It sounds like the Government may finally be waking up to the massive public opposition to their planned $785 million cycle bridge across the Waitematā Harbour.
Since it was announced at the start of June, myself, Aucklanders and, in fact, Kiwis across the country have been strident in their objection to such a ridiculous use of transport funding.
From a prioritisation point-of-view, the project is unfathomable. Touted as a tourist attraction – and begging the question of how many overseas tourists will be arriving here and cycling the bridge in droves – the projected patronage, according to the Prime Minister, would be at most around 3000 people a day.
Assuming that people choose an alternative mode of transport in pouring rain, it’s safe to say that number is an optimistic guess for a sunny day.
Compare 3000 people a day to the projected benefit of a completed Eastern Busway, which would connect 30,000 east Aucklanders each day to education and employment.
More funding from central government would enable Auckland Transport to reprioritise the delayed Busway and the next stage, from Pakuranga to Botany, would cost just a fraction more at $860 million than the cycle bridge but provide a significantly greater benefit.
Even beyond east Auckland, think of the bang for your buck that you could get with $785 million directed towards other priorities.
It would pay for 26 new bridges in Ashburton. The town actually only needs one – estimated to cost around $30 million – yet they are still waiting. Transport Minister Michael Wood announced Auckland’s cycle bridge only a day after inspecting the damage caused by torrential flooding that isolated Ashburton and temporarily severed the South Island.
Now, a mere 60-odd days later, it’s becoming clear that the cycle bridge is dead in the water.
Michael Wood and several of his senior colleagues including Grant Robertson, Chris Hipkins and Andrew Little have been hammering the nails into its coffin, giving equivocal answers about changing priorities and saying the bridge is “what we intend to proceed with at this stage” – shorthand for “it’s DOA”.
I’ll make my prediction now in the pages of the Times: soon enough, we’ll hear that the cycle bridge has been reprioritised, re-scoped or otherwise rejected.
At the time of writing, news website BusinessDesk has revealed that Michael Wood will soon receive advice on converting a lane on the existing Harbour Bridge into a walking and cycling lane – indicating the separate bike bridge will quite likely be put on ice.
I suspect the change of tack has come from polling that showed 81 per cent of people oppose the project. And it figures – Aucklanders are sick of being stuck in gridlock and unable to get around their city and are crying out for investment that will actually get the region moving.
We need to get on and build the projects and infrastructure that the Labour Government has shelved, like Mill Road, and properly build a second Auckland Harbour crossing as
National proposed at the last election. Government spending on these big priorities would also hopefully free up Auckland Transport to fund the work we need on several east Auckland roads.
Aucklanders must keep the pressure on and tell Michael Wood that his Government needs to bin the bike bridge.
- Christopher Luxon is the MP for Botany
