Cycle, walking lanes are a bridge too far

Auckland Harbour Bridge won’t have trial lanes for walking and cycling, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Board confirmed yesterday.

Waka Kotahi said it was “strongly committed to providing a safe network for walking and cycling” in the Auckland region, integrated with public transport, to “support a shift to active and shared modes with better climate outcomes”.

However, it said it could not support a trial of lane reallocation on the Auckland Harbour Bridge due to “significant” health and safety issues.

Waka Kotahi board chairman Sir Brian Roche said it was focused on planning and delivering a range of projects in Auckland which included walking and cycling in order to encourage more people to use active transport.

The board had considered lane reallocation on the Auckland Harbour Bridge on a number of occasions, he said.

It was clear that the risks for people walking and cycling on the structure could not be “mitigated to the level where we can be confident that it is an activity which can be managed safely on a permanent basis, alongside our other considerations of managing the long-term resilience of the bridge as a critical transport asset and its key role in the region’s transport network”, Roche said.

The most recent safety assessment by Waka Kotahi this year had identified a number of safety risks that the permanent reallocation of lanes for walking and cycling on the harbour bridge would create.

“Waka Kotahi has undertaken a detailed analysis of all of the evidence available, and having considered that analysis, the board has determined that a trial of lane reallocation on a permanent basis would not be appropriate at this time,” Roche added.

Waka Kotahi says it continues to work with the Auckland Council and Auckland Transport on developing a walking and cycling network across the city that is “accessible, safe and appealing for Aucklanders”.

That included the second stage of the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive Shared Path to the east, the Southern Pathway running between Takanini and Papakura, the Northern Corridor, and soon to open Ngā Hau Māngere (Old Mangere Bridge) to the south.