Safer cycling key to success of the Cycle Trail project

Tuesday, 10 November 2009, 11:30 am
Press Release: Green Party

November 9, 2009

Safer cycling key to success of the Cycle Trail project

The turning of the first sod in the New Zealand Cycle Trail project will hopefully mark a turning point for central government’s commitment to cycling in New Zealand, said Green Party Cycling spokesperson Kevin Hague today.

“The Cycle Trail network will, over time, become a key piece of infrastructure delivering health, recreation, community development, and environmental benefits well in excess of its costs…if it is done right,” said Mr Hague.

The Green Party is working jointly with the Government to realise the vision for a national cycle network. The Government recognises the Green Party’s particular expertise in active modes of transport, especially cycling.

“The tourism benefits of the Cycle Trail project are obvious. Less obvious are the massive health benefits that will flow from encouraging more New Zealanders to get back on their bicycles, provided they feel safe on their saddles.”

The Cycle Trail project has a highly successful precedent overseas. The UK National Cycle Network (SUSTRANS) was started with seed funding of £43 million in 1995. The Network now consists of over 10,000 miles of signed cycle routes carrying 386 million journeys in 2008. That usage realised £270 million in health savings and offered potential carbon emissions savings of 493,000 tonnes.

“For every £1 spent on the UK’s cycle network, they’re now realising up to £18-£40 in benefits, particularly where the cycleway runs through urban areas,” Mr Hague said.

While the potential economic benefits of a national cycle network are huge, they ultimately depend on cycle safety.

“If visiting overseas cyclists feel unsafe riding on our roads while visiting, their enthusiasm for our cycle trails back home will be muted, at best,” said Mr Hague.

Wheels4Life

Fantastic project former Mountain Bike World Champion Hans Rey is working on, called Wheels4Life.

Wheels4Life is a non-profit organization that provides bikes for people in developing countries in need of transportation to get to work or to school, including health care workers. Wheels4life was founded by extreme biking legend and former Mountain Bike World Champion Hans Rey [hansrey.com].

New Zealand transport strategy takes baby steps

08 August 2008

This week the Minister of Transport, Annette King announced that the NZ Transport Strategy’s (NZTS) combined target for walking and cycling is 30% of all trips in urban areas by 2040, almost double the present figure. To help meet this target, the budget for walking and cycling will more than double over the next ten years.

‘The updated NZTS indicates a real culture shift’, says Cycling Advocates’ Network (CAN) spokesperson Stephen McKernon. ‘It recognises that,

• cycling, walking and public transport are keys to improving transport reliability
• improving access to stations by cycling and walking are critical to encouraging public transport usage
• investing in cycling and walking is real value for money, as it makes much better use of space and resources.’

But CAN is questioning the government’s targets and timetable for change.

‘The government needs to increase walking and cycling much faster than at present if it is to achieve a more sustainable transport system within decades,’ says McKernon. ‘Baby steps are simply not enough.’

‘While the NZTS recognises the case for walking and cycling, targets and funding for these modes do not support the desired growth towards sustainable transport.’

‘At present walking and cycling take place with minimal support. In fact, the dedicated budget for walking and cycling is about 1% of the total. Doubling the budget will have a negligible effect on the growth of these modes, as the budget will actually still be about 1% of the total. These numbers don’t stack up against the stated targets. At this rate walking and cycling will only just be keeping pace, not growing.’

‘We estimate the budget needs to increase by a factor of five to even begin to achieve NZTS targets. Increasing walking and cycling requires a range of measures to make them both appealing and safe, especially for commuters. These include promotion of walking and cycling, motorist education, cyclist training, improving paths and roads for walkers and cyclists, reduced road speeds, and ways of ensuring that all roading projects fully support walking and cycling. It takes a network of actions to achieve change.’

ENDS

CAN has developed a 9-Point Plan outlining immediate steps towards meeting NZTS targets

There are 1.3 million cyclists in New Zealand. These cyclists alone account for about 5% of all kilometres travelled per year. As noted, dedicated funding for cycling and walking (combined) is about 1% of the total, and will remain so for at least a decade.

source:http://can.org.nz

Radio New Zealand Dan Burden interview

A very interesting and informative National Radio nine to noon interview of Dan Burden, walking and cycling specialist. Dan Burden lobbies for cities to be more walking/cycle conscience and tried design their towns accordingly.

File Size:7.7MB Dan Burden
Date: (Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:25:00 +1200