ViaStrada

04/06/2026

World Trails Day is coming up!

We’re celebrating World Trails Day on Saturday 6 June 2026 by spotlighting our presentation at the World Trails Network Conference in Perth, Australia, this October.

At the conference, ViaStrada will present on improving access to trails and campgrounds.

John Lieswyn will share ViaStrada’s recent accessibility work on trails and campgrounds. Accessibility varies across New Zealand’s trails and campsites, and field audits have supported clearer information on the Department of Conservation website while identifying capital improvements that could further improve access.

Learn more: https://viastrada.nz/project/2026/doc-accessibility-audits

Conference registration: https://worldtrailsconference.org/6b-equity-of-access/

01/06/2026

🚲Have you heard of “Bicycle Face”? 🚲

Back in the 1890s, the stress of balancing a bicycle was thought to cause a dreadful nervous condition. The advice was that everyone (but especially women) should avoid cycling to prevent it! 😱

Thankfully, that myth was debunked while the bicycle — and the freedom it offers — remains.

Today we recognise that cycling is a great way to travel more sustainably and to reduce your fuel costs. It’s good for physical and mental wellbeing, and as many of us know, it’s just plain fun!💚

Join us in celebrating World Bicycle Day 🌏🚴 this Wednesday 3 June, and World Environment Day 🌏🌱on Friday 5 June.

01/06/2026

International Children's Day was yesterday, Monday, 1 June.

Kids love zipping around on their bikes, scooters, and skateboards, but they’re not always easy to see. That’s why we’re talking about visibility from driveways this International Children’s Day.

Did you know that a person driving into or out of a driveway must give way to a road user on a footpath, cycle path, or shared path?

Under current legislation you must give way to:
• Children on scooters
• Children on bicycles with wheels less than 355 mm diameter
• Mobility scooter riders
• E-scooter riders (those travelling over 15 km/h should be on the road, like adult cyclists)
• Pedestrians of all ages and abilities

Most of the people above are likely to be travelling at speeds of 10–15 km/h, including the kids. That’s faster than you might expect, and why it’s so critical that we go slowly and attentively as drivers.

This International Children’s Day, take a look at your driveways at home and at work and see if there’s a way you can make it safer for kids and everyone else, too.

If you’re not sure what makes a driveway safer, check out our article on pedestrian driveway safety. https://viastrada.nz/news/pedestrian-driveway-safety

Pedestrian driveway safety 28th May 2026 Did you know that a person driving into or out of a driveway must give way to a road user on a footpath, cycle path, or shared path?That means you must give way to: Children on scootersChildren on bicycles with wheels less than 355 mm diameterMobility scoote...

20/05/2026

Austroads has just released the Minimum Data Requirements for Pedestrian Safety Guideline (and accompanying research report and data framework spreadsheet), developed through ViaStrada’s research into the minimum walking data needed to support better pedestrian safety outcomes.

We are delighted to see this work published this week after 20 months of research and development. It’s great to see this guidance now available to help practitioners understand what pedestrian safety data can be collected and used in a practical way — and how even a minimum data set can make a meaningful contribution to improving safety for people walking.

https://viastrada.nz/publication/minimum-data-requirements-pedestrian-safety-guideline

https://viastrada.nz/publication/keeping-people-safe-when-walking-stream-2-determining-minimum-data-requirements

18/05/2026

🗞️Check out our latest e-newsletter - the Autumn 2026 edition! 🍂

https://mailchi.mp/viastrada/autumn-2026-v2

Sign up for our newsletter here. https://viastrada.us10.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4876c97a7e9a9f22b5d63f918&id=e3adbed88d

18/05/2026

Meet Ashu Kedia — ViaStrada’s newest Transportation Engineer

Ashu’s career spans data analytics, transport impact assessments, transport modelling, road safety investigations, GIS based spatial analysis, and speed management across New Zealand. His PhD explored how online shopping influences travel demand, giving him a future focused perspective on how transport systems evolve.

He has worked closely with private developers, councils, consultants, and Waka Kotahi NZTA on projects that improve safety, efficiency, and community outcomes. Ashu is passionate about transport solutions that make everyday life better for people and communities.

When he’s not working, you will often find Ashu playing cricket, exploring hiking trails, experimenting in the kitchen, or learning musical instruments – the harmonium being his current favourite.

We are excited to welcome Ashu to the ViaStrada team and look forward to the positive impact he will make.

04/05/2026

Getting Frugal with Fuel - RNZ's Thrift podcast is up now!

A hot topic with some great money-saving tips - with ViaStrada Ltd's Glen Koorey. Worth a listen!

https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/thrift/story/2019033221/getting-frugal-with-fuel

How are you dealing with the rise in fuel prices? Whether its jumping on a bike or choosing public transport, more people are trying to ditch their cars. Katy Gosset talks to a transportation engineer about different and thrifty ways to get around.

03/05/2026

Be a Road Safety Hero – This Road Safety Week (4–10 May)

Road safety heroes aren’t just emergency responders; they’re also the people designing safer journeys before crashes happen. At ViaStrada, we work behind the scenes to help create roads and places where human mistakes don’t result in serious harm, through safety focused design, audits and reviews of intersections, corridors, and transport networks.

This Road Safety Week’s theme, Be a road safety hero, celebrates everyone playing a role in safer travel, from transport engineers and road workers to communities advocating for safer streets. By embedding Safe System principles into transport design, and prioritising people walking, cycling and using public transport, we’re proud to be part of that collective effort.

Because safer journeys don’t happen by chance, they’re designed.

https://viastrada.nz/services/design-safety

https://www.roadsafetyweek.org.nz/our-theme-for-2026-road-safety-heroes/

The theme of Road Safety Week 2026 (4-10 May) is Be a road safety hero, recognising everyone who helps to make our roads safer and support people after a crash, and explaining how we can all play a part in making journeys safer for everyone.

03/05/2026

Last week we said Auf Wiedersehen to Tanja Simon as she headed home to Germany to reconnect with family and friends. Since joining us in August 2025, Tanja has been a valued part of the team, calm under pressure, consistently reliable, and always ready to lend a hand.

Good luck, Tanja, we’ll miss you. Wishing you safe travels and a great start to this next chapter back home. And yes, you even won over Indy (our office dog) in record time.

Thank you for everything you brought to the role and the team, Tanja. You’ll always be welcome here and we hope to catch up with you again in the future.
https://viastrada.nz/our-team/tanja-simon

16/04/2026

🚍 Celebrating World Public Transport Day! 🚍

While most of us usually walk or bike, today we mixed things up for Public Transport Day and hopped on a new Christchurch double decker bus!

With the new super cool bus tracker feature, it’s never been easier to see where your ride is in real time — definitely worth checking out 👉 https://www.codenui.co.nz/bus.html

Even better, Route 7 runs right past our workplace, so we couldn’t resist taking it for a spin. What fun!

And a special mention to the very small (and very cute!) buses in Timaru — proof that good things really do come in small packages 🚌✨https://bit.ly/4caxHKC