Cycle network design guidance

In direct response to, and in support of the Urban Cycleways Programme and the New Zealand Cycling Safety Panel’s report recommendations, the Transport Agency is leading a process in collaboration with local government to develop best practice guidance for nationally consistent cycle networks and facilities.

Guidance and framework

The Cycling Safety Panel’s report highlighted that the ‘current design guidelines for cycling infrastructure are inadequate resulting in a range of infrastructure that lacks consistency and is often not fit for purpose’. One of the high priority actions suggested by the Panel was that the ‘Transport Agency develop consistent national guidelines and descriptions for cycling infrastructure’.

The Cycle Network Design Guidance will be an on-line ‘point and click’ framework that enables cycle network planners and designers to take a design approach that is appropriate for the outcomes sought and local context. The framework will build on, integrate and improve existing knowledge of planning and designing cycling networks and facilities. It will provide links to existing guidance considered best practice, show where guidance is in need of updating, and over time fill any gaps in guidance. It is not intended to replace any local guidance that has already been developed but rather complement and support it and will be launched early 2016.

Stage 1 Cycle Network Design Guidance project

The Cycle network design guidance: stage 1 report – best practice review is a review of national and international best practice, identification of the ‘gaps’ in the currently available national guidance and suggestions on how these gaps might be filled. The feedback we received from our stakeholder survey also helped in identifying the gaps. Gaps that would be relatively easy to address are identified in the report as ‘quick wins’.

This report completes stage 1 of the project.