New Zealand walking and cycling strategies – best practice

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Appendix 10 - Selected pages from examples of good practice

• A10.1   Wellington Region (walking) - Executive summary
• A10.2   Toronto City (cycling) - Bikeplan structure
• A10.3   North Shore City (cycling) - “Quick wins” (within two years)
• A10.4   Auckland Region (walking) - Vision and objectives
• A10.5   Tauranga District (combined) - Objectives
• A10.6   Christchurch City (cycling) - Key principles, policies, good use of photos
• A10.7   New Plymouth District (cycling) - Quantifiable targets
• A10.8   Christchurch City (walking) - Monitoring
• A10.9   North Shore City (cycling) - Conclusion
• A10.10   Central Otago District (combined) - Census data
• A10.11   Manukau City (combined) - Cycle count data
• A10.12   Tasman District (combined) - Rating of cycling and walking facilities
• A10.13   Hastings District (walking) - Discussion of footpaths
• A10.14   Rotorua District (cycling) - Principles of planning for cycling
• A10.15   Auckland City (combined) - Principles of planning for cyclists and walkers

A10.1   Wellington Regional Pedestrian Strategy – summary

Executive summary

The vision of this Regional Pedestrian Strategy is “more pedestrians in a convenient, safe and pleasant environment”. Pedestrians are a critical element of the transport system that often form essential links with other modes.

Strategy development

This strategy has been developed with a technical group comprised of representatives from Greater Wellington Regional Council, the region’s territorial authorities, Transit New Zealand, the Land Transport Safety Authority (Wellington region), Living Streets Aotearoa (Wellington) and Regional Public Health.

Framing the issues

Wellington region is making some gains in pedestrian safety, and casualties are decreasing with increasing usage. However, the safety of the pedestrian environment is not improving to the same extent as the motor vehicle environment. Pedestrian casualties as a proportion of total casualties are increasing. Safety needs to be an integral feature of this strategy with safety improvements integrated to service level provisions and programmes such as Safe Routes to School and Walking School Bus.

There is also a need to move the region toward consistency of pedestrian provisions across RCA boundaries. This requires the identification of appropriate best practice standards. GWRC has a role in coordinating and advocating for this approach. As a region we need to ensure pedestrian requirements are adequately taken into account during planning activities. Ideally TA and GWRC expectations need to be aligned and opportunities for this will stem largely from future plan changes and District Plan reviews. We expect TAs and GWRC to work together closely in these processes.

A wide body of pedestrian statistics is available from varying sources (ACC, LTSA, SPARC, local authorities, regional councils etc). Some information has been drawn together in this strategy to capture the pedestrian profile in the Wellington region. However, clarity is needed regarding the information each agency has at hand and the programmes with which they are involved. Information sharing, facilitated by GWRC, will assist in coordinating pedestrian programmes among agencies.

The strategy

The objectives for the Regional Pedestrian Strategy are:

1. Ongoing development of pedestrian route connectivity and accessibility.
2. Improved safety (perceived and real) of pedestrians from traffic, the physical environment and crime.
3. Maintain advocacy towards best practice pedestrian provisions and funding availability.

The strategy action programme is an integrated package of interventions. GWRC has a clear role in facilitating and monitoring strategy implementation, however the effectiveness of the strategy relies on commitment from all key stakeholders, particularly from RCAs in establishing a pedestrian review programme for their respective roading networks.

A10.2   Toronto City Bike Plan - structure

The six spokes

For more information, please visit the Toronto City website.

A10.3   North Shore City strategic cycle plan – quick wins

lnitiatives that could be completed within 2 years of adoption of the cycle strategy:

• Citywide Cycle Safety Campaign - to improve safety and accident prevention
• Introduction of over 14 km of new cycleways including
  • 8 km of strategic cycle network
  • 4 km of local cycle network
  • 2 km of green cycle ways
• Installation of cycle parking facilities for at least 100 bicycles throughout the city
• Introduction of new facilities at ferry terminals
• Trail of first Bike Aid programme in New Zealand, which will aim to
  • Install additional parking at key employment & education sites
  • Improve cyclist security
• Completion of cycle infrastructure audit
• Adoption of National Cycle Design Guidelines for cycle network design
• Investigation of Driver Improvement Programme with LTSA
• Bid for additional cycle scheme funding to Infrastructure Auckland

A10.4   Auckland regional walking strategy – vision and objectives

Strategic policy for pedestrians

Our vision

The Auckland region is safe, easy and enjoyable to walk in.

What do we want a walking strategy to do?

Walking in the Auckland region needs to be recognised and valued as a mode of transport for all ages. Pedestrians are legitimate road users, their needs and rights in the roading environment need to be well understood, and the use of ‘best practice’, pedestrian supportive urban planning, roading design and transport management methods are required.

What will be the outcomes?

We are seeking by 2015 that Auckland will be a region where:

• The region's communities are walkable (safe, direct and pleasant for pedestrians, with a variety of destinations within walking distance);
• Walking is a natural choice (rather than the car) for short journeys in and around local communities;
• The use of walking is on the increase and pedestrian injury rates have declined; and
• That higher levels of pedestrian activity have resulted in an increase in community cohesion and safety.

Our objectives

1. To facilitate pleasant, safe and direct access for pedestrians, ie, a walkable community where a variety of destinations are within walking distance.
2. To increase walking's modal share, in particular for short trips and for trips where walking is the only mode of transport used.
3. To improve pedestrian safety and the perception of pedestrian personal and physical safety in the Auckland region.

A10.5   Tauranga District walking and cycling strategy – objectives, strategies and actions

Objective 1: Recreation

To promote and enhance the opportunities for recreational walking and cycling in Tauranga District.

Objective 2: Accessibility

To make walking and cycling a more viable and convenient way of getting around Tauranga District.

Objective 3: Safety

To improve the safety of walking and cycling in Tauranga Dsitrict.

Objective 4: Funding

To ensure that adequate funds are available to implement the objectives and actions of this strategy.

A10.6   Christchurch City cycling strategy – key principles and policies

Key principles

A set of key principles has been developed to provide guidance for those strategies that include or impact upon cycling but fall outside the influence of this strategy, such as the MCTS, RLTS and NZ Transport Strategy. This hierarchy of solutions may also be used as a practical tool at a locational level in the network plan (for example, when considering developing cycle routes).

The hierarchy of solutions in the following priority order is:

1. Traffic reduction
2. Traffic calming
3. Intersection treatments and traffic management
4. Redistribution of the carriageway
5. Cycle lanes and cycle paths

Policies

Policy 1 - Provision of a cycle network

To ensure the continued development of a cycle network for Christchurch.

Policy 2 - Provision of cycle routes

To develop cycle routes for Christchurch that:

• consider the needs of all cyclists and potential cyclists (including children, inexperienced adults, elderly people, people with disabilities, communter adults and sports cyclists)
• recognise the national cycle design guide (supplement to Austroads Part 14 - Guide to traffic engineering practice - bicycles, 1999) currently being produced as an aid to the National Walking and Cycling Strategy

Discussion

This updated strategy recognises that enhancing the physical environment is a key method to reduce cycle collisions, increases the number of people who like cycling, and thereby increase the number of cyclists.

A network is a series of routes connecting destinations. Developing this cycling infrastructure can enable cyclists to travel more conveniently, feel more comfortable and safer than without them. The network is planned to cater for existing and increased future growth.

A10.7   New Plymouth District cycle strategy – quantifiable targets

Progress made in meeting the objectives and working towards the vision of this strategy will be measured against the following targets:

CT1

To define a strategic cycle network by June 2004.

CT2

To establish by way of the LTCCP, a percentage of capital investment in new transport infrastructure to be spent on cycling specific schemes.

CT3

To achieve a reduction in the rate of cycling casualties equivalent to over a third by 2012.

CT4

To increase the proportion of commuter trips made by cycle from the estimated 2001 level of 4% to 6% by 2007, and 9% by 2012.

CT5

To increase the proportion of school students who currently cycle to school at an annual rate which enables a total level of 35% to be reached before 2008 and 50% to be reached and maintained before 2012.

CT6

To increase the proportion of the general population who cycle for recreation both on and off the road, at an annual rate which enables a total level of 20% to be reached before 2008 and 35% to be reached and maintained before 2012.

CT7

Strategic cycle network (as defined) to be completed by 2012.

CT8

To ensure the proportion of cyclists who are satisfied with the provision of cycle parking in the CBD, transport interchange points, new developments and recreation areas grows at an annual rate that enables a total level of 70% to be reached and maintained before 2012.

CT9

To ensure the proportion of cyclists who are satisfied with the provision of secure covered bicycle storage and shower/change amenities at the workplace grows at an annual rate which enables a total level of 60% to be reached and maintained before 2012.

A10.8   Christchurch City walking atrategy – monitoring

It is important that information about the pedestrian environment and pedstrian movements is gathered regularly to give a base for on-going decisions to be made in the area of implementation. Data is also important as a means of analysing changes and trends in provision and perception, which will help to find out the level to which the strategy is being implemented. The indicators listed previously form the basis of the monitoring programme.

Data available

There is a variety of information available related to aspects of the pedestrian environment, however there is a need to develop more data sources for some of the indicators. Some current indicators (types of data collected) include:

• A nationwide Census - carried out every five years by Statistics New Zealand, it gives specific geographical information about the means of travel to work - including walking.
• Annual residents' survey - this is carried out by the Council every year. This survey covers issues such as resident's perception of the quality of the pedestrian environment.
• City Streets Unit Performance Monitoring survey - carried out for the City Streets Unit every year, this document contains a number of questions relating to walking.
• Pedestrian counts - a count of pedestrian numbers at different sites in the Central City is conducted by the Institute of Valuers every two years. In addition to this the Council will periodically survey the number of pedestrians in various areas related to specific projects.
• Pedestrian Activity survey - a three-yearly Council survey, which aims to highlight types of pedestrian activity within the Central City.
• Pedestrian Safety Campaign monitoring - this is carried out by the Council annually to monitor the effectiveness of pedestrian safety campaigns and to find trends in pedestrian and driver attitudes.
• Household Travel survey - these are conducted periodically by the Land Transport Safety Authority to monitor travel patterns in order to investigate exposure to risk.
• Crash database - this is held by the Land Transport Safety Authority and contains the reports of all road crashes. This is reported annually.
• Specific surveys and focus groups - periodically there may be surveys undertaken to investigate the general or specific feelings of the public or groups of the public, toward the pedestrian environment.
• Feedback from the public - there is ongoing feedback gathered from public enquiries and requests, particularly related to the provision of infrastructure.

A10.9   North Shore City cycling atrategy – conclusion

What this strategy will do for the people of North Shore City

This strategy aims to outline what we can do to encourage cycling across the city.

Too often we find people really enjoy cycling or clearly indicate they would like to cycle, but cite many (justifiable) reasons why they don't. In this summary we address many of those reasons and hope to show in plain English just what this strategy will do for people on the North Shore.

I don't cycle because it's too dangerous

• Over 70 kms of new cycle lanes will offer cyclists more protection.
• Safety training will ensure children and motorists are better equipped to travle around the Shore by bike.
• Bike Aid and Road Safety will encourage Bicycle User Groups (BUGs), which will encourage safety and cycle training.

I don't cycle because it's too hilly

• Our cycle network has been designed to complement the local terrain wherever possible. Local routes and recreational routes will be selected to cross less hilly areas so that cycling is easier.

I don't cycle because there's nowhere to park my bike safely

• Bike aid and our bike-parking programme will provide over 1000 new secure parking spaces across the North Shore.
• Bike parking will be placed in visible areas to deter vandalism.

I don't cycle because it's too far

• 90% of the population will live within 1500m of the strategic cycle network. This network will make cycling more convenient and easier.
• Remember - the more you cycle, the fitter and quicker you'll become.

I don't cycle because it's too hot and I sweat a lot

• Our Bike Aid initiative aims to provide cycling facilities for local organisations and businesses. This means organisations can apply for grants from North Shore City Council to get facilities like lockers, showers and bike racks fitted on their site to encourage cycling.
• Regular cycling means you get fitter and will sweat less - then again you can always wear more deodorant.

I don't cycle because I'm too old

• Our green cycle ways offer a gentler alternative and a safer introduction to cycling. These green ways are more suited to leisure and short distance cycling.
• Remember cycling has less impact on the body than many other forms of exercise.

I don't cycle because I'm not fit enough

• The range of different networks means inexperienced cyclists could begin on shorter journeys using the local networks or green ways and slowly build up to longer journeys. This strategy will provide different types of networks for cyclists of different abilities.
• Through working with local communities or BUGs, cyclists can gain confidence and fitness to make cycling easier.

I don't cycle because it's always raining

• This cycle strategy can only do so much! However, statistics show that if you were to cycle to work every day, you would only end up wet on 12 days of the year (but that's statistics for you).

A10.10   Central Otago District walking and cycling strategy – trends

Census data

Trends emerging from data for Central Otago have been analysed and are shown below. The overall trend in Central Otago from Census statistics shows that since 1986, walking and cycling to work have been steadily declining. Combined travel to work by these modes has declined from 28% to 18%. These data are illustrated in Chart 1 below.

Chart 1: Travel to work trends by walk and cycle 1986-2001

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Note: In this graph a communter is someone that travels to work; it does not include those that work from home.

We know that 4968 people travelled to work in Central Otago on Census day in 2001. The Census recorded 873 people who walked or cycled to work, a significant proportion (nearly 18%) of all those who travelled to work. As noted above, however, this figure has fallen from nearly 28% in 1986.

For Central Otago's more urban residents, walking and cycling are more common than for rural residents, as might be expected.

A10.11   Manukau City cycling and walking strategy – cycle count data

Cycle counts

Bicycle counts were conducted in April 2004 at several key intersections on arterial routes across the city during weekday peak times. The bicycle counts provide a snapshot of the frequency of cyclists on the main arterial routes at selected locations.

The counts were spread over a period of three days and comprise of a snapshot of a ‘typical’ day of bicycle movements across the morning (7-9am) and afternoon-evening periods (3-6pm). The results indicated that the most popular cycle route was via Old Mangere Bridge - an important route for sports and recreational cyclists. Other more popular routes include St George St/Kolmar Road (Papatoetoe) and Great South/East Tamaki Rd - possibly linked with travel to the MIT in Otara.

Figure 3.5 - Data of bicycle traffic counts, April 2004

Location	7-9am	3-6pm	Total
Old Mangere Bridge	49	52	101
Great South Rd/Te Irirangi Dr/Cavendish Dr	16	32	48
Great South Rd/Orams/Browns Rd	16	27	43
St George Rd/Kolmar Rd	35	37	72
Great South Rd/East Tamaki Rd	37	44	81
Massey Rd/Buckland Rd	12	26	38
East Tamaki/Otara Rd	22	33	55
Total	190	257	447

International comparison

A comparison of Manukau City with selected cities overseas identifies that higher levels of cycling and walking are associated with the following factors:

• Higher population density - the population densities of European and Asian cities are generally significantly higher than those of American or Australian cities.
• Modest levels of road provision - Asian and European cities have only about 12-30% of the level of per capita road provision of that found in American or Australian cities.
• Lower overall car ownership and use.
• High levels of public transit.

A10.12   Tasman District cycling and walking strategy

Type of facility	Walking responses	Cycling responses
No dedicated facilities	Approval: 20%	Approval: 30%
Road-side footpath 1	Approval: 76%	Approval: 40%
Road-side footpath 2	Approval: 84%	Approval: 85%
Shared off-road facilities for cycling and walking	Approval: 89%	Approval: 90%

Participants were also invited to add comments on specific services and facilities they would like to see Council provide. The most common facility requested were:

• Appropriate links between Nelson and Richmond, including continuation of the Whakatu Drive and Main Road Stoke cycleways.
• Dedicated cycle lanes on the direct commuter routes.
• Cycling and walking links between smaller urban settlements, particularly in Golden Bay where smaller coastal settlements (eg, Pohara, Rangihaeata) are linked by arterial roads (SH60, Abel Tasman Drive) that, in places, are unsuitable for cycling, walking or riding horses.
• Links to existing and new recreational resources such as Rabbit Island, beaches, Saxton Sports field and established Council reserves.
• Specific off-road pedestrian facilities linking residential areas to schools, particularly where the children have to walk down high volume or high-speed roads.

A10.13   Hastings District walking strategy – for footpaths

The urban area of Hastings has 415km of footpaths, along 265km of road. The Council is responsible for maintaining all of these existing public footpaths, as well as for ensuring that new footpaths are constructed to appropriate standards.

The Council's Road and Traffic Engineering Standards specify road reserve and carriageway criteria. Local streets with less than 200 vehicles per day, or 25 houses, are only required to have a single footpath. All other urban roads require two footpaths. There are no specific requirements for minimum footpath widths, but reference is made to the Austroads Guide to Traffic Engineering Practice, Part 13 Pedestrians and the New Zealand Standard 4121: Code of Practice for Design and Access for Disabled persons.

About half of all footpaths in Hastings are 1.5m in width, and about a third are narrower than 1.5m. Around 10% or 40km of existing footpaths are narrower than the nationally recommended minimum width of 1.2m.

A clear width of 1.5m allows a wheelchair and a pram to pass each other, and 1.8m is required for two wheelchairs to pass comfortably.

While pedestrian crossings aid walkers to cross the road safely, too many crossings reduce their effectiveness as drivers lose their respect for them. Compliance with recognised pedestrian crossing warrants is therefore important in not only providing for pedestrians but also providing for their safety.

Not all pedestrians have full visibility, and many blind and visually impaired pedestrians need extra assistance to enable them to walk safely. Approximately 3% of the population is blind or vision-impaired. They are unable to drive vehicles, so they rely on walking as their independent mode of transport. To provide for these users, footpaths should be constructed with reference to the recognised RTS14 document Guidelines for Facilities for Blind and Vision-Impaired Pedestrians.

It should be remembered that there can be a number of other uses of footpath space. These include street signs, parking meters, cafes and seating, shop displays, and street furniture. The minimum widths need to be widened to allow for these. Footpaths can also provide space for wheelchair users, pushchairs, young cyclists and runners.

A10.14   Rotorua District cycleway policy – principles of planning for cycling

Cyclists' needs

Davies (1996, pp.9-10) states: “Providing cycling facilities should not be an objective in itself. Cyclists do not want cycle facilities per se. They want routes that are fit for cycling . . . With the increase in traffic volumes and speeds, many roads have become less attractive for cycling; and the design of new roads has often ignored the needs of cyclists. However there is little prospect of constructing a totally separate cycle route network that . . . avoids all existing roads. Planning for cycling must therefore start from the premise that, whatever special facilities are provided, the [urban roading] network should be made as convenient and as safe as possible for cyclists.”

Davies (1996, p.10) recommends that the following hierarchy of measures be considered before a design solution is chosen for any particular section of road or urban area:

1. Traffic volume reduction
2. Traffic calming
3. Junction treatment and traffic management
4. Redistribution of the carriageway
5. Cycle lanes and cycle tracks.

These measures are not mutually exclusive. Measures higher up the hierarchy [(1) or (2)] will help ensure that lower measures will either be successful or be unnecessary.

Case studies cited in Mathew (1995, p.57) show that bicycles account for between 14 and 43 percent of all trips in the centre of some European cities. The high cycle usage has been achieved as a result of combinations of traffic restraint measures, traffic calming, parking reduction and the development of cycle networks.

Cycle route network planning

“In order to plan in a rational and comprehensive way, and to integrate measures to assist cyclists with other transport or planning developments, it is important to identify a cycle network. Network planning is not intended to imply that cyclists should be restricted to a limited set of routes, but it is a tool to help set priorities and to ensure route continuity.” (Davies, 1996, p.12)

A10.15   Auckland City cycle and walking strategy – principles of planning for cyclists and walkers

Designing for pedestrians and cyclists should not take place as an ancillary activity to designing for motor vehicles. Safe pedestrian and cyclist friendly environments take heed of the principles detailed below.

• Implement a hierarchy of solutions, including traffic reduction, traffic calming, reallocation of road space and expansion of facilities.
• Plan land use so that there is a reduced need to travel distances longer than can be travelled easily by bicycle or on foot.
• Take a positive approach.
• Providing infrastructure is not enough; education, enforcement and encouragement are also needed.
• Access rather than mobility is important.
• Integrate cycling and walking into every level of the planning and engineering process
• Improve intermodal integration.
• Use landscape and urban design to create attractive routes.
• Provide for recreation as well as transportation.
• Provide a network with linkages.
• Provide routes for cyclists, not cycle routes.
• Create safe environments from the outset.
• Traffic modifies pedestrian behaviour.
• Pedestrians have diverse characteristics that must be recognised.

 

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Page created: 7 October 2008