Subscribe to RSSBridge Cycle Hard Sell
Columnist Brian Rudman today poured a big bucket of cold water over the plans for a $16m walkway/cycleway across Auckland Harbour Bridge.
“I’d have thought building a user-pays cycleway in the city whose love affair with cars matches that of Los Angeles is akin to investing in Greek bonds. In other words, dead risky,” wrote Brian.
“It’s hard to believe enough North Shore commuters will abandon their cars, their busway or their ferries for the pleasure of paying a toll and arriving at work hot and sweaty. Enough to fund the repayments.”
There’s no doubt this is going to be a hard sell, as NZTA spend the next few weeks studying the latest proposal.
Hopper Developments confirmed to AKT that through its subsidiary company Infrasol (NZ) Ltd,it has entered into a Heads of Agreement with the Auckland Harbour Bridge Pathway Trust, to investigate the commercial feasibility of the proposed harbor bridge combined cycle/walkway.
It says that the investigation period is for 3 months and, if both parties agree the project is viable, and the project gains NZ Transport Authority and relevant Local Authorities support, a Special Purpose Joint Venture entity will be formed to design, consent, fund, construct, manage and maintain the facility for a period of not less than 15 years.
Hopper Developments chairman, Leigh Hopper says “We are attracted to this project because it is well thought out, fills a demonstrable public need and appears to be financially sound as a Public Social Private Partnership (PSPP).
“We believe we can attract the institutional funding support needed to deliver this innovative extension to the public walk/cycleway network with co-operation from key stakeholders.”
You can't get very far trying to cycle across the bridge at the moment!
GetAcross spokesperson Bevan Woodward says “We’re very excited to have Hopper Developments as our partners in this project. They have the expertise, experience and reputation critical to ensuring the Pathway is completed. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement which will ensure Aucklanders get a superb walking and cycling facility on their bridge, sooner rather than later.”
The hard sell may come down to crunching the numbers.
Like a lot of fascinating ideas, most people I speak to love the notion but very few say they would actually use it.
Brian Rudman points out that despite the enthusiasm many of us have for the idea, the numbers who will ride can get inflated and everyone needs to have realistic expectations.
He writes:”The bigger question is can he attract enough cyclists to make the long journey and pay the tolls necessary to fund the bridge? Last November, when the promoters, Getacross, revealed this plan, they wrote of an “estimated demand of 600 to 1500 cyclists per day”.
“This was certainly more realistic that the 10,000 daily trips - cyclists and pedestrians - they were fantasising about two years ago when badgering the bridge operators to clip on a cycleway. At the time, around 160 cyclists a day were using the free cross-harbour service for bikes.”
9 Comments
Of course they can always whinge about the 0 people currently walking & cycling on the harbour bridge daily.
Startup costs are always high - but Brian Rudman has a personal VENDETTA against this project: Even now that he and and other cycling opponents (he has often called cycling an outmoded and ridiculous idea) have succeeded in ensuring that no public money will be used, he is doing his best to make sure the concept fails.
I knew newspaper columnists like to be negative to stir up interest in their columns, but Rudman is verging on being a hater.
I’m not pro or anti cycling but I do think Rudmans column was pretty bad. If a company wants to build it at no cost to the taxpayer then there should be no issue.
It makes sense only 160 would use the free ferry service - you are still consigned to the schedule, often 1/2 hourly…
I also wish people would stop with the “Aucklanders love their cars” line, Aucklanders (like everyone else on the planet) value their time and in Auckland the fastest way to get around currently is by car - suprise, suprise when you invest in nothing else for 6 decades, doesn’t mean it is the fastest way that we could possibly get around…
The ferries that call at Birkenhead and Northcote are also often small ferries which often forces you to load/unload your bike through tiny hatchways.
But the main issue is that you have to be on time, at a certain time, or you wait 30-60 minutes. You may even be on time, but the ferry may not.
With loading, unloading and passage time, ferries will also be slower than a cyclist in most cases even if they are dead on time.
Finally, the ferry service is NOT free. Only taking your bike is (thanks Fullers, by the way!). You still have to pay for yourself. So no comparisons like that please. Not sure what the ferry trip from Northcote costs, but I guess it will be on the order of a $2 cycleway toll or close enough to not matter…
Oh, and finally, don’t forget that those 160 cyclists on the ferries a day already equate to about 80,000 trips a year on their own (assuming 52 weeks a year, 160 cyclists, two trips a day, 5 days a week). So even using the ridiculously low number they may have now, it already creates a sizable number. Without even looking at how the convenience would create additional demand.
Oh, and finally, don’t forget that those 160 cyclists on the ferries a day already equate to about 80,000 trips a year on their own (assuming 52 weeks a year, 160 cyclists, two trips a day, 5 days a week). So even using the ridiculously low number they may have now, it already creates a sizable number. Without even looking at how the convenience would create additional demand, or looking at weekend cyclists.
(Oh yeah, I HAVE counted winter cyclists - Europeans cycle in much colder & rainier weather, the pathway would have weather shelter, and cycling in bad weather is actually not that strange for most people who commute, once they get the feel for their cycle trip).
Comments function. Being screwy. Jon, can you please delete this comment and the partial one, two before this one?
You’re right, Max! It’s about $4 from hazy recollection but a bit cheaper with the monthly pass. My main gripe with the Northcote/Birkenhead services are that I have to hang my bike up vertically. I have a loaded cargo basket which makes it difficult to do this. Those without light carbon fibre racing bikes have to awkwardly secure it to the railing.
My colleague rides from Birkdale to the Birkenhead ferry and then up to midtown Queen St. He used to park and ride the bus but found this more enjoyable and it took the same amount of time.
I’ll never consider the Shore as a desirable neighbourhood until I get to access it on my bike or by foot that is not the tiki tour route or on the ferry.
I’m usually a fan of Rudman’s articles but he does seem illogically opposed to this idea.