Quotes
The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk.
Jacqueline Schiff
17 May 2013
Steve Abley has been invited to speak to the Canterbury Region Road Safety Forum on Pedestrian Safety. Crashes involving pedestrians who were killed or seriously injured made up 27 % of fatal or serious injury crashes in Canterbury. Abley have developed innovative tools for targeting risk and road safety investment and Steve has a particular interest in walking research.
15 May 2013
Steve Abley and Kurt Janssen will be attending the 2013 International Esri User Conference in San Diego. Steve and Kurt will be presenting two of Abley's innovative GIS projects at the week-long event in July where over 15000 geospatial professionals network, learn about Esri's continually evolving offerings and listen to presentations from other users.
14 May 2013
Steve Abley was asked by The Press to comment on the ever increasing amount of road works appearing on Christchurch roads, as a result of earthquake repair work. The resultant delays and detours are creating frustrations for motorists. Steve comments on the effectiveness of traffic diversion in keeping traffic flowing. For the full transcript of the article, click here .
13 May 2013
We are pleased to announce our sponsorship of a breakfast presentation by Todd Litman from Canada. Todd is a world-renowned expert in transportation design and is the founding director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute. His special areas of interest include looking at the economic and social benefits of transportation options for the public and private sectors, with experiences and evidence of best practice examples from New Zealand and overseas.
Todd shared his experiences and expertise with the business and development community involved in the Christchurch rebuild.
8 May 2013
Jeanette and Steve presented to Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology engineering students tonight explaining where their engineering careers had taken them. Together Jeanette and Steve's careers have spanned 40 years, two continents, three countries, nine employers and numerous projects. Abley Transportation Consultants are a proud supporter of careers in engineering through our work such as events like these and our support of Futureintech. If you are seeking an exciting career in transportation, please check out our careers or contact Steve .
7 May 2013
The Institute of Directors in New Zealand (Inc) promotes excellence in corporate governance, represents directors’ interests and facilitates their professional development through education and training. Our Steve Abley has been elected as a committee member of the local Canterbury Branch that has a membership of about 800 members.
6 May 2013
We have recently had a number of new staff join us including Barry Hayes, Jonathan Entwistle and Duncan Keall. To learn more about our new team members, and the existing team, please have a look at our contact page. If you are interested in joining the Abley team, please have a look at our current vacancies .
16 April 2013
Abley has again been successful at the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ (IPENZ) Transportation Group national conference, held in Dunedin this year. Our Jeanette Ward won the People's Choice award for the best presentation on her work regarding the benefits of one-way or two-way streets, and our Dr Stacy Rendall and Peter Cockrem were presented with the Chairman's Prize for their paper 'How much choice is enough? Quantifying the marginal value of accessing destinations'. The judges commented that this year's papers, presentations and posters were of a very high standard and Abley congratulates all presenters and winners at this nationally prestigious event.
15 April 2013
The national Transportation Group Conference enables specialists from all over New Zealand to network with their peers in an encouraging and supportive environment. It also provides a chance for the Abley team to fully embrace the conference dinner theme. With this year’s dinner held at Larnach Castle in Dunedin, organisers suggested costumes that focused on characters that would be found in castles. The Abley team went with a vampire theme. If you are interested in achieving outstanding technical leadership, being part of a supportive and fun environment, please contact us through our careers site.
13 April 2013
Our Paul Durdin’s technical paper titled ‘Using GIS to Unlock the True Value of Transport Data’ has been selected as a finalist of the Hynds Paper of the Year at this year's INGENIUM conference. The purpose of the Hynds Paper is to encourage members to improve their presentation skills by presenting papers on asset management and engineering for infrastructure. The winner of the Hynds Paper of the Year award has the opportunity to present the winning paper at an Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia conference in Australia.
12 April 2013
The New Zealand Transport Agency has published Research Report 512 titled 'The New Zealand accessibility analysis methodology' co-authored by Derek Halden (Scotland) and our Steve Abley. The research draws on international experience in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and Australia, and draws parallels as to how accessibility policy could be best developed here. The research concludes that accessibility assessments have the potential to enlighten and provide transport professionals with a more holistic method for how to understand travel opportunities. To read the research visit www.accessibility.org.nz and learn more about how accessibility assessments can improve your community contact Steve Abley .
25 March 2013
Our Dr Stacy Rendall has co-led a team on a voluntary research programme titled “From the Ground Up” with Associate Professor Dr Susan Krumdieck from the University of Canterbury. The research examined where to house the 12,000 red zoners who are, or soon will be, on the move in Christchurch. The study is a reaction to a lack of affordable housing in the city and the resulting sprawled low density development stretching beyond the city suburbs and how this is impacting on resources, including employment and transport, which are reaching their limit. The results from this research were presented on Friday evening. The presentation can be viewed here .
15 March 2013
Graham Darlow, IPENZ President, presented AECOM, Fraser Thomas Limited and Abley Transportation Consultants Limited at this evening’s 2013 IPENZ Fellows and Achievers Dinner with an award acknowledging the commitment these firms have to encouraging young people into science, technology and engineering. Steve Abley accepted the award on behalf of the company and said "We're proud to encourage the next generation of engineers and spatial scientists. We know that by promoting these career options we can make a positive difference and lead young people towards a tremendous long term career"
12 March 2013
The draft Auckland Unitary Plan will be released this Friday. The Plan will be underpinned by a new hearing process that is significantly different from other hearing processes under the Resource Management Act such as there being limited appeal rights. It is especially important to take a proactive approach and engage with the Plan process at an early stage. The website www.aucklandplanadvice.org.nz has been developed to enable tenants and owners to connect with experts who can provide that best advice.
5 March 2013
A feature article regarding Abley Transportation Consultants was published in The Press today celebrating the value of good engineering design in the City's rebuild. The article can be read here . For more information contact Steve Abley.
4 March 2013
Abley staff and partners have returned to work this week after a weekend of rest and relaxation at Hanmer Springs. The highlight of the weekend was a soak in the Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools which rejuvenated weary muscles for those who had taken on the challenge of walking or running up parts of Mt Isobel.
It has been a busy social week with staff attending a movie night earlier in the week where they were mesmerised by the acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away.
2 March 2013
Abley team members Kurt and Steve completed the Rotherham Ram Classic this weekend. Abley has a strong tradition of cycling design based on international best practice and real world practice. If you are interested in a real world career, have a look at our careers website.
2 March 2013
Abley Transportation Consultants is very proud to have been able to assist in the rebuild of the Harvey Norman Centre. The February 2011 earthquake necessitated repairs and quake-strengthening work that took nearly two years to complete. It also enabled for an optimisation of tenant activities that necessitated professional transportation engineering advice. Our Kylee Galbraith and Dave Smith provided the advice to our client that enabled the project to gain resource consent.
27 February 2013
The Resource Management Law Association (RMLA) has a number of branches in NZ whose objective is to meet the needs of members and to promote a better understanding of resource management law, policy and practice. Last night our Andy Carr was re-elected to the role of Chairman of the Canterbury Branch. This is a significant appointment and one that is unusual to be held by a professional outside of the law and planning disciplines.
26 February 2013
The Salvation Army operates a number of programmes to combat drug, alcohol and gambling problems in our community. These programmes are unfortunately under increasing demand that necessitated the expansion of an existing centre in a residential area. Abley Transportation Consultant were commissioned to consider the transport effects of increased patronage that focused on multimodal travel and car parking requirements. The resource consent was notified and Abley’s Paul Durdin assisted with expert advice through the pre-hearing mediation process that resolved all the traffic issues. Consent was subsequently granted without the need for a public hearing.
24 February 2013
The Abley Transportation Consultants newsletter 'Street Smart' is now available for download . If you would like to receive an electronic copy of Street Smart direct to your inbox please subscribe here or to receive a hardcopy please email your details to newsletter@abley.com.
21 February 2013
We are delighted to announce that our Senior Transportation Planner, Kylee Galbraith, gave birth to a baby boy Austen today. Kylee is now on maternity leave. We wish Kylee and Morgan all the best with their new arrival. In Kylee’s absence, please contact Steve Abley .
14 February 2013
Well known and respected transport planner Barry Hayes will be joining us in March. Barry has extensive experience in Transport Engineering and Planning including 15 years as a team leader and project manager. His experience covers New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and the Middle East. He is a welcome addition to assist with our expanding workload.
12 February 2013
We are very proud to announce that Jonathan Entwistle has accepted a position as a GIS Analyst. Jonathan has been working with ESRI ArcGIS assisting central government over the last few years. He has a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Geography and Geology with an Environmental Sciences Endorsement from the University of Canterbury and commences in March 2013.
30 January 2013
The Trips Database Bureau (TDB) is a strong supporter of the national methodology for how to undertake Integrated Transport Assessments (ITAs). The TDB has recently promoted the use of ITAs using an interactive method for interrogating NZ Transport Agency Research Report 422. Our Paul Durdin and Steve Abley along with Malcolm Douglass are the authors of the methodology. The TDB website can be interrogated at www.ita.org.nz .
29 January 2013
Well not quite... but the new Google aerial imagery of Christchurch does proudly show the Abley squiggle.
28 January 2013
Abley have been commissioned to consider the change in traffic flows that might eventuate from a major development. The tool we are using to assess these changes is Citilabs Cube Voyager that allows for the redistribution of trips through various attractiveness functions and reassignment of trips onto the transport network. More information on the suite of modelling tools Abley use in the assessment of various proposals can be found here .
20 January 2013
The fantastic Canterbury summer allowed the Abley team to try their hand at water skiing and wake boarding this weekend. First timers and more experienced pros were tested in some wavy conditions at Lake Hood and there were some spectacular experiences. If you are interested in being part of the Abley team, have a look at our recruitment page.
15 January 2013
How would New Zealand fare if oil was not available in the future at the rate we use it today, or it was unaffordable? That is the question posed in a report commissioned by the Palmerston North City Council, which found that cities and towns could still prosper in a post cheap oil world. To read the rest of the news item click here and to read the study report click here . If you are interested in obtaining the vulnerability rankings of the suburbs in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch contact Steve or look them up directly at www.vampire.org.nz
14 January 2013
The Making Good Decisions Programme helps councillors, community board members, and independent commissioners make better decisions under the Resource Management Act (RMA). The course provides RMA decision-makers with the skills they need to run fair and effective resource consent, plan change and designation hearings, and to make informed decisions. Andy Carr and Steve Abley have recently successfully completed the Making Good Decisions course and are now certified by the Ministry for the Environment as Independent Commissioners.
8 January 2013
Abley have been successful with the acceptance of an amazing six abstracts to the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ Transportation Group National Conference being held in April. This technical conference includes papers from Dr Stacy Rendall, Jeanette Ward, Jay Baththana, Laura Bates, Peter Cockrem and Dave Smith on subjects as diverse as oil supply to one-way street conversions. To learn more about the conference click here.
7 January 2013
We are proud to announce that Duncan Keall is joining the Abley team in March. Duncan has a First Class Honours Degree in Natural Resources Engineering from the University of Canterbury. He has a very keen interest in transportation, has outstanding academic grades and has won two awards for entrepreneurship from the University Entré organisation. Outside work he has a keen interest in hockey, welcome to the team Duncan.
