This page contains blog posts and articles, in chronological order, relating to urban design + transport
Category Archives: Transport+Urban Design
Cycling Photos Sustainability Transport Transport+Urban Design Travel Urban Design Will
Visiting Barcelona’s Superblocks
2017, December 9 – 14:17
Barcelona in Spain is a city that suffers air pollution, much of it from transport.
Reducing dependence on cars for short trips is one way of tackling pollution, so on a visit there I looked at one of Barcelona’s tactics in weaning short journeys off the car: Superblocks. Here are some photos from my visit to the Poblenou neighbourhood.
Road capacity
2017, February 28 – 09:47
I wasn’t aware of this research by Botma and Papendrecht. A striking set of figures.
Cycling in Berlin
2016, June 13 – 20:19
Typical Berlin scene
We stayed in Neukölln, an inner suburb of Berlin, for a few weeks and looked at cycling infrastructure and how cyclists seemed to be faring.
Cycling in Barcelona
2016, June 3 – 06:50
I took some snaps of the beautiful cyclists of Barcelona -2016- May and June.
The experience of cycling here seems a bit of a patchwork, as in many big cities. Some segregated lanes have been built, some two-way -at the side of larger streets, or sometimes along the street centreline. But a typical ride would seem to involve a bit of painted lane very close to moving cars & vans, up & down the footpath for a few hundred metres, a quiet street where you’ll roll slowly to share with pedestrians, and some nice segregated lanes along a multi-lane arterial road. Then you’ll be left to fend for yourself on a stretch of one-way road, sharing with buses and trucks.
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Cycling in Taipei
2016, March 25 – 22:26
I was very lucky to be sent to VéloCity Global conference in February 2016 by my colleagues at Cycling Action Network in New Zealand, and Cyclist.ie in Ireland.
Report from VéloCity 2016 for Cyclist.ie
2016, March 25 – 22:10
Every second year there’s a global get-together for all those interested in the promotion of cycling. Transportation experts, mayors, town councillors, consultants for ‘liveable cities’, documentary film-makers -and of course cycling advocates- attend the Vélo-city Global Conference.
The European Cycling Federation organises the event, and this year it was held in Taipei, Taiwan. VéloCity Global alternates with the European-focussed VéloCity Conference. Next year this event will be in Nijmegen, Holland – the home of cycling for entirely different reasons, and the next VéloCity Global will be in Rio de Janeiro. read more
VéloCity 2016 Presentations by CAN
2016, March 25 – 18:47
Here are the presentations made on behalf of CAN to VéloCity Global conference, 2016.
Presentation 1- Thoughts on Advocates (PDF, 2.7Mb)
http://willandrewsdesign.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Advocates.pdf
Presentation 2- Thoughts on NZ Policy (PDF, 3.1Mb)
http://willandrewsdesign.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NZ-Policy.pdf
Cars getting angrier?
2016, March 16 – 20:44
I wonder what’s upsetting them? Pricey oil? Peak car? Maybe all those cycle lanes… NO! I have it. 30 km/h zones. My mash-up of front grille designs of Ford family cars, 1950’s to 2010’s-
Submission to Nelson City Council Long-Term Plan
2015, August 17 – 12:53
Submission to Nelson City Council on Long Term Plan 2015-25
April 2015
Dear Nelson City Council,
Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission on the important topic of the Long Term Plan. I write, in a personal capacity, as an urban designer, architect, and resident of Stoke.
Introduction
‘Physical inactivity is the new smoking’, health promotion specialists are now saying1. Almost 1 in 3 New Zealand adults are obese, and a further 34% are overweight2.
Meanwhile, 49% of Kiwis’ trips to work are 5km or less3 -easily short enough to be done by bike- but 74% of work trips are done by car. The figures for Nelson are not much better, and tragically, the statistics for our kids’ journeys to school are just as bad.
So the effective promotion of cycling, and active transport in general, is a critically urgent priority for Nelson.
Below are comments relating to the five main headings suggested by the Consultation Document- read more
Submission to Tasman District Council Long-Term Plan
2015, August 17 – 12:40
Above photo shows central Richmond, largest town in Tasman District Council. At bottom left is entrance to Tasman District Council, adjacent to the recently installed roundabout.
My submission
is that Tasman District Council must begin, particularly in the larger towns such as Richmond, to switch from facilitating development based on suburban sprawl, to more high-density development, ultimately to building types such as three-storey townhouse developments and mixed-use retail/residential schemes.
Higher density living and working has been shown internationally to allow better use of all our resources, from water to transport. It will particularly facilitate the accommodation of an increased population and the quality of life of an older cohort of residents, who need to live close to local facilities and services and often are less able to drive independently.
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