Prompted by Brendon Harre, I had a look at the population of each region in New Zealand compared to the amount of vehicle travel it has each year ("vehicle-kilometres travelled" or VKT). I took the populations from Statistics NZ, both the 2018 counts and the 2048 future projected population. I then took the vehicle-kilometres travelled … Continue reading Population versus Vehicle Travel →

There is a really important piece of work going on at the moment that will decide Christchurch's future for the next 30 odd years. I haven't heard a whole lot of talk about it, so I thought I'd draw people's attention to it here. The Greater Christchurch Partnership is a group comprising these eight organisations: … Continue reading Greater Christchurch 2050 →

This is a list of 8 things Christchurch is awesome at, that I think are underrated in the typical "what's the best city in New Zealand" arguments. 1. Christchurch has by far the longest tomato growing season https://twitter.com/tessairini/status/1390082028662521856 2. It has a superior system of curbside rubbish collection https://twitter.com/BanksyBeeBoo/status/1377462458592292864 3. The best whisky shop in … Continue reading Underrated Things Christchurch is Good at →

Despite their success, I still hear complaints about the cycleways we've built in Christchurch. I think a big part of this stems from a misunderstanding of who these are being built for. In some people's minds, the cycleways are being built to benefit a small number of smarmy, rich, lycra-clad, fitness-freak cyclists. In reality, the … Continue reading Who are cycleways for again? →

I went into town last Sunday to have some lunch and see what was going on. Unfortunately I didn't do my research and promptly found that half the streets in Christchurch were closed to traffic due to the Christchurch marathon. There were some quite lengthy detours if you were driving in from the north (which … Continue reading Has Christchurch got its Central City Right? →

Does spending $1.3 billion on the 4-lane highway above seem like the actions of a government who's just declared a climate emergency? Climate Group "All Aboard Aotearoa" doesn't think so, and are taking Waka Kotahi Transport Agency to court over their Mill Road project. Grab the popcorn - I'm looking forward to seeing how this … Continue reading What Does the Emissions Trading Scheme Mean for Transport Projects? →

It was the best of travel times, it was the worst of travel times... I was following a bus down Riccarton Road yesterday and was impressed with how efficient the new bus lanes are. In the evening peak hour this lane shifts around 800 people in 25 buses, compared to the traffic lane next to … Continue reading A Tale of Two Bus Lanes →

Cashel Street, Bealey Avenue, Lincoln Road. We give streets different labels based on their attributes. Streets tend to be narrower with more activity on them, Avenues tend to be wide and tree-lined, Roads are usually more focused on the through-movement function. Crescents are crescent shaped, Places are dead-ends.If anyone had ever asked me to guess, … Continue reading Different Names for Streets →

Canterbury have put out their draft Regional Land Transport Plan for public feedback, closing tomorrow (5th March). They have an online survey you can fill out which makes giving feedback very easy. This post is a very brief summary of a few things that stood out to me. The regional land transport plan sets out … Continue reading Draft Regional Land Transport Plan →

Christchurch City Council has set a target of net zero greenhouse emissions (excluding methane) for the city by 2045. (here) This follows on from our international responsibilities (e.g. Paris agreement) and national policies (e.g. zero carbon act), while also being based on what locals want. In 2019 Council surveyed 2,724 locals about climate change. 77% … Continue reading How will Christchurch Ōtautahi meet its carbon goals? →