Safety

The problem with footpath parking

A letter to the Wellington City Council’s Infrastructure Committee


I am a pedestrian.  I use footpaths for walking and occasionally for running.  When people park their cars park on the footpath, in such a way as to prevent me from passing, I am forced to walk or run on the road.  If I am on my own, this is an annoying inconvenience and creates a minor risk to my personal safety.  This inconvenience is increased on rubbish collection days when recycling bins, wheelie bins and rubbish bags are also on the footpath.

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Community street reviews and audits

 

Community Street Reviews were developed by Living Streets Aotearoa, and further developed and supported by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). They are an ideal method for assessing pedestrian satisfaction and the quality of the walking environment.

See the method here on the NZTA site.

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Drivers should concentrate on the road, not on their cellphones

Motorists who talk on handheld or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunk drivers, according to a University of Utah study.

Living Streets Aotearoa applauds the Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, for seeking to ban cell phone calls and texting by drivers.

“Drivers should concentrate on the road, and not on their cell phones”, says Celia Wade-Brown, president of Living Streets Aotearoa.

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Quality of Life survey acknowledges Wellington's walkability

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.

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Submission on Draft Auckland Regional Road Safety Plan 2008-2012

Organisation:             Living Streets Aotearoa

Contact person:         Gay Richards

Address:                     PO Box 25 424, Wellington                           

Email:                          gay.richards at livingstreets.org.nz

Phone:                         09 373 7599 ext. 84640

Date:                           14th August 2008

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Barriers and motivators for owners walking their dog:

results from qualitative research (Link to abstract) This qualitative research explored the relationship between dog ownership and dog-related, social environmental and physical environmental factors associated with walking with a dog.
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En-route to more footpaths

Good news for pedestrians and cyclists - more new footpaths are to be built around the district thanks to a change in funding policy from Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ). The Government�s transport funding agency has approved funding for a large proportion of the �higher priority� footpaths identified in Thames-Coromandel District Council�s draft Cyclin
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Txting ties up the brain as well as the hands!

Living Streets Aotearoa President, Celia Wade-Brown, says the Government's proposal to ban hand held phones is welcome but doesn't go far enough.

"It's not just the physical distraction, it's the sense of the driver being absent from the real driving situation. Trying to catch a driver's eye as a turning cyclist or pedestrian waiting at a crossing is MUCH more difficult if the driver's on the phone."

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Star rating school walking routes

This project demonstrated that it is feasible to objectively rate the safety performance of individual road crossing points, as well as to provide indications of overall route safety, focusing particularly on the abilities of children using the route.
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About Us

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.

JOIN US and help with our campaigns