Cycle, walking lane on bridge wins support

Aucklanders have shown a keen appetite for adding cycling and walking lanes to their harbour bridge, even for what campaigners say is a "gold-plated" cost estimate by Transit NZ.

An online survey of 300 randomly selected Auckland and North Shore city residents by advertising agency Y&R found 76 per cent support for such links before costs were mentioned.

Support fell to 56 per cent when participants were told that Transit estimated it would cost $20 million to $40 million to add cycling and walking lanes, but only 21 per cent opposed the idea, compared with 24 per cent who were unsure.

Y&R chief executive Jon Ramage said he was most encouraged by the survey results, which had a statistical margin for error of 5.7 per cent, as he was a North Shore resident frustrated at not being able to cycle to work in Auckland or to take his family on walks over the bridge.