Lego movie for cyclists gathers fans

Have you caught sight of Spiderman hanging from the side of a building in Te Roto Drive, giving an upside-down kiss to Mary Jane? … or the skeleton horse pulling a carriage into the ‘Right Cars’ forecourt?... or 1980s Workout Girl heading to Jetts Fitness in her pink car?

All these are characters who appear in a Lego video demonstrating the new ‘hook turn’ manoeuvre for cyclists at the Kāpiti Road intersections with Milne Drive and Te Roto Drive.

The video, produced by Kāpiti College students, was commissioned and scripted as part of a publicity campaign by Council to educate cyclists on the extra-safe option for them when turning into Te Roto Drive and Milne Drive.

Hook turn bays have been created where cyclists wait to the left of the main traffic lanes on Kāpiti Road. Detectors sense the presence of the cyclists and set in motion the signal phasing. When they get a green signal, the cyclists can move safely across into the right-turn lane, where they wait for a green arrow to complete the turn.

Jake Roos, Council’s Senior Advisor Climate Change and Energy, who made all the Lego models, says the video has proved popular because people enjoy seeing familiar landmarks as Lego miniatures and spotting different characters.

"We have heard of people slowing down the video or stopping it at different points when they recognise a character or see some humour in the scenes.

"We’ve also raised some laughs when people realised the car going into the carwash at Z Energy is an open-topped convertible.

"It’s all good fun and part of getting a serious safety message across for the protection of cyclists."

At the start of the week the video had topped over 1100 views on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/user/KapitiCouncil/

The video is now playing at Paraparaumu Library as part of a cabinet display of the Lego models. The built-to-scale set used in the movie, measuring 4.8 metres by 3.6 metres, is also on display alongside the cabinet.

In addition, diagrams showing the manoeuvre have appeared in local newspapers over the last two weeks.

The hook turn bays will initially feature white cycle markings on the black asphalt, but the bays will be painted with a green background when the asphalt has ‘cured’ in a few weeks.