I think we'd settle for trains that could run at 100km/h between those centres! Right now it's not even 50km/h average between Auckland and Wellington.

This is what cities aspiring to be great, international cities, or at least liveable cities do: Invest huge amounts of money in public transport. Subway line, in the pictured case.

Slogan: "The people's subway, the people build, build a…

my brain has gone on strike but maybe someone else can link to Transport Blog comparing that gold-plated wish list with the cheaper and better Congestion Free Network they developed with GenZero.

Strolling past iRide in Thorndon on Saturday, and I saw a couple in the window. Went in and had a look and seemed to be two…

All the more damning in the face of a projected $60 billion transport spend for the region over the decades to 2040.

If I was doing that on the flat, with only light pedaling, I'd expect the cops to stop me and check out the bike. But how they…

Nope, 300W electric and that's it: http://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicle/your/low-powered.html If you've got more than 300W or an infernal combustion engine, but are limited to 50kph you mjight have a moped rather than a motorbike, but either…

I've had pretty good success over the years for getting off unjust fines just by writing a letter. If there's anything doubtful at all in there, it seems like they would rather not have a court…

That would be something you'd need to discuss with the officer on the spot. Given the ignorance of many officers about bicycle-related laws I personally would accept the ticket and decide whether to pay it or fight it depending on…

I guess a shaft drive fits that definition. It's geared.

My mistake, the current rule is purely based on wheel size and human power. Under 355mm it’s a toy, over that it’s a bicycle. See traffic control definitions for example. Australia and other countries generally use something like “A bicycle is…

Quite. What would be the point?

A bell, reflectors, at least one brake, a chain drive are in the law directly, and by implication handlebars since it’s an offense not to hold onto them. The rest is optional including the frame and seat.

The whole “Bike…

Aren't bikes officially supposed to have bells and mudguards, etc?

I'm sure it could be done. It just seems like overkill until there is actually a serious problem with poorly maintained bikes on the road. Police can and do enforce the basic safety laws…

And yet we manage it with cars.

It's a problem quite out of control in Stockholm, from what I've read, and they don't have bicycle registration. I suspect that it rapidly becomes unwieldy and unmanageable when applied to even…

If you could provide any evidence for that, I’d…

That's a key thing. In most of NZ, especially in Auckland, cycling is enough of a hassle (and game of Russian roulette) that requiring and enforcing a WoF requirement for bicycles would…

Far from it. In Davis, CA all cycles had to be registered. And cycle cops…

Ok I have to address this because it is a failure to understand how bicycle helmets are constructed and worse it leads to the belief that cycle helmets can protect from all kinds of impact.

This statement is absolutely true for motorcycle…

There's at least one bike shop in Wellington that runs bike-maintenance courses.…

Completely anecdotally I can say that since I got much brighter lights, both front and rear, I’ve noticed vehicles giving me a wider berth and drivers noticing me from greater distances (when they are ahead and possibly going to pull out…

Can I put this “must have a helmet at sale” idea to bed by saying that statement is utterly false. You can sell a car in any condition whatsoever. You can sell it…

Considering the money going into that intersection, I bloody hope the cycleway gets some look in. Ideally, since they're remodeling the entire thing, the cycleway would continue beside the motorway all the way…

I couldn't find anything either – I failed at intertubes

I see that there's another one further down from me which suggests that drivers aren't stopping at the stop signs. I hate cycling downhill…

No we can't.

But because we can't fix ALL the intersections is not a reason to not fix the ones we can and fix the ones with the most problems.

And I'd probably say that it wouldn't…

One thing obvious from that map, and no real surprise, is that like most car accidents, it's mostly about intersections.

To some degree bike lanes along roads have little impact on the safety…

Bicycling.com article was quite interesting to read. Also expensive, am about to order a couple of new helmets, despite my current helmet being nearly new. I like my brain!

Actually, technically, no you're not. It's not enforced, but it's against the law to use the right-hand lane if you are not travelling at or above the speed of the traffic in the lanes to your…

Because drivers are a very large constituency and they have well-funded advocacy groups.

Earlier posters noted the difference in attitudes 100 years ago and how the street has been transformed in favour…

Rightly so. In NZ we take the attitude that the person with the gun is responsible for not shooting his/her mates while hunting.

Why then are drivers, who are also in charge of a lethal weapon, not asked to take…

Perception is constructive and selective (as repeated in Psychology 101)

In broad terms we see what we want to see. More accurately put, we extract and make use of those parts of vision that are important or of interest to us. Two well used…

Personally I don't think we should have a helmet law, the stats are compelling.

But equally I strongly believe wearing a helmet is a hell of a good idea. That article…

Yes, as (what I think is very powerful) the latest driving ad campaign for taking care whilst driving shows, all people on our roads can…

Too blunt. My sole cyclist/pedestrian incident occurred when a pedestrian stepped out in front of me a car length ahead, from between parked cars. Snapped my headset, gave me whiplash (my head got forced backwards), and was utterly, unarguably…

I heard recently that there's at least one school in Wellington (in Lyle bay somewhere, I think) that has put in cycle-lanes around the inside of the perimeter of the school so that new riders can practice riding their bikes without having…

It's also worth noting that the new road upgrades around the State Highway 16 expansion and the suburban links to New Lynn have off…

"We can't just keep talking about solving our core transport projects – we need action," said Mr Barnett.

His comments come more than three years after Mayor Len Brown promised to investigate safer cycling for CBD streets.

But it took…

Might be worth asking for an official report from AT about what maintenance levels they're applying to such a truck-heavy part of the network.

Wearing my elected rep hat – learning that BDO was going in at Western Springs I immediately asked officers to require the promoter to provide lots of bike parking. For obvious reasons its such a brilliant location to bike…

“Mt Roskill has 7-8 kms of off road cycle paths and roads have been engineered around local schools making them safer for children to walk to. His goal is for every child in Mt…

There are clearly choke points around the city that need special attention like the Parnell Rise. Cycle Action have [[http://caa.org.nz/key-projects/l|a list…

"Roads were not built for cars" appeared in the…

"Part of Auckland being an international city is how efficiently and safely we move people, goods and services around the city.

"Over the past five years there have been too many cycle deaths, showing a need for a…

And indeed the concept of jaywalking, which…

But they're really stressful seconds, which means they shorten the motorist's life as well as wasting their time. Add that to the health cost of driving and the motorist may well be losing three times that directly lost time. Counter that with…

Even then, assuming 15 kph (which is really slow), waiting a full minute behind the pack will mean you travel 583m less than you would have had you been traveling 50 kph.

Your journey would be 42 seconds longer. That does assume you…

Sacrilege to the ears of traffic engineers. It's a root belief that must be firmly overturned to solve many transport problems.

A couple of quick thoughts spring to mind about these intersections, on Quay St/Lower Albert is it cyclists travelling through the intersection while the pedestrian phase is running? On Tamaki Dr are the numbers high due to pack cycling? At Tamaki Dr/Paterson Ave there…

This case is hitting me a bit, as I used to ride down stanley street (on the footpath, I would never in a million years be on the road where that concrete truck is) and…

If the road is narrowed down by those stupid "traffic calming" features, or for some reason isn't wide enough accommodate a car and cyclist simultaneously, sure, keep the…

See the point above about "If you can't DRIVE safely and legally, don't drive".

Honestly, any time you find yourself wanting to say "yes but" is a good time to think very hard about what you're about to…

Well they are allowed to ride two abreast.

If you are following such a pack ride they will almost certainly be doing 30-40 kph or more. In most places this is slightly less than the speed limit. In most cases driving behind them for a…

Dude the sweatiest part of my second hand bike is NOT going to be the helmet :).

Auckland Transport

"If you can't DRIVE safely and legally, don't drive" would be more germane.

If we applied that guideline there'd be a lot fewer private cars and a lot more publiuc transport.

Complete side issue: I found out recently that NZ rules…

It certainly is. And it’s not a good look for Auckland Council, at all. They’ve ignored the recommendations, and completely misled the public about its contents.

Didn’t mean…

You mean there are people who only own one bike? Man, that's real poverty. More seriously, most of the people I know who commute…

Currently having a conversation with a pedant on Twitter, pursuant to that picture. Money quote: “If you can’t ride safety and legally,…

Having just started biking again, the first ride home saw me crash (and break my helmet) because I was trying to go from the road to the separated bike-lane over a curb that was…

I upgraded my bike from a cheap beater to a more suitable town bike within a year — helmet did not need an upgrade.

The council tends to be glacial to act on their recommendations but there have been a number of wins.

I do encourage people to sign…

If you think it's time to upgrade your bike then your helmet probably needs an upgrade.

If you plan to sell your…

Sounds highly relevant – trucks wreck roads unless maintenance frequencies are shortened. This government's directing of expenditure away from local road maintenance into building more highways has left major roads with sub-standard surfaces. Mr Tangiia was…

Also only two intersections. The Mt Albert/Dominion Rd intersection would give quite different data as would intersections in light industrial areas.

However, they chose two intersections where there are a lot more cyclists ... almost like they were trying to prove some pre-determined hypothesis.

You also shouldn't be able to sell a bike without a helmet.

Not that you shouldn't be allowed to ride without a helmet.

Moz, thanks for this reference. I've just started biking to work and am impressed by the progress made developing separated Sydney cycle routes but hadn't heard of Bike Saint (publicaddress now serving as a source of information about…

I've tried this, but the combination of braking, turning and looking in…

Cycle path designers have to work quite hard on this one. The speed range is greater than most roads have to deal with, from recreational cyclists with kids doing 5-10kph through to serious cyclists* doing 60-70kph.

Commuting cyclists really feel any breaks in…

Yes. Our transport authorities spend considerably more money reworking roads to be more forgiving of driver error than doing the same for cyclists.

Effectively that's the case now, since the cyclist is in the wrong by virtue of not being allowed to…

Footpaths will not suit the serious riders! In Melbourne despite…

More:
http://transportblog.co.nz/2013/11/25/more-lessons-from-bilbao/

Exactly. We seem to have this idea that people should behave perfectly on the roads, or…

I’d rather people saw my mobile disco.

I am not sure about much safer you are.

If you have ever navigated a boat at night, you would realise how confusing lights can be when you have no spatial clues.

At…

Oh well, I guess I'm just going to break that law. I'd rather people saw my mobile disco.

"...Compulsory equipment
A red or yellow rear reflector that is visible from a distance of 100 metres when light shines on it.
Good brakes on the front and back wheels (or, if the cycle was made before 1 January 1988, a good brake on the back wheel).

When cycling…

Is it legal for trucks? Sometimes on the highways at…

It doesn’t directly involve cycling, but I found it telling browsing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLaTupw-hk|the YouTube comment thread under…

So far, the closest calls have…

Which I do as well in certain places.

BUT when I'm on the footpath, I'm the danger.

So I slow right down to near walking speed and give any pedestrians the right to what is, after all, their space…

I’m also not a cyclist, but I’m a frequent pedestrian (and I drive when I need to). To me it’s…

However, the Cycling Advocates' Network of NZ is calling for a review of the helmet law.

"It was expected to…

My wife and I had a difference of opinion on this, this morning. She read the Herald report and seethed about cyclists using the footpath, and not giving way to pedestrians, and she's got a point, in Wellington, at least. I tried…

True when there is a cycle lane leading to the green box, but there are other situations where it is illegal, but hardly either dangerous or any hazard to the drivers. I tend to slide up the left in some queues but there are others…

Queue-jumping isn't illegal per se. That's why stop-boxes are there at intersections — you're supposed to get…