NZ In Tranzit

A very good article in The New Statesman this week , written by Enrico Penalosa, former Mayer of Bogota - a city the population size of London - which has (according to a Bogota resident who stayed with friends here in Christchurch)  "fantastic cycleways" and a city which showed that buses can do what rail can do, but better, reaching deeper into all areas, running more frequently, without need for huge underground tunnels, and at much lower infrastructure costs. Penalosa is one of the few politicians in the world to speak honestly and logically about where a civilised world must go  if it is to create effective, democratic, and attractive transport alternatives. A couple of quotes from the longer article; " Basic democracy:  if all citizens are equal before the Law as Constitutions state in their first article, then a citizen on a $ 30 bicycle has the same right to safe mobility as one on a $30,000 car; and a bus with 100 passengers has a right to 100 times more ...

I have been very busy researching some early Canterbury history lately, for a very specific project (only marginally related to public transport) making regular blog postings a little more difficult during this month gone and February. One bit of background reading I was doing is "The Early Days of Canterbury" compiled by Selwyn Bruce and published in 1932. There is still a copy available to borrow from Christchurch City Libraries. This history scanned back across the previous 80 years, I presume the author/editor was himself fairly elderly at the time. Here is a description, page 57-58 of a facet of what is now the central business area of Christchurch - one that I have never heard described before anywhere. It is certainly is of great interest following the great damage caused in the 10,000 earthquakes, particularly to buildings built on areas once swamp only compacted in the last few centuries or since settlers arrived or beside waterways. I quote; -     "The...