Nelson Quaker organised a Rally for Traffic Justice so she can dance in the streets

In her bright green tutu Elizabeth and members of Nelsust (Nelson Sustainable Transport group) drew a large crowd of cyclists and walkers to the Church Steps at the beginning of May to call for an end to the domination of cars and greater safety for other road users. The rally aimed to raise awareness of the daily risks of injury to pedestrians and cyclists having to share the streets with ‘2 tonne, large metal boxes’. Peter Olorenshaw of Nelsust spoke briefly about how the speed of vehicles affected survival outcomes in crashes. He showed a graph of impacts according to the speed of the vehicle: if you are hit at 30 km/h, there's a 10% chance of death in a car crash. At 50 km/h, it goes up to an 80% chance. He and others called for a reduction in speed limit within the CBD to 30 km/h, unless there is a dedicated bike lane separated from traffic.

Two speakers from Free Fares New Zealand advocated for community card holders, students and young people to share the advantage enjoyed by Gold Card holders of free public transport. They argued that the uptake by older people of public transport reduces carbon emissions. Extending the scheme would be good for the planet, and good for those on low incomes.

Elizabeth said she joined Nelsust about a year ago due to her personal frustration at the dangers cyclists faced – both in her own experience and from what she had heard from others. Elizabeth has taken to walking after being hit three times while cycling. She believes people – cyclists and pedestrians – need to be given their fair share of public space, and fair means safe.