Ōtautahi Christchurch Future Transport

2024-2054

Submission from Spokes Canterbury

Reference: https://letstalk.ccc.govt.nz/FutureTransport

Tēnā koutou katoa

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft Ōtautahi Christchurch Future Transport 2024-2054 strategy.

Introduction

Spokes Canterbury (http://www.spokes.org.nz/) is a local cycling advocacy group with approximately 1,200 followers. Spokes is affiliated with the national Cycling Action Network (CAN – https://can.org.nz/). Spokes is dedicated to including cycling as an everyday form of transport in the greater Christchurch and Canterbury areas. Spokes has a long history of advocacy in this space including writing submissions, presenting to councils, and working collaboratively with others in the active transport space. We focus on the need for safe cycling for those aged 8 to 80. Spokes also supports all forms of active transport, public transport, and has an interest in environmental matters.

Proposal

The next 30 years will see fundamental changes in our transport systems. From a climate change perspective, we need to rapidly electrify transport within a decade. This has the added benefit of reducing pollution and improved health, both physical and mental. Automation will change the way we travel. We need to move to more active and shared modes of travel, and significantly increase the use of public transport as Ōtautahi and the surrounding districts grow.

Vision

Our transport system is central to a more vibrant, prosperous and climate resilient district. It shapes and connects Ōtautahi Christchurch and Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula and enables everyone to move around safely and easily in a place that is great to live in.

Q1. Overall, do you support Ōtautahi Christchurch Future Transport? Why / why not?

Somewhat.

For the most part it is a good plan. It has the ambition to change the way we move about the city for the better. It highlights the importance of transportation choice, including increasing public and active transport as the population grows and the city intensifies, with a focus on a liveable environment. It acknowledges the challenges of climate adaptation, increasingly intense weather events, the possibility of future earthquakes and tsunami, and other challenges.

Therefore vibrant, prosperous and attractive cities will be those that have moved away from fossil fuels and private motor vehicle use (even electric and hybrid vehicles) the fastest, and prioritised efficient healthy alternatives such as greater active transport, public transport and shared mobility services. The plan underestimates the rate of change that will be needed to move to net zero and the impact that will have locally, nationally and internationally. The price of fossil fuels will become increasingly volatile as will the reliable shipping of fuels.

Q2. Strategic challenges – do you agree with the strategic challenges identified in Ōtautahi Christchurch Future Transport?

Somewhat.

2.1 An equitable transition to a low-emissions transport system.

Agree, however the speed of change needs to significantly increase to meet the city’s climate goals. Building safe and convenient cycle infrastructure and encouraging cycling, walking and other active transport is the best way to reduce emissions, as is moving rapidly to low emissions public transport, including the MRT. This includes adding more bus priority lanes, shelters and intersection prioritisation for public transport.

2.2 A more resilient transport network.

Agree. A resilient transport network is multi-modal and electric.

2.3 Managing growth well as our population increases and our city becomes more intensively developed.

Partially agree. Intensification done well is a positive. The challenge is to stop continued sprawl that makes public transport options more costly to provide and the distances too great to use active transport so people have no option but to use private motor vehicles. Ōtautahi residents are increasingly looking at ways to live car-free, which developing technologies will increasingly support. Managing growth also needs to take into account all those outside Ōtautahi and Banks Peninsula who commute to the city who would use an MRT or passenger rail service, resulting in less city congestion.

2.4 Reducing deaths and serious injuries on the transport network

Agree but the goal should be wider. It could be reworded as “Reducing harm created by the transport network, including deaths, serious injuries, and impacts on physical and mental health”. This acknowledges the impacts of pollutants and noise on health and wellbeing. There is a wide body of knowledge showing the benefits of active transport for mental and physical wellbeing. Reducing fossil fuel use will have a major impact on respiratory diseases, including asthma. The best ways to reduce harm is to continue reducing speeds, increase active and public transport, and move all vehicles to fully electric. This is achieved through an excellent vision, strategies, policies, consultation, plans and infrastructure.

Q3 – Goals – Do you agree with the goals prioritised in Ōtautahi Christchurch Future Transport?

Somewhat

Well Managed transport assets

Overall Spokes supports this goal.

Road surface renewals are important but should also be based on need. Cyclists have different requirements. This includes smoother surfaces on the shoulders of roads where cyclists ride. Chip-seal resurfacing needs increased sweeping when first laid as loose material ends up in cycle lanes presenting a hazard.
Footpaths and refuges also need a maintenance goal, for example handrails which get damaged.
Park and reserve paths and alleyways are also a critical part of the transport network that need to be planned strategically and have ongoing maintenance. Parts of Europe deliberately plan their urban areas so it is faster and more desirable to use active transport.
We also need to plan for the future, including investing a bit more upfront during regular maintenance in anticipation of the construction of the MRT which could lead to considerable savings in the long run.
We strongly support the Pages Road bridge renewal
Ōtautahi should continue to plan and consult on infrastructure well in advance to be ready to take up any central government funding opportunities that should arise. The business case for the MRT should be reviewed regularly and be ready to go.
Fund research into a cheaper source of green road surfacing as this is an important part of cycle safety that is currently constrained by cost.
Bike parking should be directly funded through a specific budget, including a maintenance and replacement budget to replace all older wheel bending models (eg outside Fendalton Library)

2. A more resilient transport network

Spokes supports a focus on resilience.

Active transport tends to be more resilient during natural disasters.
Reducing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing locally produced electricity and storage will significantly increase resilience in Ōtautahi and Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū, and will protect against supply and demand issues in fossil fuels due to international issues out of our control.
There is no mention of rising heat risk which will have an increasing impact on active transport. Tree cover is an important mitigation.

3. A safer transport network

Spokes supports a focus on a safer transport network.

Separated cycleways that cover the whole city provide safety and confidence to cyclists. The 40% rise in use has proven the cost-benefit of building cycleways as more people choose to cycle.
The current government is no longer willing to fund cycleways, so we need to find cheaper (but still safe) ways to build temporary cycleways which will attract new cyclists. These temporary cycleways can be made permanent in the future when the government changes again. This can include traffic calming on quiet streets, putting in cul-de-sacs and other forms of modal filters, and upgrading alleyways or paths to make them more safe and usable day and night.
Create a better way to report near misses. This could use the snap, send, solve app. It would then be easier to identify priority areas to be upgraded.
Enable reporting of illegal parking by citizens via snap send solve or photographic evidence or fund 24/7 dangerous parking enforcement. A good start would be to start collecting data on the number of illegally parked cars in cycleways reported outside of current parking enforcement operating hours that nothing is done about.
The ability for pedestrians and active transport users to safely cross the road is important. Often a safe route can be compromised by one serious barrier to safe travel. For example, crossing Milton Street at Simeon Street.
Reducing speeds is the cheapest and most effective way to reduce deaths and serious injuries according to both national and international research. CCC should continue with the speed management plan consulted on in 2023 and install infrastructure to encourage safe driving speeds.
The rapid uptake of e-bikes, particularly by older people, should be taken into account. There is also a significant rise in different types of bikes and trikes that are larger and carry more people, including children.
A safer transport network also includes a healthier transport network.There should be a KPI aimed at a reduction in deaths from air pollution and a measure for increased mental and physical health. Noise reduction is also beneficial.
There should be an active programme focused on encouraging mode shift. CCC programmes in this area need a higher profile.
We fully support the road safety programmes.
We support cameras to reduce red light running, including at pedestrian and cyclist mid-block crossings.

4. An efficient transport network

An efficient transport network prioritises the most cost-effective transport options for the city that takes into account all direct and indirect costs and benefits. Active transport infrastructure, including cycleways, have a much higher cost-benefit compared with roading projects.

Encouraging mode shift to active and public transport creates efficient use of road space by reducing single occupancy journeys using motor vehicles.
Increasing active transport reduces road maintenance costs.
Moving freight from trucking to rail, particularly between the port and the inland port, would improve efficiency and safety on Ōtautahi roads
We support logistics hubs and low emissions freight distribution using e-cargo bikes.

Genuine transport choices for everyone

Spokes strongly agrees that improving the quality of alternative low-emission transport options on our transport network is one of the most important actions we can take over the next 30 years.

Significantly improve our public transport system

Cyclists often use a combination of bus and bike for a variety of reasons. Our public transport system should always have an option to put bikes on buses.
Fares on public transport have a significant impact on use. The $2 fares have increased patronage across the system and allowed greater accessibility for all. The current government wishes to increase fares, which will result in less efficient travel using private vehicles. Good public transport relies on frequency and volume of use.
Bring back the yellow shuttle to make it easier to get around the inner city.
We need to continue to robustly plan, consult and implement improvements in our public transport through PT Futures, working in collaboration with Selwyn, Waimakariri, ECAN and NZTA. This includes strongly advocating for a fair share of central government funding and the implementation of an MRT within 10 years
CCC needs to implement park and ride vehicle and bike facilities at strategic points as this is an effective way to reduce vehicle traffic into the city. Hornby and Halswell should be first.

Continue to build a safer, more connected, and attractive network for walking, cycling and other micro-mobility.

Spokes would like to see faster implementation of cycling infrastructure. In the current political climate this can include safe temporary installations of cycleways that will increase use and prove demand.
Investing in cycleways and other safe infrastructure in Ōtautahi has increased cycling to 6% (25% of national cycling to work trips). However this level of cycling has not been consistent across the city, as seen from the chart below, due to some areas not receiving their share of the infrastructure. The climate goal of 10% cycling by 2030 is achievable as we already have seven suburbs in Ōtautahi meeting this target, however it requires faster and consistent investment in safe infrastructure. Investment needs to be more aggressive in areas around schools and where there are planned higher densities of housing.
We need both the major cycleways and local connections to get to the cycleways and other desirable destinations. These often include safe ways to get across major roads that benefit all forms of active transport.
Review the use of existing cycleways and fix issues that have arisen. This includes fixing choke points where the cycling numbers are already well above predicted numbers. Choke points often include an inadequate amount of waiting space at intersections and too-short traffic signal phasing. Some cycleway intersections should be widened and multi-laned. A new bridge option at the hospital should be considered.
When paths are added or renewed in parks and reserves they should be evaluated by transport staff to see if they add benefit to the transport network and should be widened to allow for more comfortable sharing for pedestrians and cyclists.

Press article 5 Oct 2024 using data from 2023 census

Support residents and schools to try new ways to travel

Spokes supports safe cycle training for children and adults. Training for drivers of heavy vehicles, including buses, on how to safely share the road should also continue. The council should support bike ownership or sharing schemes for those that need it, including provision of helmets, lights and hi-vis.
Lack of safe bike parking has a negative impact on children cycling to sport and other activities. All our sports destinations should have adequate hooped bike parking. Also playgrounds need to have hooped bike parking

Enable the transition to low-emissions vehicles

Low-emission vehicles, in particular full electric vehicles, significantly improve air quality, greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution making the city more liveable.
Shared mobility schemes should be supported for sharing cars, bikes and scooters. This reduces the need for parking.
Creating hubs for renting and parking rideshare bikes and scooters in the central city and urban centres that do not rely on the footpath. In Shanghai they have taken one or two car parks for rideshare e-bikes in various popular places. These are separated out and clearly marked.
CCC should focus on encouraging the conversion of high fossil fuel use, high polluting, diesel, or stop-start vehicles that do the most damage. This includes urban buses, rubbish trucks, taxis, uber, delivery vans, and heavy vehicles used locally.
The council should incentivise the use of smaller, lighter vehicles, as opposed to heavier vehicles like SUVs where appropriate.

A vibrant and liveable city

Transport is just one aspect of a vibrant and liveable city. It also includes good quality and affordable housing that suits a range of needs, access to diverse green and blue spaces, and great amenities where everyone feels safe and welcome. Roads are more than just spaces for vehicles to travel through, they enhance where people live and can include green spaces. They are also not free long-term storage spaces for cars as of right.

Poorly designed transport systems that dominate the environment can divide cities and communities, make areas unsafe, and cut people off from the amenities they rely on such as local schools.

Vibrant cities encourage active transport and public transport. When you use active transport, including cycling, you are more likely to talk to your neighbours and to notice what is happening around you. This makes neighbourhoods more welcoming, inclusive and safer.

Q4 Anything else – Is there anything else we need to know before deciding whether or not to approve these plans?

Everything is covered above.

I would like the opportunity to present to the Council on this submission and I am happy to discuss or clarify any issues that arise.

Submissions Coordinator

Spokes Canterbury

submissions@spokes.org.nz