Resources

A brief overview of transport and the context within which transport is provided in the Gisborne District.

Statistics, works completed, trends in condition, use and costs for roads - compiled annually by NZ Transport Agency using data received from each territorial authority in New Zealand.

Statistics, works completed, trends in condition, use and costs for roads - compiled annually by NZ Transport Agency using data received from each territorial authority in New Zealand.

A comprehensive compilation of road safety crash and casualty data in the Waimate area.

An assessment of the key road safety issues on coastal Otago highways – used for targeting actions to reduce casualties.

An assessment of the key road safety issues in the Transit Region two - used for targeting actions to reduce casualties.

The road transport industry in New Zealand has been lobbying for increases in the allowable mass limits for heavy vehicles on the basis that this would give increased efficiency and benefits to the economy. Some of the proposals for increased mass limits involve increased axle load limits which would clearly lead to additional pavement wear. Road controlling authorities, while sharing the industry’s aims for increased efficiencies in the road transport system, are concerned that any additional pavement wear generated by higher axle loads will be paid for, so that the standard of the roading network can be maintained. At present (2005) Road User Charges (RUCs) are based on the fourth power law, which was developed from the AASHO road test in the United States in the 1950s. The pavements and vehicles used for that test differ considerably from those in use in New Zealand today.

A cycle train is similar in approach to the ‘walking school bus’ – adult volunteer ‘conductors’ cycle along a set route to school, collecting children from designated ‘train stops’ along the way. They are well established in Belgium and are beginning to appear in the United Kingdom. Previous research in New Zealand found a high level of interest in the cycle train concept, leading us to design and conduct a trial for implementing cycle train networks here.

This research explores the potential for the ‘network-planning’ approach to the design of public transport to improve patronage of public transport services in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Network planning, which mimics the ‘go-anywhere’ convenience of the car by enabling passengers to transfer between services on a simple pattern of lines, has achieved impressive results in some European and North American cities, where patronage levels have grown considerably and public subsidies are used more efficiently.

The C-roundabout (cyclist roundabout) is a new multi-lane roundabout design (developed as part of a 2006 Land Transport NZ research project Improved multi-lane roundabout designs for cyclists) that aims to improve the safety of cyclists at multi-lane roundabouts and make multi-lane roundabouts more cyclist-friendly. A C-roundabout was installed at the Palomino Drive/Sturges Road intersection in Auckland and was evaluated between 2008 and 2011 in terms of its safety, capacity, and the opinions of cyclists, pedestrians and car drivers. The C-roundabout successfully reduced vehicle speeds to 30km/h, which is close to the speed of cyclists. This made the roundabout safer for cyclists, as well as for other road users. The installation of the C-roundabout at this uncongested site had little impact on capacity. It drew positive feedback from cyclists and pedestrians, but about half of the car drivers were not in favour of it.