Transport planning and policy

ViaStrada was commissioned by Tauranga City to assess the effectiveness of the 30 km/h zone in Mount Maunganui, in terms of vehicle speeds and crashes, taking into account any changes in traffic volumes since its introduction in August 2011. A control zone immediately south of the study area, where the 50 km/h speed limit remained unchanged, was used as a basis for comparing general changes in the area. Five years of speed, volume, and crash data before and after implementation found that the expected number of crashes in the 30 km/h zone fell by 21%.

ViaStrada was commissioned by Environment Canterbury (ECan), on behalf of the Regional Road Safety Working Group (RRSWG), to undertake different tasks concerning speed management, road safety data sources and monitoring.

Christchurch City Council commissioned ViaStrada to investigate concerns about central city tram tracks causing problems for people on bikes. Using a public online survey, ViaStrada gathered information about 3 years worth of cycle accidents and near-accidents and made recommendations to help mitigate the problem.

Most of the time, we have a client who pays the bills. Sometimes, we work for the love of it to give back to the community. Biketober in 2017 was an example of the latter. Helen and Glen were heavily involved in organising the affairs, with our staff doing much of the event management, and Helen in particular looked after the marketing components.

At the 2WALKandCYCLE Conference in 2018, Biketober Christchurch 2017 was the category winner in the Revolutionary Award for the best activity.

Under secondment to PNCC, ViaStrada's John Lieswyn led the review of the existing cycle network and development of a costed and prioritised list of corridor improvements.

For five schools in the central city, ViaStrada developed an area-wide plan for road safety improvements including options for the optimisation of on-street parking. The work include a full review of parking capacity, occupancy, speed and volume data.

ViaStrada undertook a city-wide cycling network evaluation (July 2018). Existing conditions auditing included video and ArcGIS data collector; development of concept plans and cross sections for five corridors including off-street pathways, neighbourhood greenways (quiet streets), and on-street cycleways. Minor crossing improvements were also identified and mapped.

The NZ Transport Agency engaged ViaStrada to investigate options for amendments to several road user rules affecting walking and cycling, particularly near intersections, and then to prepare draft materials for implementing amended road user rule legislation for some of the rules investigated.

The Palmerston North City Council has implemented Bikes in Schools at six local schools. As part of ongoing efforts to ensure continuous improvement, the Council commissioned ViaStrada to undertake an independent review of the programme. ViaStrada investigated selection, procurement and operation processes and made various recommendations for future schools added to the programme.

ViaStrada's John Lieswyn led the development of travel plans for nine primary and high schools within the Hastings District, and assisted the Hastings District Council with their own workplace travel plan. The project formed part of HDC's iWay programme, which aims to tackle declining rates of walking and cycling with carefully planned, sustained investment in walking and cycling.