Part of the city’s road improvement plans, the footpath-height, accessible platforms are designed to allow people to get on and off buses safely and cross the new bike lanes to the footpath.
Artist’s impression of the shared bus and bike lane platforms in Newtown
The first of a ‘jigsaw’ of bus boarding platforms made from recycled plastic is being put together on Riddiford Street in Wellington.
The modular platforms are part of the bus and bike improvements that are taking shape between Newtown and the waterfront in the New Zealand capital. The footpath-height, accessible platforms are designed to allow people to get on and off buses safely and cross the new bike lanes to the footpath.
Zero or low carbon transport
Mayor Andy Foster said Wellington already has New Zealand’s highest public transport usage, alongside walking and cycling but Wellingtonians have made it clear over many years that they want it to be easier and more convenient to get around in zero or low carbon ways.
He added: “This includes our commitment to get public transport priority in key locations and a citywide network of safe bike routes and connections in place as fast as possible.”
Wellington City Council transitional programme manager Claire Pascoe explained that the colourful new platforms are an example of the types of adjustable materials being used along the route so people can experience the new layout, and then provide feedback.
“Wellingtonians have made it clear over many years that they want it to be easier and more convenient to get around in zero or low carbon ways”
She said: “On this route, we’re looking forward to hearing what people think in a few months’ time once everything’s in place between Newtown and the waterfront.”
A key reason for selecting the platforms is because they have been designed to make areas where bike lanes and bus stops intersect as safe and accessible as possible. People on bikes will ride up low ramps over the platforms, and there will be signs and red markings to show where they need to slow down, take particular care and give way to pedestrians.
The platforms come as prefabricated components – individual building blocks – so installation involves linking them together and bolting them to the ground. They can be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere if required, or when they are replaced with more permanent street improvements. They can also be reconfigured to make different sized platforms and eventually be recycled.
Five new bus platforms will be assembled along Riddiford Street and Adelaide Road between Mein and Hall streets and the Basin Reserve as part of the installation of the new bike and 24/7 bus lanes. The first and longest platform will be assembled outside Wellington Hospital in two sections.
Contractor Fulton Hogan will position and bolt more than 1,000 pieces in place to create the 70 metre-long platform. Another platform will go in across the road, two more on either side of Adelaide Road near Drummond Street, and a fifth on the citybound side near the Basin.
The Zicla platforms, which use a system called Vectorial, are made in Spain and have been used in cities around the world, including in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Portland in the US, Canada, Spain, France, and Ireland.
It is the latest in innovative road projects in Wellington. It is also using the untapped resource of unwanted clothing and textiles as a performance additive in asphalt on the city’s roads.
Part of the city’s road improvement plans, the footpath-height, accessible platforms are designed to allow people to get on and off buses safely and cross the new bike lanes to the footpath.
The first of a ‘jigsaw’ of bus boarding platforms made from recycled plastic is being put together on Riddiford Street in Wellington.
The modular platforms are part of the bus and bike improvements that are taking shape between Newtown and the waterfront in the New Zealand capital. The footpath-height, accessible platforms are designed to allow people to get on and off buses safely and cross the new bike lanes to the footpath.
Zero or low carbon transport
Mayor Andy Foster said Wellington already has New Zealand’s highest public transport usage, alongside walking and cycling but Wellingtonians have made it clear over many years that they want it to be easier and more convenient to get around in zero or low carbon ways.
He added: “This includes our commitment to get public transport priority in key locations and a citywide network of safe bike routes and connections in place as fast as possible.”
Wellington City Council transitional programme manager Claire Pascoe explained that the colourful new platforms are an example of the types of adjustable materials being used along the route so people can experience the new layout, and then provide feedback.
“Wellingtonians have made it clear over many years that they want it to be easier and more convenient to get around in zero or low carbon ways”
She said: “On this route, we’re looking forward to hearing what people think in a few months’ time once everything’s in place between Newtown and the waterfront.”
A key reason for selecting the platforms is because they have been designed to make areas where bike lanes and bus stops intersect as safe and accessible as possible. People on bikes will ride up low ramps over the platforms, and there will be signs and red markings to show where they need to slow down, take particular care and give way to pedestrians.
The platforms come as prefabricated components – individual building blocks – so installation involves linking them together and bolting them to the ground. They can be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere if required, or when they are replaced with more permanent street improvements. They can also be reconfigured to make different sized platforms and eventually be recycled.
Five new bus platforms will be assembled along Riddiford Street and Adelaide Road between Mein and Hall streets and the Basin Reserve as part of the installation of the new bike and 24/7 bus lanes. The first and longest platform will be assembled outside Wellington Hospital in two sections.
Contractor Fulton Hogan will position and bolt more than 1,000 pieces in place to create the 70 metre-long platform. Another platform will go in across the road, two more on either side of Adelaide Road near Drummond Street, and a fifth on the citybound side near the Basin.
The Zicla platforms, which use a system called Vectorial, are made in Spain and have been used in cities around the world, including in Washington, New York, Los Angeles and Portland in the US, Canada, Spain, France, and Ireland.
It is the latest in innovative road projects in Wellington. It is also using the untapped resource of unwanted clothing and textiles as a performance additive in asphalt on the city’s roads.
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