News items

The Kaipatike Area Walks booklet, the third volume in the Explore the Shore series of booklets, produced by Margaret Scrymgeour, is now available. This booklet describes walking routes, with detailed maps, in the Kaipatiki area of Auckland's North Shore.

Congratulations to Margaret Scrymgeour, a member of Living Streets Aotearoa, for compiling into a handy booklet form a series of walking routes to help people explore the hidden walkways and small reserves throughout Auckland's North Shore. Margaret has been involved in walking activities on the North Shore for the past 30 years.

Living Streets-hosted innovative project, Greening the Rubble, is celebrating its first year in Christchuch with an award from the Civic Trust. Several mini parks are complete, others under construction, by a growing team of volunteers.

Living Streets and helpers turn Earthquake damaged land into parks.

On the Greening the Rubble project's website you will see how this project is making a difference in Christchurch despite the continuing earthquakes and aftershocks. Go to: http://www.greeningtherubble.org.nz

The Greening the Rubble project, will be run under the umbrella of Living Streets Aotearoa with grant support from Christchurch City Council. It forms part of a wider initiative to find temporary uses for empty sites across Christchurch, following the damage caused by the Canterbury earthquake on 4 September 2010; collectively known as Make-SHIFT. 

Rhys Taylor from Living Streets Aotearoa describes Make-SHIFT as “an exciting project to help put some fun and a visual welcome back into the inner city, through temporary public use of vacant spaces.

Napier Hastings and New Plymouth have been choosen from a short list as the two target Model Communities.

The two communities will receive $7.5 million for funding walking and cycling facilities to significantly enhance walking as a transport mode; creating healthy, safe, and economically robust communities.

Roads will be safer for pedestrians when actions outlined in the Safer Journeys strategy are implemented.

 “We applaud the move to change the give way rules for turning traffic”, says Peter Kortegast, President of Living Streets Aotearoa.  “Drivers concentrating on oncoming traffic, and whether they have right of way to turn, often fail to see pedestrians crossing at intersections, with tragic results.  Making intersections safer for all road users will cut the number of crashes.”

World Carfree Day is an annual celebration of how community life improves when freed from the noise, stress and pollution of cars. Every September 22, people from around the world get together in the streets and neighbourhoods to celebrate World Carfree Day and to remind the world that we don't have to accept domination by cars..