Responding to NZTA CEO Geoff Dangerfield’s fuddy-duddy response to the May 24th protest, Bevan Woodward tells it like it is:
It’s not just about the cycleway. I’ve been campaigning for walking and cycling access on the Auckland Harbour Bridge for more than 10 years. During that time the NZ Transport Agency (and its predecessor, Transit) has strongly opposed the idea.
It has come up with all kinds of excuses, ranging from, “It’s not a priority for the region”, to “It’s too steep and windy”.
Campaigners have responded to each excuse and the Transport Agency has come back with ever grander reasons why a walkway and cycleway could not be provided. Its latest excuse is that it would significantly shorten the service life of the clip-ons, but this excuse doesn’t stack up with the facts.
The honest reason why the Transport Agency doesn’t want to provide walking and cycling access is because, fundamentally, it is a road-building organisation which thinks Auckland’s traffic problems can be solved with more and bigger roads. The Transport Agency sees pedestrians and cyclists as a hassle they could do without.
Read the rest here.
