I can't believe how useful this iPhone application is. Anywhere in NZ I can take a photo of the street problem (car on path, overhanging trees), write a description the phone uses GPS to tell where I am. Press REPORT and it will send it to the council in charge of that area. And it works well.
A must use for any walking advocate
GetAcross is a campaign that has been lobbying and advocating for cyclists and walkers to get across the Auckland Harbour Bridge. LSA have been involved in supporting Getacross since its beginning. Its is a great project and will transform the way people use the bridge and connect our communities. Most importantly it will give a transport choice in these uncertain times.
By Lynn Sloman
Green books ltd, UK, 2006
This book is pretty in depth so would be best for someone with some experience in pedestrian and transport related issues. If you live in Christchurch it is available from the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology library.
The book covers the following subjects:
Transport Minister Steven Joyce has launched the Safer Journeys strategy.
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.
Walk2work Day is on March 10th 2010. We asked some people about their walking habits - check it out at http://www.livingstreets.org.nz/walk2work2010/stories
TELL US YOUR STORY by emailing walk2work@livingstreets.org.nz
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.
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 suggested including burning the arrows off the footpath, marki
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)
Check ou the events map for an event near you http://www.livingstreets.org.nz/walk2work2010/eventsmap
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.
For some Groups a blog may be relevant so it is here in case it needs to be used.
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 submission.
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.
Well done Sport Northland on some well deserved coverage!
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. Full story on the BBC site.
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.
For more info click here.
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.
