tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85944688046940804642024-03-10T15:45:43.814+13:00The Wrong Side of my CarThe blog that wants to go obsoleteRoelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-55317710925052148412024-03-09T16:33:00.004+13:002024-03-09T16:34:26.906+13:00Is ornamentation really a crime?
1890 — Grey Lynn, Auckland.
Time to build, build, build. There’s a brand new subdivision and there’s money to be made.
The streets are laid out, in a neat grid. Except that awkward hole where the swamp is.
New houses, mass produced. All of them more or less the same, with their bay windows
and porches. Get a load of mass produced widgets to decorate and customise their looks
a bit. Tacky, Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-18632298863817249732024-02-05T23:52:00.005+13:002024-02-06T22:27:08.356+13:00The scale on maps is… quite fluid
Remember when the map was still this huge folded sheet of paper in the door of your car?
By now, that has become yet another thing inside your phone, just like your FM radio,
your flashlight, MP3 player, agenda, alarm clock, newspaper. Maybe not that FM radio
anymore, but you get the idea.
Even though that old paper map and this map inside your phone come from the same
reality, they are not Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-61559263752013776582023-08-17T06:17:00.002+12:002023-08-29T05:43:25.285+12:00Child raising BS: holding hands
Ashley Neal posted a video *1 containing a clip where a
toddler rolls into the street, ahead of his parents. If this happens at the wrong
time, that can easily end with a dead child.
Still from a video from Ashley Neal
So a question a few people asked was: why can’t those parents hold hands with the
kids?
And the answer is it doesn’t matter, holding hands doesn’t prevent kids running off.
Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-57468627219855283662023-06-25T18:30:00.004+12:002023-08-17T06:22:07.530+12:00What’s the deal with those backyards?
Here is something awkward for urbanists over here: if you want to raise a kid in Auckland, you need a backyard.
No ifs and buts. Backyard.
Backyards in Grey Lynn. Being able to have a backyard in the middle of a city is perhaps one
of the things that defines the ‘character’ of Auckland.
And that is very unfortunate. We keep going on and on about how we need to live smaller. Build apartments.
Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-69902479572319473252023-04-02T10:00:00.003+12:002023-04-03T22:01:33.107+12:00Te Hā Noa: it is actually happening
One of the more uplifting bits of news this week is that Te Hā Noa, also known as Victoria Street Linear Park, is actually going to be built.
And well, it is not really a linear park, is it? We should call it what it is, a street upgrade. There is
nothing wrong with that. Street upgrades are important and badly needed. So, let’s go.
Construction sketch (draft) *1
It is badly needed
I can’t Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-47961312848512268552023-03-03T22:59:00.008+13:002023-03-13T21:39:29.696+13:00Who Is To Blame for that cyclist’s death?
Sad news arrived from Cambridgeshire,
Great Britain. A cyclist lost balance and fell off the
footpath. She then got run over by a car and died. Rest in piece.
Let me sketch a picture of what happened. An elderly cyclist was cycling on the footpath *1.
She met a pedestrian coming on foot from the other side. That pedestrian got angry, some shouting and gesticulation
ensued, and as the cyclist Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-65854085483110984162023-02-26T17:08:00.002+13:002023-02-26T17:54:32.156+13:00The consequences of stupid greenwashing
Greenwashing means marketing a product by pretending it is somehow good for the environment.
This amusing example showed up on my Twitter feed.
BenRossAKL_ on Twitter
Sometimes it is amusing. Sometimes it does some damage.
Diesels
In Belgium diesel engines have long been a popular choice for people buying a new car. It was cheaper at the pump,
and it is particularly popular for the many Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-80489782629308070832022-11-02T08:05:00.000+13:002022-11-02T08:05:44.224+13:00How much do we get out of that 8th lane?
The previous post was about whether or not it is the right time to liberate the lane. One
thing that was mentioned was that the average lane on the harbour bridge is used by about 10,000
people.
However not all lanes are created equal. How much capacity do we lose when switching to 7 lanes?
When looking up some numbers for the previous post I came across this graph on Greater Auckland.
Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-41463123487763623182022-11-01T10:00:00.001+13:002022-11-01T10:00:00.203+13:00The case for and against Skypath
A prominent missing link for bicycling and walking in Auckland is the bridge over
the Waitematā Harbour. About 10 years ago it was expected that Skypath would fill this
gap — long story, but now,
after another couple of somewhat dumb iterations, it looks like we will be without a cycle crossing for
another while.
The ferry it is.
Some go as far as saying it is the most critical missing link Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-34049590786323670552022-10-07T22:25:00.003+13:002022-10-07T22:43:07.869+13:00There are tiers below Painted Bike Lanes
Paint-only bike lanes often cop a lot of flak. Sometimes for good reason, for instance the setup on Glenfield Road or Green Lane is ridiculous.
And on Taharoto Road.
But still. When cycling in Auckland, most of the time, it is much worse than painted lanes. Are we throwing out the baby with the bathwater here?
So today we explore the abyss that lies below this level of infrastructure.
The Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-59924667081808084252022-07-26T22:10:00.006+12:002022-10-07T00:11:19.436+13:00Car brain
Have you ever heard anyone use the term Car Brain?
Maybe someone is pointing out that you obviously can’t get groceries without a car *1. Or, yeah public transport is all good if you just want to go straight home from work but this will obviously never work if you have to go to other places underway. These assertions often attract scorn, and ‘car brain’ is a term to imply that people saying Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-66717216026587212532022-05-26T12:00:00.006+12:002022-07-22T23:39:20.921+12:00Coming of age in our Car society
Societies have a wide variety of rituals to celebrate someone’s coming to age.
Some Christian denominations have a Confirmation, or Plechtige Communie as it is called were I grew up, and until
that happens you are not a full member of the Church, but still in some half baked innocent state.
Many cultures don’t just tell you that you’ve come of age, but they make you prove it.
Endure the stings Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-47852276817536613522022-05-25T12:00:00.004+12:002022-07-22T23:39:19.058+12:00Children in the city
Previously we talked about walking to the park, and in these discussions
a lot of people do not understand the point, because they take for granted the current lifestyle we foist onto children.
We need to talk. About how we ask children to live their lives in our city.
❦
Around March 2020, COVID-19 arrived in earnest in many countries. A strange thing
happened to time. It seemed to have stoppedRoelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-56754380500664997862022-05-10T22:42:00.021+12:002022-05-22T11:44:14.121+12:00A walk to the park
This post appeared as a guest post on Greater Auckland.
This block between Hobson Street, Cook Street, Nelson Street and Wellesley Street is home to about 3,000 people on
3 hectares *1. For those who are wondering, and who like the post about Auckland at varying densities, this is
what 100,000 people per km² looks like:
100,000 ppl/km² on this block
And this is how you walk from that block toRoelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-75829083466091115662022-03-12T16:00:00.007+13:002022-05-22T11:41:33.486+12:00The isthmus buses really are better
I often tell people that there is one little corner in Auckland with an existing functional public transport
network: the western half of the isthmus. That’s it. Usually the response from public transport advocates lies
somewhere between derision and bewilderment. I find this odd, because this is completely obvious if
you just look at a bus map.
A line is not a network
It is baffling how often Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-6827098386469551132022-03-09T21:23:00.003+13:002022-03-09T21:34:19.337+13:00Living in parallel universes
We are living in two parallel universes.
Auckland transport is consulting on roadworks on a roundabout near me.
Proposal drawing, Auckland Transport
The good news first: three of the pedestrian crossings would be traffic light controlled. This should
make it much easier to cross Glenfield Road if you’re catching the bus. No more watching people
miss their bus while waiting for a gap in Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-48690562141270153412022-02-23T21:59:00.004+13:002022-05-04T21:48:35.842+12:00Eliminating barriers to cycling
Last time we saw our cycling route from Birkenhead to Takapuna, and saw how it is almost, but
not quite there. Something like 90% there. So, is it 90% as good as 100% there?
Sadly, no.
The four types of cyclists
It is said that there’s 4 types of cyclists, roughly by level of confidence: The ‘Strong & Fearless’, the ‘Enthused & Confident’,
The ‘Interested & Concerned’, and the ‘No Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-46328209471079009352022-02-23T21:59:00.002+13:002022-02-23T22:02:08.519+13:00Riding the bicycle from Birkenhead to Takapuna
A while ago I filmed my ride from Birkenhead to Takapuna. You can do this ride mostly on quiet streets. Mostly, but not
entirely.
Route, with required cyclist level.
It doesn’t start out too promising. Birkenhead Avenue is hardly welcoming on a bicycle. I would put it in the “Enthused
and Confident” category. I’ll explain in the next post what that means.
Birkenhead Avenue
Somehow you Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-22042129082511895082022-01-16T12:37:00.003+13:002022-02-26T01:09:44.625+13:00Cycling Hill Misery Index
A few years ago I moved from Milford to Birkdale, and I have always felt that in
Milford I could easily get around on a bicycle, whereas in Birkdale an acoustic bicycle
is pretty much useless. It is really hilly.
So here I introduce the Bicycling Hill Misery Index, an estimate of how annoying hills are.
A value of 0.0 means flat as a pancake. 1.0 means an area is so hilly that it doubles the Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-45066558554722668082022-01-10T22:49:00.001+13:002022-01-10T23:07:34.073+13:00Some thoughts on using the Kaiser Baas X600A while ago I got this action camera. It is relatively cheap, but waterproof so I can use it in the rain.
With cheap electronics things can go two ways. Often the quality is a bit sub-par, but it otherwise works
well enough to get the job done. But sometimes it is just too cheap and nasty and you’ll have to
go back to the shop for something better.
Kaiser Baas definitely sits in this category. Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-43114838575022440252021-12-12T17:43:00.006+13:002021-12-17T21:06:53.352+13:00Are hills more difficult than flat terrain for cyclists?Every couple of months I come across some article or video saying that
‘no, hills aren’t harder than the flat’.
Said no cyclist ever.
Hill shaded map of Birkdale. Auckland has a few very hilly areas.
Let’s imagine some guy called Daniel *1, Danny for friends. He is riding his bicycle to his local
café, 3 km up the road. He can go two ways. One way is a bit shorter but it goes over
a hill with Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-84805793278132576622021-11-04T22:41:00.001+13:002021-11-07T17:08:18.717+13:00Protected bike lanes: what they do, and don’tYou often hear talk about protected bicycle lanes. How we need them. How they will keep parked cars out.
How we need them to fix left hooks. Spoiler alert: they won’t, and they won’t. Let’s try to clear up
some misunderstanding.
A failed attempt at protecting a bike lane in Auckland *1
Protect the bike lanes
Often, the Dutch are used as an example of how to do bike lanes.
They have been doingRoelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-47866747953744688022021-10-25T21:33:00.004+13:002021-10-26T09:30:06.830+13:00Apartment living: disadvantages onlyA while ago I made an interactive version of the population density map on Observable, and I noticed something.
Detail of population density in the city centre *1
The average density of the city centre is between 10,000 and 20,000 per km², depending on where
you draw the line. In a European city that would be moderately dense. A neighbourhood with that density
would have 3 to 4-storey Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-91545826343923416642021-10-04T00:16:00.000+13:002021-10-04T00:17:00.277+13:00Safe School Street in BirkdaleAuckland Transport is running a trial arrangement at Birkdale Primary
School.
The project page even has some Vision Zero buzz words on it.
Auckland Transport is taking a Vision Zero approach to road safety. This means we are
striving to have zero deaths or serious injuries on our transport system by 2050. To achieve
this, we are working to create a more forgiving road network that recognises thatRoelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8594468804694080464.post-31349777057989155282021-09-17T23:47:00.005+12:002022-07-26T22:16:03.624+12:00So should we ride a bicycle on the footpath then?You may remember this ad.
Meadow Fresh ad
With a healthy portion of manufactured outrage. Hey, it is not allowed to ride a bike on the footpath.
To this day I am not sure what their real problem was. zOMG they let a kid out unsupervised. Many people
never miss a chance to pour scorn on parents.
Nevertheless there is talk of allowing cycling on the footpath.
Officially you’re not allowed to do Roelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02642954723872179666noreply@blogger.com0