Living Streets issued a media release supporting the main thrust of the strategy, but expressing disappointment that the issue of slower speeds is not being addressed right away.
Walk for your life: Restoring neighbourhood walkways to enhance community life, improve street safety and reduce obesity
By Marie Demers, PH.D
Foreword by James O. Hull
Vital Health Publishing 2006
What a great book! Excellent for those new to walking advocacy.
This book looks at the hostile environment that has been created through urban sprawl and car dependence. Marie’s book offers some good reading on the burden being created by our sedentary lifestyle.
It's worthwhile taking action when you notice a problem area for pedestrians. Sometimes you can make a difference! Recently a walking advocate identified a
problem at the entrance to a Khandallah supermarket car park. There was no indication to motorists that they were crossing a
footpath and there weret even in/out arrows for cars painted on the footpath! He wrote
to the supermarket but never got a reply. However, the other day he was walking past the
supermarket and noticed that they had done everything he had s
The Tasman district council promote Walk2work day (March 10th 2010) in the Waimea Weekly.
Image: From left, Mike Tasman-Jones (Tasman District
Council Recreation Advisor) Tasman District Mayor Richard Kempthorne, David
Hill (Richmond Mall Manager) and Councillor Judene Edgar (and event organiser)
Is this what happens when an able bodied pedestrian suddenly joins the ranks of the less able? Has anyone else had experiences like this poor pedestrian?
Attending the Walk21 conference in New York was a great opportunity
to see first hand the changes being made in the city especially the new plazas
along Broadway. The results are very
impressive with 1,400sqm of new public space. They were hugely busy and have obviously been
well received by the city residents. Most
interesting perhaps is the minimal budget on which these changes have all been
made.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce has released a summary of the more than
1,500 submissions received as part of a wide-ranging review of road
safety. The summary of submissions is available at www.saferjourneys.govt.nz
Consultation on Safer Journeys is now finished. Living Streets Aotearoa and several of our local groups made submissions. The Ministry of Transport should have the draft Safer Journeys 2020 document ready by the end of the year.
Lots of Dunedin commuters took to the train on International Carfree day and travelled on a Taieri Gorge railway train into Dunedin. Living Streets Dunedin fuelled walkers at lunchtime by handing out snacks to those on foot in the Octagon. The Otago Daily Times reported on the day's activities
The Ministry of Transport has put out a discussion
document "Safer Journeys", asking for feedback on the priorities for improving safety on the
roads. This is of paramount interest for walkers as we are the most vulnerable
road users. More people would walk if they felt that our roads and the people
who drive on them were safer. So have your say - you can read the document and make an on-line submission here, or put your comments on the blog for inclusion in the Living Streets submissi
Congratulations to the Wellington City Council for turning a precarious Kelburn 'goat track'
into a walkway to provide safe access for pedestrians between Norway
and Plunket streets. Read more..
The 10,000 Steps Northland win of a Golden Foot Award got a good story in the Northland Advocate
A Northland fitness programme not only stepped up to the mark, it
set the pace at the inaugural national Golden Foot New Zealand National
Walking Awards.
The 10,000 Steps Northland programme has won the Living Streets
Aotearoa award for the country's best recreational walking programme.
Give 200 pre-teens in London pedometers to count how many steps they walked - and guess what happens. As part of a study into obesity, 11- and 12-year-olds were required to clip a pedometer to their waists. Researchers were surprised by the activity levels recorded in some obese children. Further investigation revealed some had attached their pedometer to their family pets. Guess you have to credit their ingenuity.
A school in New Plymouth has found a fun, positive way to make its Davies Lane entrance safer, and its students fitter.
Both
the school and New Plymouth District Council are encouraging parents
not to use Davies Lane for picking up and dropping off their children,
but to instead walk them to school from home or from their cars parked
elsewhere.
Findings in the recently released report in to short trip active mode travel in Wellington shows that 79% of respondents in the greater Wellington region had made a short trip up to two kilometres in the 24 hours prior to interview, which is a decrease on the 89% recorded in the 2006 survey.
One in four blue collar workers are at high risk of experiencing a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac problem in the next five years according to research carried out by workplace wellness provider, Vitality Works, a Scoop item reports.
The Quality of Life survey, made public today, asked residents in 12 cities to rank their lives in areas including health, crime and safety, and public transport.
Wellington came out on top, with just under 95 per cent of Wellingtonians ranking theirs as either extremely good or good, making Wellington the No 1 city.
The survey reports Wellingtonians believe it is generally a safe place to live. The city topped the list for people feeling safe after nightfall while in their homes, visiting the city centre, and walking in their neighbourhood.
It is not quite clear who has written the blog post featured here on the property information site Zoodle but it provides a good summary of the issues related to walkability and the U.S. service that provides WalkScores
Well it has been a long time coming but the LTNZ have finally published their guide to planning and designing spaces for pedestrians. In their words:
This guide sets out ways to improve New Zealand’s walking environment. It outlines a process for deciding on the type of provision that should be made for pedestrians and provides design advice and standards.
