Brian Rudman: Minister can't walk the walk

COMMENT

Transport Minister Paul Swain is the latest in a long line of limousine-riding politicians to wax lyrical about the wonders of walking and cycling.

Indeed, he seems very keen on the rest of us throwing away our car keys and doing a lot more of it.

"Increasing the amount of walking and cycling people do as part of their transport mix will improve the nation's health, contribute to cleaner air, and help lessen congestion on our streets."

That was his message last week when launching the Government's draft strategy document Getting there - on foot, by cycle.

And fine sentiments they are, to be sure.

But if he and the Government truly believe that walking and cycling are Beecham's little pills to a better future, it's a shame they didn't pass the message on to the Crown's road-builders, Transit New Zealand.

Then they might have included cycle and pedestrian access to the flash new Wellesley St Bridge, which takes traffic from the central business district under Symonds St, across Grafton Gully to the gates of the new Auckland Hospital.

I'm still trying to work out what Mr Swain meant when he declared during the opening ceremony on October 2 that the completion by the end of the year of the Grafton Gully project, of which this bridge is an integral part, "will make it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross from the city to the Auckland Domain".

How does the absence of footpaths or pedestrian crossings on this handy new bridge make it either easier or safer for those following Government policy and "getting there, on foot, by cycle"?

Mr Swain, in launching his shanks' pony manifesto, said "not all journeys can be made on foot or by cycle, but there is scope for many of us to walk and cycle more. Around 30 per cent of motor vehicle trips are for distances of less than two kilometres."

Getting to and from the hospital and the Domain from Queen St would fall into that category. The new bridge provides direct access with a gentle gradient thrown in, and would provide an ideal walkway for those contemplating the move from out behind the wheel.

It's unlikely many patients will want to hobble their way to outpatients from downtown, but for the thousands of hospital staff and many visitors to this rapidly expanding medical complex, why not provide at least as easy pedestrian/cycle access as is being provided for the unhealthy car drivers?

I'm told that when pedestrian access came up in the planning stages, the traffic engineers claimed pedestrians wouldn't use it because they already had access either via the university end of Grafton Rd or up town over Grafton Bridge.

But neither of these routes is as quick or convenient or physically kind as the new Wellesley St bridge. Both the alternatives require a hike up from the Queen St valley to the Symonds St ridge then either down and up again for the Grafton Rd option, or a long hike up Symonds Street, then across the now fumed-filled, plastic-enclosed Grafton Bridge.

If the minister is serious about his enthusiasm for pedestrianism and free-wheeling, you'd think he'd be ensuring that these healthier ways of getting about town are getting at least as fairly treated as those relying on dirty and finite oil.

And, before he takes Transit's advice and says 'oh dear, how sad, but it's too late', he and the assisting minister for Auckland and Emissions, Judith Tizard, should don their hard hats and have a look.

I'm no traffic engineer, but it seems to me that it's not too late, even now, to incorporate a safe pedestrian/cycle way on the north side of the roadway. It would involve only one pedestrian crossing, at the Domain side where local traffic along Grafton Rd would have to give way. I agree that the south side, with its motorway on-ramps, is not suitable for a footpath/cycleway.

There's no doubt that Transit was historically mucked about by a dithering Auckland City Council over this bridge. Under the Fletcher/Hucker ascendancy, light rail was to travel up Queen St and east across the new Wellesley St bridge to a new hospital station. The present council dropped light rail in favour of buses and a route up Symonds St and across Grafton Bridge.

There was some thought about including bus lanes on the new bridge, but Transit eventually tired of the vacillation, said it had to get on with designing the whole project and that dedicated public transport on this bridge had missed the bus. If Auckland City wanted new rail-bus links to Grafton, they could build their own.

But the row over bus lanes doesn't explain the lack of pedestrian and cycle access. And not just to and from Queen St, but up onto Symonds St as well.

When such access is provided, then Mr Swain can truly say it is now easier and safer for pedestrians to cross from the city to the Auckland Domain - and to the hospital and Grafton as well.