Getting there - On Foot, By Cycle - Priority 1 Part 2

A strategy to advance walking and cycling in New Zealand transport 

February 2005

'Living Streets' redesign of a busy Christchurch road benefits walking and cycling

Christchurch City Council is committed to applying a 'Living Streets' approach to all its street planning, aiming for 'better quality of life and greater range of community and street activity'. This is good news for Christchurch pedestrians and cyclists.

Cryeke Road is a particularly interesting example of a 'Living Streets' project because:

• it is a relatively main road (designated an 'arterial road', which implies precedence for through traffic - yet even in this situation, the level of service for walkers and cyclists was increased as well as that for motorists
• the project introduced the 'Living Street' concept as part of routine engineering - in this case, scheduled kerb and channel replacement - rather than as a discrete retrofit project; this saved costs and enabled a better, more integrated result.

Creyke Road carries around 15 000 motor vehicles and 600 cyclists per day, and has 1 200 pedestrian crossing movements on the curving, one kilometre section included in the project. This section is bordered by Canterbury University, 100 homes, a school, a research facility, a motel and a petrol station.

The redesign aimed to reduce traffic speeds without reducing traffic volumes or travel times, and to improve accessibility for other modes of transport, notably walking and cycling. This involved working with the entire 20 metre road reserve. Measures included:

• narrowing the road carriageway, enabling (typically) a 3.2 metre traffic lane, a new 1.8 metre cycle lane and up to a 5 metre berm on each side of the centre line
• footpath widening near the university, where the highest pedestrian numbers were expected; some public art was also included in the project but was placed so as not to interfere with pedestrian flow
• turning lanes at intersections and - opposite these - islands; the turning lanes increase motorists' level of service, especially during peak times, by preventing turning vehicles from hindering the main road flow; the islands help make it easier for pedestrians to cross the road
• removal of two-thirds of on-street parking - residents, with ample on-site parking, supported this; there was opposition from students, but the 70 spaces lost are in a context of some 3 000 overall campus car parks
• provision of bus bays and parking bays at selected locations
• significant tree planting along the berms and in the (three) islands - berm trees make the road appear narrower, and road curves and island trees keep vistas short, encouraging slower, safer traffic speeds.

The project involved extensive consultation with residents and other stakeholders. A collaborative approach generated a wealth of ideas from which technical staff could formulate the project design, checking back with stakeholders in an iterative process.

Monitoring before the project showed average traffic speeds of 49 kilometres per hour (85th percentile, 55 kilometres per hour). This will be compared with post-project monitoring.

Another case of cycling improvements being worked into a routine arterial road engineering project was on Hamilton's Te Rapa Road, a major artery into the city centre from the north. Here, under reconstruction of the roadway to save maintenance costs, traffic lanes were slightly narrowed and new cycle lanes and bus bays were provided, along with the imposition of an on-street parking ban. The only cost additional to the maintenance project was that of the bus bays.
 


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• Strategy Document (PDF v7.0, 2156kb) 
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