April 2025 Newsletter
https://www.cyclewellington.org.nz/april_2025_newsletter
Calls to action
Let regional councillors know: Bikes on buses needs fixing!!
It is past time that our public transport providers get their services carrying bikes on buses again. Cycle Wellington is becoming increasingly frustrated that this valuable capability is still inaccessible in our region.
Nelson has managed to get their bus services carrying bikes again back in February! Christchurch will be returning some service of bikes on buses back during daylight hours, starting on 16 April.
Take action!
Talk to your regional Councillors, especially if you use travel on a bus with your bike - even only from time to time. Tell them how much you value this option, and why it's past time that we see this issue resolved.
Contact regional Councillors by phone, in person, or email ([email protected]). Tell them why you care that these facilities are re-enabled quickly and how the disruption affects you or your friends’ ability to get around.
Keep our safe speeds - Sign the petition
Julie Anne Genter - MP for Rongotai is seeking 500 signatures to accompany her letter to Chris Bishop asking the government to exempt the imposition of speed limit increases on local streets. The recently lowered limits are working well and supported by the community. Local authorities shouldn't be forced to implement these changes against the wishes of their residents.
Cycle Wellington encourages people to sign and share their petition, as the speed reversals proposed will affect some of the new cycling facilities and put people driving and some cyclists in more danger from faster vehicles. The streets affected are: Adelaide Road: from #498c to #535; Rintoul Street: from #11 to #77; The Parade: from #1 to #32. Speed was a key consideration in the design and delivery of very recent project designs, so it makes no sense to raise the speeds of general traffic.
Read the letter and sign here.
Submit on the Long Term Plan Amendment
Closes Midnight 21 April 2025
Cycle Wellington recommends Council adopt Option 2 - Medium debt headroom and $202m–$314m investment fund.
Cycle Wellington argues that the Council needs to continue investing in the cycling network at a high rate. Given that the Government has reduced support for the programme of building cycleways, the onus now lies with our council to prioritise enabling people to get around in safe, healthy ways. Option 2 allows for the retention of ongoing higher investment.
Let the council know your views on them taking longer and delivering lower quality overall than what was envisioned and originally intended. Tell the council how having safer, more connected and comprehensive cycling access will improve your life and the ability of your family to get around in healthier, more cost effective, and climate-friendly ways.
Share your feedback: Berhampore to Newtown
With the final piece of the southern route complete and in use, WCC are seeking feedback and thoughts from all users of the Berhampore to Newtown section. Please use their survey to give your thoughts and help them understand what is working and what could be improved.
Please support CAN
Cycling Action Network need to raise $30,000 to resource future operations. Thanks to generous supporters they are just past half way!!
Can you donate today or sign up to contribute monthly to ensure cycle advocacy continues at a national level? Please also share with and encourage your friends and networks to help grow CAN’s membership and support base.
Upcoming bikeness
Next Cycle Wellington Meeting
6pm Tuesday 6 May 2025
Sustainability Trust, 2 Forresters Lane, and online.
Central city routes workshop
Over the past three years, Wellington City Council has been delivering the Bike Network Plan, creating new connections for people travelling from the suburbs into the city. Now, the Council is working on two central city routes to improve connectivity and access to key destinations: from Te Ara Tupua (at the Wellington Railway station) to Aro Valley and the base of Brooklyn Hill, and from Te Ara Tupua to Oriental Parade.
As part of this early design phase, the Council is seeking insight from people who ride in and through the central city. They’re particularly interested in hearing how people currently navigate the area by bike, any challenges or constraints along the way, and where safety concerns arise.
The Council will attend the Cycle Wellington meeting in May to run an interactive workshop and invites people who ride, or want to ride, to share their experiences.
Recent goings on
Park2Park bike activities and guided rides
We loved seeing so many folks of all ages, abilities and ancestries who joined in to celebrate the completion of the routes connecting the waterfront to the south coast. It was a magic day. Thanks WCC and Bicycle junction for organising!
Completion of this corridor is a huge milestone. It was wonderful to celebrate together and take a moment to reflect on all the hard work and input from the community and council to realise this for our city.
Thanks to everyone who made a submission, spoke to the council, spoke to our Councillors, and rode their bikes. It takes all of us to keep pushing for a healthier city.
A wheely good time to be in Wellington
Supporters of Cycle Wellington Katie and Svend are returning overseas to Denmark soon after living in Wellington for the last four years. Read their story having lived here during such an exciting time for cycling.
Mayor Tory Whanau gets a shout out
Check out this inspiring piece on Women Mayors Making a Difference around the world, including our own Mayor Whanau!
New NZ road deaths dashboard
The new NZ Road Fatalities Dashboard created by Timothy Welch - Co-Director: Future Cities Research Hub at The University of Auckland, provides frequently updated analytics on when, where, and how people are dying on our roads.
It reveals:
- How deaths are distributed across days, months, and regions
- The impact of road type, speed limits, and holidays
- How 2025 compares to past years
- How few days we go without a fatal crash
Some figures are hard to ignore:
- 70% of fatalities occur in high-speed zones (≥80 km/h)
- Over 1 in 4 deaths are vulnerable road users — people walking, cycling, or riding motorcycles
Cycling in NZ: Quick Rules Finder
Chun Sing Goh, an advocate in Auckland, has created an interactive dashboard designed specifically to make New Zealand's cycling regulations accessible and comprehensible to everyone.
This free, open-access tool eliminates the need to sift through dense legal documents. Instead, it offers:
- Streamlined Access: Find exactly what you need without wading through irrelevant information
- Clear Organization: Key regulations presented in plain language, directly sourced from the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004
- Confidence Builder: Ride with greater assurance knowing you understand your rights and responsibilities
- Accessibility: Making cycling knowledge available to everyone, removing one more barrier to sustainable transportation
WCC
The results from the Aotearoa Bike Challenge in February are being compiled.
A monitoring and evaluation report for the Bike Network programme rollout so far is being prepared with an eta in June.
To learn more about the complexities of collecting and conveying transport data in Wellington you can watch this excellent briefing given to council by Sean Audain recently:
Investigation works for city streets work (ex- Let’s Get Wellington Moving) is starting.
Stage 2 Evans Bay Cycleway work will begin after the seawall engineering is completed.
Stayed tuned for six new Traffic Resolutions involving minor improvements for parts of the bike network. These are being prepared for consultation. More details will be available in May.
The Regulatory Processes Committee meeting on 9 April heard submissions on the investigation to revisit the design of a section of Glenmore Street. Debate and any vote on next steps was postponed to the following meeting at the request of the new WCC CEO, Matt Prosser.
Thorndon Quay
- Construction update
- Tinakori Road intersection
- Cycleway update
- Paving honours awa
- Small business support
- Help spread the word...
Thorndon Connections
- Next steps
- No right turn for cars into Pipitea Street
- Molesworth Street lane changes from late 2025
Summary results of the Hiko eBike trial in Wainuiomata
In December 2023 the HIKO project loaned e-bikes at no cost to 25 Māori and Pacific adults (aged between 16 and 69) living in Wainuiomata, a low income, hilly, suburban community close to Wellington in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Read more about the research results from this great project from Dr Caroline Shaw.
Everything you thought you knew about roads is a lie
Watch this excellent video out of the UK inviting more people to think again about what it means to invest in transport and how putting all eggs in the roads + cars basket is not a sustainable strategy.
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