Frequently Asked Questions:Imagine having a harbour but not being allowed to sail in it. Or a park that no one’s allowed to have a picnic in. How about a bridge, joining two halves of our biggest city, that you’re not allowed across unless you’re driving a car or riding a bus? It just doesn’t make sense. The folks who designed the Auckland Harbour Bridge in the first place thought so too – so they made sure the bridge would include a cycleway, a walkway – even a railway! But when costs started rising, all three got the chop. You don’t often get a second chance to get it right, but that’s exactly what Auckland’s got now: a second chance to give everyone access to their bridge, whether it’s by car, on a bike, or on foot. Transit New Zealand is about to strengthen the clipons so adding a dedicated walkway / cycleway at the same time is far cheaper if we do it while the upgrade is happening. If we miss this opportunity, it’s unlikely we’ll get another chance in decades. The clipons are the two extra lanes that were added to each side of the bridge in 1969 to help handle the increase in traffic. Inspections in 2007 showed they need strengthening work, and this will start in mid 2008. Who says walkway / cycleway can even be built? Transit New Zealand does! It commissioned a feasibility study in July 2006 that confirmed a dedicated walkway and cycleway can be efficiently and safely added to the outside of the clipons. Two options for a dedicated walkway and cycleway have been looked at. Transit have come up with a 'gold plated' solution of $30 to $40 million, making it very unlikely to ever be approved. Where will the money come from? Funds for a project like this come from Transit New Zealand’s annual budget (this money comes from a mix of sources including tax, road user charges and fuel levies). In 2007, Transit had a surplus of $200 million – money the government allocated to improving our roads which wasn’t spent. Within Transit’s budget there is also a $3 million allocation for walking and cycling projects. Last year, none of this money was spent at all. The Auckland Regional Council also has money available for walking and cycling projects, funded through an existing 5 cent per litre fuel tax. Wouldn’t the money be better spent on health and education? No money needs to be diverted from other areas of government spending as the money for this project should be available from existing Transit New Zealand funding, You could also argue that ‘prevention is better than cure’ – so making it easier for people to bike or walk is a pretty good investment in public health anyway! Why is this a priority for Auckland? Giving all Aucklanders – and our overseas visitors – free access to our iconic bridge will be a huge positive step. Right now, apart from a few isolated stretches, Auckland is an unfriendly, even dangerous place to walk or cycle. Compare this to other Pacific rim cities like Sydney and San Francisco, where easy access to their harbour bridges and waterside is a part of everyday life. Opening our bridge to everyone is one of the best things we can do for our city. A representative sample of Aucklanders carried out in 2007 revealed: 78% of people are in favour of being able to walk or cycle across the bridge. Source: Y&R Viewfinder Online Survey of 300 Aucklanders, November 2007 Will the walkway and cycleway affect vehicle traffic? Only in a positive way! The walkway and cycleway don’t affect the number of traffic lanes so the bridge will have just as much capacity as it does today, yet every walker or cyclist means one less car on the road – reducing traffic congestion on the bridge. The best comparison we have is Sydney Harbour Bridge (although their bridge is a bit longer than ours). In Sydney, 2 to 3% of bridge traffic is by foot or bike. For us, that works out to 5000 trips each way, per day. (And who knows how many more as oil prices continue to rise.) Couldn’t the walk/cycleway be built under the traffic deck? It probably could, however Transit have stipulated that any walk/cycle way must be at the same level as the traffic for security (including access) and safety reasons. We believe that providing the walk/cycle way at same level will be more cost-effective and, if done well, will be a more pleasant experience for walking and cycling. Don’t the clipon’s bounce around a lot? Yes, they do move up and down. This is caused by heavy trucks and the range of movement can be up to a metre. However the strengthening project due to start this year will be adding 700 tonnes of steel to the clipon’s so this movement will be restricted. Isn’t the bridge too steep to walk or ride? Not at all. The gradient is a moderate 5% well within the recommended guideline of 8% for cycleways and 7 to 14% for wheel chair ramps, thus no problem for the average cyclist on a bike with gears, and a very gentle walk or run. How will people get on and off the bridge? On the Auckland City side there’s already good foot and cycle access to the bridge via Westhaven, which connects with Ponsonby in one direction and the Viaduct / CBD in the other with a short ride or stroll through the proposed Tank Farm redevelopment. On the North Shore side, access options include Princes Street and Sulphur Beach Rd on Northcote Point, the tunnel outside the Police Traffic Control Station, the footbridge at the bottom of Exmouth Road and connections to Akoranga Drive/Esmonde Rd in Takapuna. How safe would cyclists and walkers be? The dedicated walkway and cycleway is separate from traffic. The barriers provide protection from wind and traffic noise, yet allow motorists to enjoy the view of the harbour. In addition, Transit and the Police monitor the bridge full time with security cameras from the Traffic Control Centre on the North side of the bridge, so users are very safe. In severe weather conditions, the walkway and cycleway could be closed. Are car owners paying for this cycleing and walking project? Almost every cyclist and walker is a car owner too, so they contribute to Transit’s funding through general taxes, vehicle registration and fuel levy. And remember, everyone who chooses to cycle or walk leaves more room on the road for motorists and frees up another parking space. Why can’t we just include cycle and walking lanes in this next harbour crossing we keep hearing about? One, it will take too long – even if it was agreed to start today, it will take at least 15 years to design, get consent and build it. Do we really want to wait that long to get across our own harbour? Secondly, it is most likely that the next crossing will be a tunnel – and no pedestrians or cyclists would be allowed. What else has the plan got going for it? Cheaper commuting: right now, there’s no way to cross the harbour without a car, a motorbike or a bus or ferry ticket. All those cost money. Walking’s free, and cycling costs next to nothing. Tourist attraction: just like Sydney or San Francisco, opening our bridge to walkers and cyclists would quickly see it on top of visitors’ to-do lists – and almost certainly lead to tourist dollars from walking tours, bike hire and more. Planet-friendly: If just 1,000 CBD workers replaced their 10km round trip with a walking or cycle commute three times a week, we’d stop 325 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. It supports a more active lifestyle and a cleaner environment. Soon! If Transit listens to what we’re saying and adds walking and cycle lanes to the 2008 clip-on strengthening project, we could be walking, running and biking across our bridge within three years! If we don’t show our support now, then we could be left waiting for another 50 years. There are lots of ways you can help us get across the bridge. The first step is to get our message across to Transit, and every level of government. Show your support by clicking on the poll on our homepage. Do any of the councils support getacross? |