Effect of On-Street Parking on Traffic Speeds

The purpose of this study was to collect and analyse data to determine the extent that traffic flow (notably speed) is affected by on-street parking. Similar studies were done previously on major arterial roads; this research was concentrated mainly on local streets. Ten roads in Christchurch of various widths were chosen, between 8m and 13m. Sites that had only on-street parking as the main hindrance to traffic flow were chosen, for the purpose of obtaining clear relationships. Observed speeds were recorded at various parking demand levels and then analysed. The results showed that the vehicular speeds fell noticeably with an increase in parking levels. On average, there was approximately a 10km/h reduction in mean speeds between empty and full on-street parking levels. An even bigger effect was noted in 85th percentile speeds. The magnitude of fall in speed varied only slightly based on the road widths. Further research, by increasing the number of sites and performing speed surveys for more parking levels at the same sites, may yield more accurate results. This may be useful for policy makers to consider the role of on-street parking as part of their local area speed management strategies

Feasibility of Implementing International Pedestrian Crosswalk Laws in New Zealand

New Zealand is relatively unusual in having road rules that do not generally give priority to pedestrians when crossing unsignalised intersections. A project investigated the effects of changing current NZ pedestrian crossing legislation to match many other parts of the world. The objectives were: Identifying the effects different rules have on pedestrian behaviour and safety ; Determining road users' understanding and preferences of various rule change options ; Determining the effects of the proposed changes on both pedestrian and motorist delays ; Considering the practical aspects of introducing a rule change in NZ. Analysis of NZ’s pedestrian crash data found that, if NZ road rules did change, then crash patterns at unsignalised intersections may change to mirror those at signalised ones. A survey of road users’ understanding/perception of current and potential road rules found that, on average, 78% of people are already willing to give way to pedestrians, although the importance of an education campaign with any future changes was also noted. VISSIM simulation modelling of predicted delays to pedestrians and motorists found generally no notable effect on total personal delay caused by possible rule changes. Overall, implementing a rule change in NZ appears to be possible, and the implications of this are discussed further

Learning from Failures: Using Historical Engineering Projects to Teach Better Professional Engineering Skills

Published by Institution of Professional Engineers New ZealandThe state of the art of engineering knowledge has historically often improved following reviews of major disasters and engineering failures. It is not desirable however for professional engineers to only improve their understanding and skills by "learning from their mistakes". A new final-year engineering course for Civil and Natural Resources Engineering students at the University of Canterbury aims to get students to learn more from other people’s past mistakes. A major component of this course is a group project where students investigate notable engineering "failures" from the past century and try to determine the causes behind them. As well as any direct technical reasons for each failure, students are challenged to identify the more "nontechnical" issues that contributed to the ultimate denouement, including human errors, ethical shortcomings, and regulatory omissions. Using this exercise, it is hoped that students will learn to recognise common "warning signs" in their future projects that may be pre-cursors to more catastrophic potential outcomes

Christchurch: Creating a World-Class Cycling Network in a Transition City

The New Zealand city of Christchurch suffered a series of devastating earthquakes in 2010-11 that changed the urban landscape forever. A new rebuilt city is now underway, largely based on the expressed wishes of the populace to see Christchurch return to being a more people-oriented, cycle-friendly city that it was known for in decades past. Currently 7% of commuters cycle to work, supported by a 200km network of mostly conventional on-road painted cycle lanes and off-road shared paths. The new "Major Cycleways" plan aims to develop approximately 100km of high-quality cycling routes throughout the city in 5-7 years. The target audience is an unaccompanied 10-year-old cycling, which requires more separated cycleways and low-volume/speed "neighbourhood greenways" to meet this standard. This presentation summarises the steps undertaken to date to start delivering this network. Various pieces of research have helped to identify the types of infrastructure preferred by those currently not regularly cycling, as well as helping to assess the merits of different route choices. Conceptual cycleway guidelines have now been translated into detailed design principles for the different types of infrastructure being planned. While much of this work is based on successful designs from overseas, including professional advice from Dutch practitioners, an interesting challenge has been to adapt these designs as required to suit local road environments and road user expectations. The first parts of the new network are being rolled out now, with the hope that this will produce an attractive and resilient network for the future population that leads to cycling being a major part of the local way of life