Road User Workshops – 25/26 May 2012

Dunedin is the first city in the South Island to be hosting a Road User Workshop. These workshops are fully subsidised by NZTA,  facilitated by CAN and BikeNZ and are offered to Truck, Bus drivers and Cyclists for free.

The goal of these workshops is to get heavy vehicle drivers and cyclists together to get a conversation going so each group can understand how it is for the other on the road, leading to greater safety for all road users.

 In other words to sit in each others seats!  Literally! The cyclists take the drivers for a bike ride and the drivers take the cyclists for a drive and then they talk about the experience. Drivers are also asked to talk about an incident they may have had with a cyclist and this is discussed. Time is spent looking around a bus and truck, seeing what it looks like from inside a cab and getting an understanding of where the blind spots are and how we can cycle more safely.

These workshops have been very well received in the North Island and we are very excited about this one in May in Dunedin.  There has been a decrease of incidents, noted in Wellington, between heavy vehicles and cyclists since the first workshops were held there in 2008. We are looking forward to helping make our roads here, in Dunedin, safer as well.

The workshops are open to all truck and bus drivers and cyclists so if you are interested or know of anyone who may be, please spread the word and contact Spokes Dunedin for more information or to book a place.

Webinar: Delivering Cycling Projects: A win-win for councils and residents

Patrick Morgan and Jena Niquidat from Cycling Advocates Network (CAN) and Owen Mata from Hastings District Council will discuss how delivering cycling projects is a win-win for councils and residents. Learn how other cities are rolling out cycling projects and delivering benefits for business, health and liveability. Patrick will present examples and ideas from his Winston Churchill Fellowship study tour of Europe and the USA. Jena Niquidat will show how road user workshops, where bus drivers and cyclists swap seats, and The Good Bunch project are building a “share the road culture”. In NZ, Hastings and New Plymouth are 2 years into their Model Communities projects. Hear from Owen Mata about the successes and “lessons learnt” from the Hastings Model Community Programme (iWay) including the challenges of getting iWay delivered on time in a local government environment. For online viewing only, CAN members can access this webinar for free by contacting Mariyn Moffatt at SoLGM. SOLGM and non-members can register here ($).

We have confirmed space for a shared conference room (Rm 142, 55 Hanover Street) for an open group watching of the upcoming CAN/SOLGM webinar about cycle projects on Tuesday, 24 April.  Please publicize this to any interested colleagues that Spokes and IPRU will host free local watching of this webinar in Dunedin. We will have room for about 25-30 people . Please RSVP if planning on attending in person.

Where: Room 142, 55 Hanover Street (IPRU and GP Offices from the University)

When: Tuesday, 24 April – 9:50 AM to 11:30 AM (last half hour is for optional discussion).

RSVP: http://ipru.polldaddy.com/s/ipruinhouse

 

Preventing bike-truck collisions and minimizing harm

Following two recent crashes between cyclists and trucks in Dunedin, one of which was fatal, there’s been discussion about measures that could reduce the risk trucks pose to more vulnerable road users. Spokes and CAN have suggested a variety of options, and we’ll be following up with the relevant authorities:

• Lowering speed limits (even though the recent collisions apparently involved slow-moving, turning vehicles, safety could be enhanced if trucks didn’t have to merge into dense, fast-moving traffic)
• Improving visibility and signage at intersections, including advance stop boxes for cyclists and stop signs at busy intersections
• Equipping trucks with front and side underrun protection
• Providing road safety education for all road users

In London last year, nine of fifteen cycling fatalities involved collisions with trucks, mostly “hook” incidents in which a turning lorry hit a cyclist. An article in the Guardian discusses various proposals for reducing such collisions, including placing special mirrors at intersections to give truck drivers a better view of the blind spot to the left of their vehicles.

Could be a long time coming in Dunedin. In the meantime, if you’re out there on your bike among big trucks, here’s CAN’s advice about staying safe:

• Never cycle on the left-hand side of a truck, bus or car at an intersection, unless you’re in a separate lane.
• Avoid blind spots. Take up a visible position at intersections: well out in front and not by the left-hand kerb or close to a truck or bus.
• Wear bright, visible clothing. Use lights at night or in poor weather.

And if you happen to be driving a truck (or bus, or SUV, or Mini):

• Look twice for cyclists, especially those coming from the left-hand side
• Give cyclists plenty of space. Allow 1.5 metres between you and the cyclist.
• For truck and bus drivers: get the best mirror system you can to enable you to watch for cyclists on the left-hand side.

Erika Büky

Cyclist killed in central city crash

Spokes members are in shock after learning of the death of a cyclist on Castle Street (southbound SH1) outside the Dunedin Railway Station this morning in a collision with a logging truck. Few details have been released, but the Otago Daily Times is covering the story:

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/186463/fatal-accident-central-dunedin

CAN and BikeNZ have issued a press release about the incident.

As we learn more about what happened, we’ll be talking about what we can do to prevent tragedies like this. For now, our heartfelt sympathies are with the victim’s family.

Stay safe out there.

Erika Büky

Dunedin Beats New York

Recent counts by the DCC have estimated Dunedin’s bike commuters as making up between 1 and 2 percent of all commute traffic.  That doesn’t sound like a lot when we keep hearing statistics from northern Europe suggesting that everyone there starts cycling before they can walk; but it’s actually not bad compared to some other places.

A September 10 article in the New York Times quotes the numbers for some large U.S. cities:

Over the last 20 or so years, the percentage of New Yorkers who use cycling to commute has doubled, to 0.6 percent in 2009 from 0.3 percent in 1990, according to an analysis of census figures by John Pucher, a Rutgers University professor who studies bicycle trends worldwide. That still leaves New York behind Chicago, with 1.2 percent of commuters on bikes; Washington, D.C., with 2.2 percent; San Francisco, with 3 percent; and Portland, with 5.8 percent.

Maybe comparing Dunedin to New York is setting the bar too low. From personal observation, most of us would say that the number of cyclists in and around Dunedin is increasing. Over the next few months we’ll be hoping to get more systematic counts to confirm our impression: that more and more local residents are coming to appreciate the benefits of a low-cost, healthy, pleasurable way to get around. (A shout-out here to my friend K, whose bike is newly equipped with a rear rack and mudguard to get her to the gym and to work!) And we’ll be encouraging transportation authorities to keep up their efforts to make Dunedin safer and more friendly for people on bikes.

Erika Bűky

Should we shut up and go away now?

A British study has encouraged transportation planners to ignore the views of experienced cyclists and walkers when designing active-transport infrastructure, suggesting that it’s more important to solicit the input of those who don’t already bike and walk to find out what the obstacles are. The study is attracting plenty of comment from bike advocates and others.

What do you think?

Erika Bűky

DCC seeks feedback on their Strategic Cycle Network

The Dunedin City Council has announced their vision for a network of strategic cycling routes in Dunedin, and is asking for feedback from cyclists and citizens.

You can download a copy of the consultation documents from the DCC website at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/council-online/currently-consulting-on/current-consultations/strategic-cycle-network

The plan is a positive sign, a sign that the council might take cycling seriously as a transport mode and providing the basic infrastructure needed to allow a cycling culture to become established in Dunedin.

Spokes first impression of the document is that it is well worth supporting.  If the vision of this document becomes reality, we would have a useful network of cycle paths in Dunedin. Few of the proposed cycle paths currently have any funding or solid commitment from Council, or even any detailed planning work done. We would like to see the Council firm up its plans, and get on with implementing a decent city-wide cycle network. 20-30 years is too long to wait, we believe the network should be substantially complete in 5 to 10 years.

I encourage you to take 15 minutes to look at the plan, and send your own feedback to us and to Council.  We have until July 15th to put in a submission and let them know they are on the right path.

The link to send an online submission is http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/council-online/online-forms/strategic-cycle-network-implementation-feedback

Please also send your ideas and copies of your submissions to Spokes at hw@injurycontrol.com

Thanks

Alex King