Today the NZ Transport Agency unveiled its preferred design for a walking and biking pathway across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, breaking the silence around the project since the government confirmed last August it would fund the crossing.

Initial images show a pathway along the city side of the bridge: it’s cantilevered off the piers, and roughly level with the roadway. According to the official media release, the path echoes the shape and design of the existing bridge, with a five metre wide travel width, and three wider and spacious terraced galleries about 100m long, stepped down from the walkway and cycleway, creating a natural seating area where people can gather or pause to take in the views.

Crucially, the announcement notes that because this pathway will be attached to the bridge piers rather than the clip-on, that means “no restrictions on the number of people who can access the path at one time, and it is designed to cater for future demands”. The Transport Agency’s general manager of system design and delivery, Brett Gliddon, says construction could begin as early as next year.

This is great – but wasn’t it all sorted already?

You can be forgiven for wondering how many times an announcement can be made that a connection across the bridge is imminent. Ever since the 1946 Royal Commission proposed a harbour crossing ‘with footpath and cycle-track’ included, we’ve yearned to walk and bike from one side of the harbour to the other. It’s been a long, LONG road. We’ve been keeping our powder dry but we’ve almost run out of fireworks.

This time is different.

Until now, all eyes have been on SkyPath, the extraordinary citizen-led campaign to bridge the most glaring gap in our biggest city’s transport network, which against all odds – and with the support of thousands of Aucklanders, as well as private backers and Auckland Council – delivered an innovative design that won resource consent in 2015 (which was upheld on appeal in 2016).

Then, the incoming coalition government promised to fund the missing link across the bridge, and after the 2017 election the job of delivery moved into the hands of the NZ Transport Agency, which administers the bridge.

SkyPath demonstrated what we knew all along: that it could be done. NZTA’s design released today suggests how it will be done. Above all, it must be done.

For every ordinary Aucklander, and every visitor to our city, the question has always been a very simple one: when can we walk and bike across the bridge? Two decades into the 21st century, with climate action, transport resilience and public health urgently on our minds – and a growing bike boom on our hands – the question has become: how is this even still a question?

What do we want? To get across! When do we want it? Preferably several decades ago, but now’s good!

Today’s announcement represents an important breakthrough – with a few caveats. Pictures aren’t plans, but the imagery and information released today allows us to see what questions the design answers – and what’s still up in the air. Real certainty will come as we learn details about the landings at both ends, and get clarity on whether the current consent can be leveraged to ensure swift delivery.

Aucklanders are tired of the decades of delay and doubt, so the pressure will now really be on the Transport Agency to get on with it, move past any remaining roadblocks, and deliver this vital link.

What this new design means

Let’s be upfront: it’s impossible not to compare the new design with SkyPath, the name that has been synonymous with a pathway over the bridge for most of the last decade.

SkyPath emerged from the protests at the 50th anniversary of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Recall, the official line at that time was that there was no hope of a walking or biking path across the existing bridge, and that we’d all simply have to wait for the next harbour crossing to happen. Case closed.

Refusing to take no for an answer, Bevan Woodward and the GetAcross team set out on a quest to prove the naysayers wrong. And because New Zealanders love a story that starts with the words ‘they said it couldn’t be done’, thousands of people threw their support behind the vision, from expert engineers to ordinary citizens.

The result, SkyPath, was a brilliant design solution that responded to, grew out of, and then grew around a set of key constraints. It had to attach to the clip-on to stay within the tight budget of a citizen-funded project. It needed to be light to minimise loading on the clip-on. This led to an innovative approach of using composite material. Because it was light, it needed to be alert to the load it carried, i.e. how many people could use it at once. And because it attached below the clip-on in the form of a tube, access was limited to each end.

Every step of the design logic made sense under the conditions and passed the stringent requirements for resource consent. SkyPath was not just the leading contender for a successful pathway, it was the only contender.

(It’s impossible to overstate what an achievement this is in itself – it’s as if citizens had come together to invent the InterIslander ferry after being told it couldn’t be done. Someone best be getting the film rights.)

Then the NZ Transport Agency re-entered the picture in a positive way after the incoming coalition government pledged to take on the project and fund it. Of course, if a previous government had stepped up to respond to the task of satisfying public demand and fixing this strategic gap in the network, the Transport Agency would have been instructed years ago to deliver the Harbour Bridge.

The reality is it needed the public’s investment in SkyPath plus firm government direction to spur them into action.

We now know the Transport Agency has been investigating a range of options over the last while – during what has been a very, very turbulent time for the organisation – and the outcome is this new design.

By going back to first principles, and unfettered by the previous constraints, the new design can address issues that had seemed locked into place. In a crucial contrast to SkyPath, the design is cantilevered to rest on the piers, i.e. the enormous stone footings of the bridge, rather than depending entirely from the box-girder structure itself.

This in turn opens up many more possibilities. Because weight is not such an issue, the pathway can be made of more familiar and readily available materials like steel. Because it can sit closer to the level of the road, there’s more access as needed for maintenance or emergencies. Above all, it’s wider, allowing the possibility of enough space for everyone who wants to use it, now and well into the future.

Width is key

We’ve always known a path over the bridge would be incredibly popular with locals, with visitors, with tourists, for daily journeys and weekend adventures. Within the last few years Auckland’s seen an explosion in the range and variety of people on wheels, with the advent of electric bikes and family cargo bikes; e-scooters, hoverboards and mobility devices of all kinds. We’ve also watched daily bike commute numbers rise by 20~25% a year wherever paths are safe and connected.

In years to come, we’re going to need a path wide enough to ensure a safe and continuous flow of travellers on wheels and on foot, while also making room for people to pause and admire the view of our sparkling harbour and volcanic landscape and city skyline. If the history of the bridge itself tells us anything, it’s: don’t underestimate demand. This design looks set to tick that box.

So, what next? When can we ride?

You’ll have as many questions as we do, especially about timing and legalities. Like us, you’ll want to know specifics about the widths and materials, the shape of the viewing areas and whether they’re covered, and the details of the landings at each end, as well as questions around operating hours and all the many other issues that were canvassed along SkyPath’s road to the Environment Court and resource consent.

The onus is now on the Transport Agency to clarify these issues as it proceeds to detailed design.

In particular, we’ll want to know about whether the existing resource consent can be leveraged, with conditions varied as necessary, to ensure as swift a delivery as possible.

Because the last thing any of us wants is to turn the clock back a decade and start entirely from scratch. With everything we now know about climate, health, resilient networks – and with the growing bike boom – certain and swift completion of this missing link is the highest priority. The Agency is talking about construction beginning as early as next year, i.e. 2020. Let’s hold them to that!

(Not to get ahead of ourselves, but: one thing we do know from Lightpath, which went from twinkle-in-Max’s-eye to actual pink path in just over a year, is that when the road ahead is clear, NZTA can build at pace!)

And what about SkyPath?

A decade of work isn’t something to let go of lightly; especially when you have fought the good fight against stony-faced officialdom that insisted it couldn’t be done. On the other hand, officialdom has now risen to the challenge with a design that’s fully fit for the future, and is eager to deliver.

So it’s time to parley. Because the other part of today’s announcement was the result of an inquiry into NZTA’s correspondence with the SkyPath Trust, acknowledging that the agency “could have communicated sooner that it was looking at alternative options.”

There are clearly loose ends to be tied up on that score, and we warmly encourage the Agency and the SkyPath Trust to work together to reach a resolution of any outstanding issues.

Whatever happens next, the story of SkyPath will forever stand as an inspiring example of ingenuity, passionate dedication, and a sheer determination.

Today’s design ultimately rests on the inspirational leadership and visionary momentum generated by thousands of dedicated volunteer hours of energy, expertise, and public spirit thanks to the GetAcross Campaign and the SkyPath Trust. We also credit the unflagging support of the people of Auckland over the years, and this government’s commitment to delivering a harbour crossing as a proud legacy for our city.

Plus, good luck getting everyone not to call the eventual crossing “SkyPath”! The name is synonymous with Auckland’s aspirations to be able to walk and bike over the bridge, and it will live on as enduring testament to the courageous legacy of Bevan Woodward and his tireless warriors over the years, who knew it could be done. They were right.

What about the planned protest on Sunday?

That’s in the SkyPath Trust’s hands, and we’ll keep you updated on developments.

Update, 5am Wednesday. The SkyPath Trust have issued the following statement:

“We’ve made the decision to call off the SkyPath rally, here’s why…

“We’ve had a productive meeting with NZTA today (our first meeting in 6 months!) We have agreed to commence a facilitated process to rebuild our relationship, to resolve the issue of SkyPath’s IP and support the new design put forward by NZTA. On this basis we think it is appropriate to call off the SkyPath rally planned for this Sunday.

“We don’t like to mess people around but the developments today came as a surprise – and ironically as a result of our plan to rally. We now welcome the opportunity to work with NZTA to help deliver a remarkable facility for Auckland.”

Public transport in Auckland looks set to hit an all-time of 100 million passengers this year. Patrick Reynolds looks back at how we got here and what next to expect for the future of transport.

There’s a quiet revolution underway in Auckland, slowly but relentlessly transforming the city. It began early in the century – a big change of direction taken in small steps – and has been continued by every council and government since. It’s becoming an impressive and undeniable success and is changing a great deal about our biggest city. Its pattern and its possibilities, its international image, and its very idea of itself. Over the coming decade, this is set to really accelerate with a new scale and transformative force. Yet it is still invisible to many.

Mostly because it looks like a bus.

Or a train, or a ferry. Surprisingly, Auckland is actually becoming an effective public transport city, a city where more and more people can successfully live more of their lives without needing a car.

People are voting with their bums, increasingly putting them on public seats in public vehicles. From a low point of around 30 million annual trips in 1994, we’re about to hit 100 million this year – a number not seen since before the auto age, an increase well in advance of population growth.

This is no accident. It’s the result of many decades of hard work by different people from all sides of the political spectrum, especially in council but also in central government. After all, no one can choose to take a bus or a train that isn’t there.

This is a profound shift for anyone used to late 20th century Auckland, a city that had become, through strenuous official effort, one of the most car-focused cities outside the US. A place where public transport services had been allowed to wither to uselessness.

It isn’t that this new Auckland is available everywhere yet by any means. The quality of service is still patchy outside of the city centre, or places that happen to be along the revived rail lines and up the busway on the North Shore. Terrible transit shadows remain, especially in Mangere, East and Northwest Auckland. There are also other gaps and frustrations in between, such as slow or infrequent services, or poor stops and stations.

But the great news is that looking ahead to the funded programme for the next decade, these are actually being addressed.

Such a metamorphosis of a whole city takes time. Looking both into the past and into the future, we can see that we’re now around halfway through a 30-year programme of retrofitting full transit networks into a previously auto-dependent city.

To understand this journey we need to go back to the highly contested decision to bring trains back to lower Queen Street with the transformation of the grand old Chief Post Office building (CPO) into Britomart station. Opening in 2003, this began the revival of our then second-hand diesel train service by actually taking users close enough to where they needed to be: the city centre. Championed by Mayor Christine Fletcher but furiously opposed by her successor John Banks and others, this relatively small investment provided just enough evidence for the Clark-led government to commit to electrification and other upgrades to the suburban rail network, as well as the stunning urban regeneration of the space above the line.

The other early crucial enabler of this revolution was the construction – by that same government – of the Northern Busway. Opening in 2008 this was also loudly opposed. It was predicted to be a white elephant but instead was an instant and enduring success. Importantly, it showed that not only was it possible to add new rapid transit lines to places without historic routes (like rail lines), but it also put to bed forever the absurd claim that certain parts of town are ‘too posh to bus’. Everywhere, people will choose a service if it’s of high enough quality, especially if it’s really good – fast, frequent, safe and reliable transport.

Three important programmes started under the previous government continued under the new Key-led one: the amalgamation of local authorities, the introduction of the HOP card, and the electrification of the rail network. The creation of Auckland Transport (AT) in 2010 finally unified the delivery of transport services under one roof, enabling the coordination necessary to support all this growth.

The HOP card with integrated fares meant passengers only paid once for connected journeys across a number of different trips. It significantly reduced the cost barrier for many users, especially from further out or disconnected places.

Fancy new electric trains on better schedules have also been a huge success, driving a big jump in ridership. Since this upgrade, there have been no more extensions to the core faster Rapid Transit Network (RTN). Much of the growth has been on regular bus routes with AT redesigning the entire bus system while still delivering it, vastly improving its service and efficiency.

But now there are at last three new extensions to the top-tier network underway and the Busway is being extended to Albany. An Eastern Busway is being built to speed riders to trains at Panmure Station from Pakuranga, finally addressing this huge gap on the transit map. And a new interchange at Puhinui Station is being added, bringing seamless connection to an Airport busway for users of two of our three main rail lines.

Then there’s the City Rail Link, which the previous government and council committed to funding. This will double rail capacity and vastly improve the reach into the city centre for anyone along the rail network. This massive project, however, won’t be open until 2024. So in the meantime, other work is underway by AT to speed up and improve all those increasingly full buses on main arterial routes as buses still do the heavy lifting in Auckland.

The clear fact that we simply can’t keep adding more and more buses to our streets – especially not to the booming city centre – is among the reasons the current government saw that it needed to serve the other two big gaps in the top tier of the system: the North West and through the Isthmus and Mangere, need to be higher capacity Light Rail. These two lines, along with the Eastern Busway, will complete the doubling of the RTN from three to six lines, covering all points of the compass.

So while the work in the first decade or so of this revolution was relatively modest, their success worked as a proof of concept. The second half of the programme is going to complete the transformation much more quickly. The result of this will be revolutionary levels of choice for nearly all Aucklanders, the option to travel throughout the city without a car will be easier and more attractive.

Which is Auckland’s best hope to reduce carbon and other emissions as the city continues to grow. Because in our cities its cars, not cows, that are the greatest source of climate change gases. We need to make it possible to drive less, but to actually make it the best choice for more trips much more often.

This ambitious plan is already changing the shape of the city. Transport and land use influence each other reciprocatively, and compact walkable cities need high-quality transit to support that car-lite urban form, and vice versa. Low-density sprawl is predicated on several cars in every garage and lots of space between and around buildings. Auckland has spent this entire century filling in. Even though we are still building houses at the end of the motorway, and experiencing the inevitable traffic congestion as a result, more than 75% of all housing growth has been with the existing urban area for two decades. This trend continues to accelerate.

What about the happy suburbanist and keen driver? Well, this is the best outcome for them too. Auckland has a saturated driving market. It has a mature road network on a constrained land mass and a high level of car ownership. Adding the complementary alternative networks to the driving ones enables this boom in PT ridership to continue, freeing up road space for those who choose or need to drive. This is especially important for vital service, goods, and emergency providers.

Great public transport is a necessary condition for a great city this century. Auckland is already achieving something truly remarkable with this globally significant success story. Transformation is an easy word to write but a hard one to actually achieve in across a whole city.

Auckland is giving it a lash.

Patrick Reynolds is an architectural photographer, transport and urban form advocate at Greater Auckland, and board observer at Auckland Transport.