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re #26405 (I don’t think that the threaded replies are working George).
Not sure why we’re so similar. I suspect that it has something to do with our similar anglo-sphere political system which obviously is not as adaptive as the Danish & Dutch ones for installation of cycling infrastructure.
We have lights like that. I tend to do both, run the red light if there’s no cars about or push the pedestrian crossing signal if there is. But have never figured out how to trigger them without the help of a 2,000 kg lump of metal.
I’m tempted to post a picture of our Mayor.
But anyway there are many weak links in our cycling infrastructure in Dunedin, one of the worst is coming up to the intersection at Albany Street in the University Precinct which requires you to change to the other side of the road on the busiest one way road in Dunedin. Also the bike lane on both sides of the road would be lucky to be a metre wide. That’s here;
The bike lane is unseen at your left and continues to your right on the other side of the intersection where you can see the patch of green on the asphalt. Recently they’ve changed the pedestrian lights so as you can actually travel across diagonally. But you’d likely need to dismount and there’s no signs telling you that the cycle lane continues across on the other side of the intersection.
But the picture I have is from South Dunedin about 5km away from the above. Once again it’s where you have to demount your bike to walk it across the pedestrian crossing. The cycle track is shared with pedestrians as you can see on other side of road and is of varying width. The track that starts across the road is probably the best in Dunedin but lasts only about a km.
Sorry for the bad quality, it was taken at dusk with a phone camera that seems not that great.
a) what incremental improvement would you recommend for this particular example, and
b) what kind of political and bureaucratic opposition this improvement would likely encounter (such as removal of parking, fire trucks, etc… )This road Bankfield Terrace shown leading off Kirkstall Road, Leeds (#26213) is probably the closest to what we have in Dunedin, NZ/Aotearoa being somewhat similar to some of the University precinct in North Dunedin. For example here;
Currently there is very little bicycle infrastructure in the University precinct and what is there is poor and often quite a lot less than 1.8 metres wide for example.
a. I’d prefer to turn Dundas Street into a cycling street as I would like to do to the entire University Precinct. But incrementally? It’d turn both Bankfield and Dundas into one way streets with traffic calming (speed bumps or judder bars as we call them locally, chicanes for the cars, a new word for me but which I gather means cars parked on either side of the street in 3/4 car increments, and a clear indication via colour of the road that bicycles are prioritised, Amsterdam red seems good but Dunedin seems to have decided on green. Also I’d include lots of spots to park bikes preferably with ability to lock them up as an unattached bike would disappear pretty quickly in North Dunedin. I can’t see why this could not be a simple metal ring set into the road which you can lift up to attach your lock chain to it (not sure if this is done anywhere).
b. The University Vice Chancellor, likely the Green Party Mayor of Dunedin and probably 70-90% of the city councilors would oppose this. As would the movers and shakers of this town who still havn’t had the good sense to move aside. Their focus is still on cars. The Green (in name only) Mayor Aaron Hawkins has shown no interest in cycling infrastructure (albeit he might not publicly oppose it) and there are several councilors (of 14) who definitely would actively oppose such measures. A few of the remaining councilors would probably just let the noisy ones decide so I’d suspect the majority of the current council would effectively oppose the measure. I have confidence in only one of the fourteen and he would be possibly curtailed by his own (Labour) party. The planners on the Council would also likely oppose it as they seem more keen on playing Twister;
Twister – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister_(game)
Council planners in action (this has been widely ridiculed in NZ) – https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/121557561/city-council-runs-circles-over-dunedins-main-shopping-streets
The Council’s long term plan for changes to the main shopping street, George St, are slightly better although not good enough mainly due to the cycle part of their plan including lanes maybe 1 – 1.5 metres wide which includes most of the current (there’s not very much) urban cycle infrastructure in Dunedin.
There’s literally no good cycle track in Dunedin, NZ/Aotearoa. This is the best of them and it’s about a km long and not very well used because it doesn’t really join up very well with other cycling infrastructure. You also frequently have to negotiate with pedestrians.
Hi Richard Seager, Dunedin Aotearoa/NZ more car centric here than just about anywhere else, PT & cycling just about non-existent. I’m a (retail) Business owner, with some postgrad in climate science and ran unsuccessfully for Mayor last year in a first run at political office. Doing this part of course on iPhone right now which is somewhat challenging so no links at bottom of this as they’re not workable
1. My expertise is mainly retail but I have done history, classics, programming, data science at undergraduate and climate science at postgrad level. I tend to a long view rather than a shot one. I’m well up to date, and not terribly impressed, with contemporary identity politics.
2. I have data science and analysis skills along with experience in using them. And I understand small business very well as well as having a very good understanding of the games that large corporates play. And am finely tuned into just how bad state of climate is.
3. E-Mail: cycling@wifoo.co.nz
Twitter: @cyclesnotcars cycling, politics,, climate, women’s places/rights
Website: richardsea.gr
Cheers
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