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By BarbC, June 11, 2013

You may have read the Auckland Transport blog item on Auckland Transport’s proposed trial of 2 bike cages at Papakura and Papatoetoe Train Stations (render at right).

We’re very glad to see this happening. To our knowledge the best public transport bike parking in Auckland is currently provided at the Devonport Ferry Terminal, where there are 120 parks, most of them undercover and protected by CCTV cameras. The recent Cycle Action/AT on-line survey of bus passengers using the Northern Busway told us that poor bike parking at the bus stations is a major factor influencing people’s reason not to cycle to all of the stations (is it any surprise to hear unsafe road conditions got top rating in the list of dislikes?).

AT’s recent Auckland-wide on-line cycling survey (publicised in a previous blog and in which many readers participated), confirmed these general issues holding back cycling uptake for transport.

So what’s to do? AT and Cycle Action are gearing up to audit the number, type, location and condition of all bike parking at PT stations and town centres.

The next step will be to prioritise replacement bike parking, the goal being to provide secure and undercover at PT stations in the first instance. It is also important in town centres to remove  those ‘balloon’ or ‘lollipop’ racks that strangle and twist your bike the moment you tie it up and step away, and replace them with conveniently located racks which provide secure support for the bike.

Undercover could be also needed in town centres – we’ll be keen to hear how you value this.

We’ll also need your help to identify which bike racks are preferred,  to tell us how the 2 trial bike cages are working out, and what priority you place on improving bike parking for PT nodes, compared with parking in town centres.

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By BarbC, June 2, 2013

Still no time to give you a photo, sorry – but here’s a tempting taster instead. As I suspected, this discussion has attracted comments on red light running by cyclists – and justifications for it.

This is the perfect segue for the highly topical presentation that Daniel Newcombe has offered to give Cycle Action friends and contacts later this month. It is the result of a very useful study he has completed, analysing why, how often and in what situations cyclists run red lights. He has compared the frequency with pedestrians and car drivers running red lights at the same intersection. More importantly Daniel has made very practical recommendations on what can be done to respond to the learnings from his study. We’ll be keen to hear at the presentation how our partners and colleagues at AT and NZTA will be applying his practical advice. 

Our editor will release details of Daniel’s presentation in a few days. We know there will be lots of interest – we’ll make it a FB event so you can all RSVP. 

A request was published on our FB yesterday. I am publishing it here, as I fully endorse the message. I know it will raise a storm from those who passionately reject bike helmets, and others who believe that red lights do not need to be observed by cyclists.

As Chair of Cycle Action I spend alot of time debating these issues. Politicians and members of the public frequently raise them when I do public presentations for cycling. I respect the differing views on both helmet wearing and red light running, but I would prefer to spend my time working to achieve more safe cycle routes, including those with road strips that are triggered by  all cyclists.  The helmet issue is not a priority for Cycle Action – so we accept the law and  support helmet wearing. Red light running is not acceptable by any road user in my opinion. I therefore thank John McKillop for writing this FB item and support his request.

“Had an interesting ride today from Newmarket down to Britomart (well, actually, that was only part of a lovely 60km ride) when I was followed by a lady and a bloke. I knew she must have been a lady as she was wearing a beautiful, open at the front, flowing red coat; beautiful brown calf length brown boots; gorgeous flowing golden locks; and a lovely handlebar basket decorated with lovely flowers. I thought she was probably a member of Frocks on Bikes. The bloke was quite plain by comparison.

What was really fascinating about the lady was that she was carrying her crash helmet in the handlebar basket. I thought that that was really great use of the basket and it set off the flowers beautifully. The bloke wasn’t wearing a helmet either, but he wasn’t bothered about taking his along for the ride.

Once down in to Customs St they got to the intersection of Customs and Fort and both decided that red lights were not aimed at them. Then, at Gore St, they decided again that red lights were meant for cars, and not bicycles, as they turned left in to Gore St and disappeared from view. I was tempted to follow to congratulate them on their impeccable riding style, but I had a ferry to catch.

So, if any of you guys recognise them from what I have said, please have a gentle word in their ears and let them know, even though they looked totally charming today, they did nothing to further the interests of cycle safety in the fair city of Auckland.”

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By BarbC, May 25, 2013

Today’s rain is forecast to move on by tomorrow , which improves the prospect of getting out on bikes. This could include a trip to Waiheke where cyclists and walkers are inviting us to join their celebration marking 2 years of car-free use of The Esplanade. It’s the short road around the headland between Blackpool and Surfdale (for those who struggle with the intriguing geography of  Waiheke;  it’s ‘over the back, and down the hill’ from Oneroa, the charming village of quirky shops you pass through after arriving on the island).

Auckland Transport and the Waiheke Local Board have decided to open The Esplanade to cars. This will end the 2 year time of safety, which has allowed local kids to walk and cycle to local schools, and created a unique haven for cyclists, horse riders and pedestrians to enjoy the tranquillity of this narrow harbourside route . The loss of the car-free status of The Esplanade will be sadly missed by visiting and touring cyclists, who frequent the road, as it is recommended on Fullers Ferries cycling map.

The celebration will have the relaxed and welcoming flavour that is characteristic of so much of Waiheke. We urge you to join in.

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By BarbC, May 25, 2013

We’ve been going great guns with our on-line survey about cycling to the Northern Busway Stations.

Since blogging about the survey last week, we’ve done 3  morning stints joining the early birds arriving at 5.30am at the Albany, Constellation and Smales Bus Stations. We started by arriving for the 6.00am buses, and staying until 9.00am. It was a bit bleak at first – but soon each of the stations was alive with fast buses arriving and departing, thousands of people arriving to the clean, well lit stations, some buying coffee before being whisked away to town and smaller numbers waiting for suburban- bound buses.  Albany, Constellation and Smales Stations all have booths selling hot coffee which you can take on the bus, which seems civilised.

We’ve handed out nearly 3,000 flyers for the survey, and in the process, met people keen to talk about how the bus feeders could be improved. Our overall impression is of a pretty slick service which is connecting the Shore to the Central City very well. Our response rate is good - 420 responses to the survey so far – and we’ve learnt lots about how the feeder buses and cycling could be made more attractive. We’re reporting the results officially to Auckland Transport on Monday. After that we’ll be able to share the results with you.

The survey will be live ’til mid next week. We’d love to hit the 500 mark for survey responses. You could help  - the survey takes only 1 minute, and is really easy to answer. 

If you know anyone living on the North Shore, north of Takapuna, please get them to fill it in. We’re keen to hear from everyone – cyclists and non-cyclists – who use the Busway now, or may at any time in the future.

Comments (17)

By BarbC, May 20, 2013

Last Thursday Cycle Action was at the Albany Busway Station handing out flyers for our on-line survey to learn how more people can be encouraged to cycle to the Busway. It’s a real buzz watching the empty buses pull in – passengers fill them in a few minutes and buses whisk them up to the Busway, to be replaced immediately by another empty bus. Passengers say the peak hour return trip from the University precinct is hectic, as the the North Star buses can’t cope with the huge demand. I hope AT is working to fix this – but we were hugely impressed by how the slick the operation is at the start of the day.

We used any spare moments to talk to bus drivers – they were all bursting to tell us how they fear sharing bus lanes with cyclists. I told them we feel the same about sharing with buses. All of the bus drivers were well disposed towards cyclists. The simple reality is their buses are very big and drivers have limited visibility to the rear; cyclists are tiny and flighty in comparison.

All of us have stories of bus drivers who don’t treat us with respect. Here’s a rare chance to learn how bus drivers feel. It pays us to do this, as we’re often in the same road pathway - 44km of the 280km of  ’completed‘ Auckland Cycle Network are on bus lanes. We’d love to change this overnight, but our shared use is the best we can do for now. In the meantime we want your ideas on what cyclists can do to improve our safety while sharing bus lanes.

The bus drivers’ describe that  they are careful to locate cyclists as they approach them, so they can pass them safely. They report that cyclists who were on their left on approach, often turn up on their right when the bus stopped at the lights. One woman bus driver reported her fright on Friday in hearing a cyclist’s helmet hit her right hand mirror as he passed the bus to reach the green stop box at the front of the lane.

This story confirms the hazards of our poor cycling infrastructure. We desperately need lead- in lanes to make stop boxes effective, as well as ensuring there are no more narrow bus lanes.  We’ve got a new project underway with AT to start fixing this.  In the meantime we need to share ideas on how we can respond safely to the bulk and lumbering moves of buses and our city’s cycling infrastructure. If we have enough good ideas, we’ll ask AT to help us spread the word to the cycling and bus communities.

PLEASE save your complaints for another time – give us your creative ideas NOW –  this is your chance to make bus lane cycling safer for you and our cycling mates.