It is concerning to see motorbike riders, often riding without a license, riding in public parks and on footpaths. These riders are often reckless and put pedestrians in danger. Waikato District councillor David Whyte says these riders cause many issues:

Recent results from a survey in the UK found that "women are nearly twice as likely as men to be put off walking by a lack of safe places to walk nearby." This is an equity issue- women are walking less because they feel unsafe and therefore are not getting the benefits of walking.

Recent research shows that even very short walks can have health benefits! "Research has shown that the body works hardest when it first starts moving, expending slightly more energy within the first 30 seconds of walking than in subsequent minutes."

This is a great article from the US that is very relevant for Aotearoa. "For decades, many American cities prioritized cars over people. As a result, families now spend large portions of their income simply moving from one place to another."

We support this call from AA for more regulation on e-bikes and e-scooters.

How can we prevent footpath parking and, hopefully, end it for good? That's the question we explore in Part II of our footpath parking series based on the presentation and conference paper prepared by LSA Treasurer Dr Chris Teo-Sherrell and Jeanette Ward, a Technical Director at Abley.

There has been an update to an article we posted last week about a woman who was hit by a cyclist on a shared path in Christchurch.

A consultation has just opened on lowering the speed limit on a stretch of road in Selwyn where a young boy was hit by a driver and sadly killed earlier this year while crossing the road.

The trial to allow private vehicles to use Queen St between the hours of 7 pm and 7 am has been in place for a month. This article does a great job talking about the issues with the trial, especially when it comes to the city meeting its stated sustainability and development goals.

The increasing purchase and use of large vehicles like utes and SUVs is a big safety concern here in Aotearoa and in other countries like Australia.

This story highlights the safety issues with shared paths. Sally, a Christchurch resident, stepped onto a shared path in November last year and was hit by a cyclist. This caused several health issues that she is still recovering from.

Residents of Mt Roskill are calling for more infrastructure to improve pedestrian safety at a busy intersection. Recently, a driver hit a woman and three children when they were crossing the road. The woman was critically injured and all children sustained moderate to mild injuries.

Next up in this week's series about road safety is a Canterbury school fighting for a safer speed limit. "The speed limit outside Windwhistle School, on State Highway 77, is currently 100km/h. It is due to drop to 60km/h during pick-up and drop-off times, but the school wants it reduced further."

Road Safety Week 2026 ended yesterday, but it was just the start of conversations about road safety, and pedestrian safety in particular. We are going to dedicate this week to bringing you more news and content related to road safety.

New Zealand currently faces a fuel crisis which appears unlikely to ease in the short term, and may be prolonged. This is already affecting the price of liquid fuel, and may also affect the availability of fuel if shortages persist.

The May Living Streets Aotearoa eBulletin is out now! It covers topics like: -Questions Living Streets Aotearoa sent to political parties -Ideas for councils to encourage walking and non-car travel -Why do people park on the footpath? Read it in full on our website.

Come join us this Saturday 9 May at 2pm for Wellington's Jane's Walk. The walk is organised by AWE (awesome walking envisaged) in association with Living Streets Aotearoa Wellington. Jane’s Walk is an international festival of walking, held in memory of the great walking advocate Jane Jacobs.

We support this call from New Zealand Vulnerable Road User Charitable Trust for drivers to pass pedestrians, horse riders, and cyclists with adequate distance. The message is to "Pass WIDE and SLOW" at a distance of 1.5 m for pedestrians and cyclists and 2 m for horse riders.

Happening tomorrow at lunchtime!

A beautiful article for your Friday about how walking without a purpose and taking up space on a human scale can help you connect with your community.

Living Streets Aotearoa believes that it is important that New Zealand has national policy that supports walking and pedestrians. As part of this effort, we have sent a number questions to political parties in advance of the 2026 election.

Why do drivers park on the footpath? That's a question we're answering in the Part I of a two part LSA blog series, based on the presentation and paper prepared by LSA Treasurer Dr Chris Teo-Sherrell and Jeanette Ward, a Technical Director at Abley, for the 2026 Transportation Conference.

Join us for the next Transport Research Network (TRN) Webinar, 7 May at 12 pm! For this webinar, Cycling Action Network will be hosting Dr Tim Welch and Lennart Nout to speak about "Enabling healthy journeys in NZ cities".

Reminder that tomorrow is the last day to apply to be a member of our Executive Council! We are seeking someone who is passionate about walking and keen to contribute to our vision of “More people choosing to walk more often”.

According to the NZTA, data from the past decade of crashes in Wairarapa shows that "speed-related factors accoun­ted for about 36% of all recor­ded con­trib­ut­ing factors in crashes across the region between 2016 and 2025".

Research from Australia shows the importance of walkable towns for improving physical activity in regional areas. The research team assessed the walkability of areas around the country to understand how well-connected they were and how easy it was to walk to shops, schools, and public transport.

Residents of a lane in Rangiora are concerned that their street lacks a footpath, street lighting, and adequate drainage. All are making it a difficult place to be a pedestrian.

The Banks Peninsula Walking Festival is now taking place from 2-17 May, after being postponed from earlier this year. The updated programme has just been released, so check it out now!

We are pleased to see this initiative from Cycling Action Network calling for emergency bike networks in response to the fuel shortage. Living Streets Aotearoa supports safe, separated paths for cyclists and safe separated footpaths for pedestrians, and we have added our organisation to this call.

Another brief from the Public Health Communication Centre that is well-worth a read. As the fuel shortage has demonstrated, we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels quickly. Better supporting walking, cycling, and public transport is a great way to do this, and can lead to many benefits.

The latest Public Health Communication Centre (PHCC) briefing is about the rising purchase and use of large vehicles like SUVs and utes. The briefing explains research analysing data from the 2015-2020 NZ Household Travel Survey.

We are seeking people to join our Executive Council who are passionate about walking and keen to contribute to our vision of “More people choosing to walk more often”. Ideally, you will have experience in governance, advocacy, and/or good knowledge of transport or health.

The April Living Streets Aotearoa eBulletin is out now! It covers topics like: -The fuel crisis and the strategic liability of car dependence -The release of the final videos from the 2025 Walking Summit -The first Transport Research Network webinar. Read it in full on our website.

The first Transport Research Webinar was hosted a couple of weeks ago by Living Streets Aotearoa, Transport Research Network (TRN), and Cycle Action Network (CAN).

This is a great piece from Connor Sharp at Greater Auckland about a plan the Government could be following to address the fuel crisis — the Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway (TERP).

We have released the final video from our 2025 Walking Summit! This video is of the Pedestrian-centred Design Session.

We have released another video from our 2025 Walking Summit! This video is of the Making our Streets Safer for Walking Session.

The city of Hoboken, New Jersey has gone nine years without a fatal traffic crash! The campaign to end road deaths was lead by the Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who started by analysing the previous five years of crash data to understand the factors contributing to crashes.

We are so excited to hear the Government has decided to un-ban walking! A truly monumental day, we will remember 1 April 2026 from now on.

We have released another video from our 2025 Walking Summit! This video is of the Creating Walkable Streets Session. The Creating Walkable Streets session highlights the work that councils, transport organisations, and community groups are doing to make streets more walkable.

New research suggests that walkability isn't just about the distance it take to walk somewhere. The surroundings of where you walk can influence whether you want to walk and how that walk feels.v

This morning at the first Transport Research Network (TRN) webinar we heard from Dr Giulio Mattioli about car dependence, what it means, and what the systems and interlinking loops are that reinforce it.

The Christchurch Walking Festival starts this week and goes from 28 March-19 April. There are many different walks happening from an art walk to a story walk to river walks. Many of the walks are free to join, but you may have to register for them in advance.

Join us for the first Transport Research Network (TRN) Webinar, tomrrow at 9 am! Living Streets Aotearoa is very pleased to announce the first in a series of webinars we are co-hosting this year with Transport Research Network (TRN) and Cycling Action Network (CAN).

Today is the last day to submit on the lane use improvements consultation. Be sure to make your submission before 5 pm: www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/pub...

A new report recommends putting in place regulations on e-bikes and e-scooters in Queensland. One recommendation is that children under 16 should be banned from riding e-bikes and e-scooters.

A sad story from Australia reminds us why bikes don't belong on the footpath. Megan, a Sydney dog owner, was walking her chihuahua Spider on the footpath when a cyclist ran over her dog. The dog was on leash and there was still plenty of daylight to see by.

Living Streets Aotearoa recently commented on the issue of obstacles blocking footpaths in this article. Obstacles like bins, e-scooters, and cars parked over the footpath make it difficult for all footpath users to get where they need to go, especially for wheelchair users like Noah Corsac.

"A kura kaupapa Māori in Te Tairāwhiti is calling for urgent safety improvements outside its school, saying students, whānau and kaiako are being put at risk crossing a 'hectic' and 'unsafe' road every day."

Living Streets Aotearoa has published our full submission on the lane use improvements consultation, which may be a helpful resource for those who wish to make a more detailed submission. If the proposals in this consultation go ahead, they will have significant impacts on pedestrians.