Axel Downard-Wilke

Axel Peter Carl Downard-Wilke ( Wilke; born 1966) is a transport planner, engineer, and Wikipedia editor from New Zealand. He was born in Germany and moved to New Zealand to finish his education at the University of Canterbury.

 Career 

From 1997 to 2005, Downard-Wilke worked for the Christchurch City Council as a traffic engineer. During this time, he was known for working on projects to make cycling safer in the city, even inventing a system to help cyclists get across wide intersections.

He co-founded the consulting company ViaStrada, which focuses on traffic engineering and planning for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. His expertise in cycling led him to be a lead author for the New Zealand Cycle Trail Design Guide and an expert on a national Cycling Safety Panel. He consistently advocates for urban planning that prioritizes walking, cycling, and public transport over cars.

 Wikipedia 

In addition to his career, Downard-Wilke is an active member of the Wikipedia community. He is one of the administrators based in New Zealand and has created around 1,800 articles since 2009.

In 2020, he successfully led a campaign to change the policy on Wikipedia to ensure that Māori place names are correctly written with macrons (the long marks above vowels). He is also a member of the management committee for Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand.

 References 

Category:1966 births
Category:Living people
Category:Wikipedia people