The NZ Cycling Conference is a series of cycle planning conferences started in 1997 in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. Since 2001, the conference series has a biennial schedule. The conferences are one of the key ways of exchanging expertise about planning and design for cycling in New Zealand. Starting in 2012, the scope of the conference includes both walking and cycling, by combining the previous

Living Streets Aotearoa Living Streets Aotearoa Inc. is the New Zealand organisation for people on foot, promoting walking-friendly communities. Living Streets Aotearoa is the national walking advocacy group with the vision of "more people choosing to walk more often. ...

biennial NZ Walking Conference series, and was rebranded "2WALKandCYCLE". The most recent conference was held in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

in July–August 2018.

Conference organisation

Initially, conference attendees and speakers were mainly cycle advocates, but the conferences have developed a broader appeal across all sectors that are involved in policy, promotion and provision for cyclists – such as from representatives from the

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (commonly known as Waka Kotahi, and abbreviated as NZTA) is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, an ...

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. The conferences are organised by an organising committee made up of representatives of various organisations. In 2009, for example, these included Cycling Advocates' Network, NZ Transport Agency, Ministry of Health and

New Plymouth District Council New Plymouth District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ngāmotu) is the territorial authority for the New Plymouth District of New Zealand. The council consists of the mayor of New Plymouth, , and 14 ward councillors. Composition Councillo ...

. When plans were made for what would have been the 2011 conference, it was considered whether it would be useful to have a combined event covering both walking and cycling. This was agreed to by

, the organiser of the NZ Walking Conference. The first combined walking and cycling conference, branded as ''2WALKandCYCLE'', was held from 22 to 24 February 2012 in

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

. The conference was organised by representatives of Cycling Advocates' Network, Hastings District Council staff, Living Streets Aotearoa, New Zealand Transport Agency, and some individuals.

Conferences

Conferences have been or will be held in the following locations: * 1997 –

* 2000 –

* 2001 –

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

* 2003 – North Shore * 2005 – Hutt City * 2007 – Napier * 2009 –

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

* 2012 –

(first combined walking and cycling conference) * 2014 –

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

* 2016 –

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

* 2018 –

* 2021 –

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

(postponed from 2020)

1997 Hamilton

The 1st conference was held on 15 October 1997. The conference theme was ''"Planning for and Promoting Cycling in Urban Areas"''. Held at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

, the conference was the initiative of transport planner Paul Ryan.

2000 Palmerston North

The 2nd conference was held on 14–15 July 2000. The conference theme was ''"Making Cycling Viable"''. Two UK keynote speakers presented via video-link: Prof

Mayer Hillman Mayer Hillman (born 1931) is a British architect and town planner, and Senior Fellow Emeritus since 1992 at the Policy Studies Institute, University of Westminster where he worked for at least thirty years. Early life Mayer Hillman was born in ...

and John Grimshaw from

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United Kin ...

2001 Christchurch

The 3rd conference was held on 21–22 September 2001. The conference theme was ''"Transport for Living"''. The keynote speaker was Karel de Roy, a traffic engineer and transport planner from the Netherlands.

2003 North Shore

The 4th conference was held on 10–11 October 2003. The conference theme was ''"Cycling Strategies – And How to Implement Them"''.

Steven Norris Steven John Norris (born 24 May 1945 in Liverpool) is a British Conservative Party politician and businessman. Norris served as Member of Parliament for Oxford East from 1983 to 1987. After narrowly losing that marginal seat in 1987 he re-ente ...

, the Chair of the UK National Cycling Strategy Board was the keynote speaker. The first Cycle Friendly Awards were held in conjunction with this conference.

2005 Hutt City

The 5th conference was held on 14–15 October 2005. The conference theme was ''"Changing Lanes – Cycling into the Mainstream"''. The conference was opened by

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

mayor David Ogden. The

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

engineer and senior transport planner Troels Andersen was the keynote speaker, relating the experiences from

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

to New Zealand. The third Cycle Friendly Awards were held in conjunction with this conference.

2007 Napier

The 6th conference was held on 1–2 November 2007. The conference theme was ''"Getting There by Bike"''. The conference was attended by

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

Annette King Dame Annette Faye King (née Robinson, born 13 September 1947) is a former New Zealand politician. She served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2011, and from 2014 until 1 March 20 ...

, who presented the 2007 Cycle Friendly Awards. Bob Chauncey from the National Center for Bicycling & Walking (NCBW) in the US was the keynote speaker. The fifth Cycle Friendly Awards were held in conjunction with this conference.

2009 New Plymouth

Th
7th conference
was held on 12–13 November 2009. The conference theme was ''"Communities, Connections and the Economy"''. The keynote speakers were Phillip Darnton from

Cycling England Cycling England was an independent body funded by the Department for Transport to promote cycling in England. It was founded in 2005 to replace the National Cycling Strategy Board. Following the 2010 Comprehensive Spending review it was earmark ...

and Assoc. Prof. Chris Rissel from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Darnton was interviewed by

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

's Kim Hill prior to the conference about opportunities for cycling in New Zealand. The seventh Cycle Friendly Awards were held in conjunction with this conference.

2012 Hastings

The first combined walking and cycling conference
2WALKandCYCLE 2012
was held in Hastings on 22–24 February 2012. The conference theme was ''"Creating Smarter Communities"''. Featured keynote speakers wer
Billie Giles-Corti
(Univ. Melbourne)
Roger Geller
(City of Portland), psychologist

Nigel Latta Nigel Latta, (born 1967) is a New Zealand psychologist and author. He is also the host of the television show ''Beyond the Darklands (New Zealand TV series), Beyond The Darklands'', ''The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers'' and ''The Po ...

, an
Alistair Woodward
(Univ. of Auckland).

2014 Nelson

The second combined walking and cycling conference
2WALKandCYCLE 2014
was held in

on 29–31 October 2014. The conference theme was ''"Communities on the Move"''. Nelson,

, and

had competed for the hosting rights.

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

-based Melissa and Chris Bruntlett were keynote speakers at the conference, as were Daniel Sauter from Zurich, and the

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representati ...

Celia Wade-Brown Celia may refer to: General * Celia (given name) *''Celia'', a subgenus of carabid beetles of the genus '' Amara'' *Celia, the last natural-born Pyrenean Ibex * Celia (virtual assistant), AI virtual assistant by Huawei *, a number of ships with ...

2016 Auckland

The third combined walking and cycling conference was held at Auckland's Rendezvous Hotel from 6 to 8 July 2016, attended by 250 delegates. The lead keynote speaker was urban regeneration expert Gil Peñalosa from Canada, who also spoke in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, and at an event titled "Auckland Conversations" organised by

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

. Other keynotes were Dr Ben Rossiter from Victoria Walks in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, Dr

Alessandro Melis Alessandro Melis (Cagliari, 7/6/1969) is an Italian architect and the curator of the Italian National Pavilion at the 17th Venice Biennale. He is also a professor of architecture and the inaugural endowed chair of the New York Institute of Techno ...

from Italy, and Professor Karen Witten from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. The Cycle Friendly Awards, renamed as Bike to the Future Awards, were held as part of the conference dinner and the

Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the to ...

, awarded the supreme prize to the

Nelson Street Cycleway The Nelson Street Cycleway is a cycleway (and in some sections, a shared pathway for walking and cycling) in Auckland, New Zealand. The most well-known section of the path is , translated as, and commonly known as Lightpath (also known as the ...

. The opening of the Quay Street cycleway was timed to coincide with the conference and was part of the conference programme. Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...

, Transport Minister Bridges, and Auckland mayor

Len Brown Leonard Charles Brown (born 1 October 1956)) is a former mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, and former head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 Novembe ...

opened the cycleway on 8 July.

2018 Palmerston North

The fourth combined walking and cycling conference was held at the Palmerston North Conference & Function Centre between 30 July – 1 August 2018, attended by 200 delegates. The lead keynote speaker was Lucy Saunders, a healthy streets expert from London.

2021 Dunedin

The fifth combined walking and cycling conference was to be held in Dunedin during September 2020. On 11 August, four cases of COVID-19 were reported in

, the first from an unknown source in 102 days. This increased the COVID alert levels and the conference was postponed until the following year, when it was held from 16 to 19 March 2021 at the Dunedin Centre.

References

{{Reflist

External links

New Zealand Transport Agency

Ministry of Health
Cycling in New Zealand Cycling conferences