This paper describes the main findings of the Auckland Self-Explaining Roads (SER) project and outlines some actions and recommendations for advancing the SER concept in New Zealand.
In seeking to optimise the use of existing infrastructure and develop more vibrant shopping centres by creating places/spaces that people want to visit, many Councils are seeking to reallocate road space.
Policy discussion about walking in New Zealand tends to assume that walking to work or school will happen in cities, whereas people will only walk for pleasure in natural environments or parks. Are concepts such as passeggiata, promenade and flânerie only for Europeans, while New Zealanders prefer a bush walk? I will argue that walking in cities can and should be a pleasure, and that encouraging recreational urban walking will also encourage mode shifts for commuting.
Walkable communities mean accessible communities: where economic opportunities abound and where access to opportunities is enabled via transportation. How then are these communities created? How can better information be provided to decision makers about the benefits of providing improved accessibility? And how accessible are our existing communities?
Increasingly, major sporting events are looking to walking as the main mode of access to venues and as a link to public transport. Good pedestrian planning can have a signficant impact on the success and public experience of a sporting event.
Quantifying the quality of the walking environment is possible using the NZTA Community Street Review methodology but the required resources to undertake citywide surveys are significant. Practically speaking, it is unrealistic to consider a local authority would undertake large area or citywide surveys. The problem is if a local authority doesn’t understand the quality of their walking network, they may not be able to identify areas that are affecting suppressed demand, links that reduce the overall environmental success of an area, or specific el
During January 2010 I had the opportunity to attend a transport conference in the City of Adeliade South Australia. I would like to share the interesting and innovative pedestrian facilities which I discovered throughout this city.
In particular I would like to suggest the need to better integrate our urban design, urban form and pedestrian facilities.
I will discuss pedestrian school slow zones, tabled pedestrian crossing, quality urban design and some Australian research about what people enjoy on off-road shared paths.
The 2009 Walk21 conference in New York was an opportunity to see at first hand the pedestrian revolution taking place around Times Square and other areas of Manhattan.
The main driver for New York’s plan was not pedestrian congestion, but road safety. In 1990 there was one pedestrian death every day on the cities streets. This has been reduced to the lowest figures since records began in 1910, with senior fatalities on the pavements dropping 43% in just one year, due to the ‘streets for seniors’ plan.
Julie is a transportation planner with McCormick Rankin Cagney consultants. She is passionate about sustainable transport and sees an extraordinary opportunity to achieve better economic outcomes and more liveable cities with innovative approaches to defining and solving transportation problems.
There is considerable evidence to show that the built environment is strongly correlated with levels of walking for transport. Moreover, its widely understood that walking is the most accessible form of physical activity, which can contribute to improved public health. However, significantly less is known regarding the relative influences of the built environment on walking for leisure. This paper begins with a discussion of physical activity and the health benefits of walking.
Living Streets Aotearoa is the New Zealand organisation for people on foot, promoting walking-friendly communities. We are a nationwide organisation with local branches and affiliates throughout New Zealand.
We want more people walking and enjoying public spaces be they young or old, fast or slow, whether walking, sitting, commuting, shopping, between appointments, or out on the streets for exercise, for leisure or for pleasure.
