Stantec who were developing parallel new guidance on risk assessment of level crossings.

ViaStrada was commissioned to undertake an investigation of possible separation devices for protected pathways that are intended to be "temporary" (i.e. a lifespan of 3 to 5 years before more substantive facilities are introduced). ViaStrada defined several criteria: temporary; level of service for people who cycle; attractive in appearance; and high value for money for ratepayers. A number of devices were identified and assessed according to these criteria, with recommendations and possible applications outlined in a report.

These devices included:

ViaStrada developed the cycling-related content for the region-wide Code of Practice, including a lexicon for cycling facility types. Documents from seven of the amalgamated local authorities were combined and updated, with rationalisation of different dimensions to reflect current best practices.

Link to the Auckland Transport Code of Practice

Review of all signs and markings relevant to cycling (official and unofficial) to determine whether current legislation and supporting traffic control devices meet the needs of road controlling authorities and road users. The report featured 22 legislative, policy and design recommendations on shared zones, shared lane markings ("sharrows"), coloured pavement and no-stopping lines.