Waka Kotahi has cancelled its Walk It, Wheel It series of Auckland Harbour Bridge events.
Bike Auckland says the cancellation has not been announced publicly but was confirmed in correspondence it received from Waka Kotahi last week.
Walk It, Wheel It was intended to open the bridge to people on foot and on bikes and other wheeled devices over three days in March last year and was then postponed in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
“The programme fell far short of permanently closing a yawning gap in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s cycling network but it would at least have given Aucklanders a taste of what it would be like to cross the harbour using active modes,” says Bike Auckland chair Karen Hormann. “We’ve now learned that the programme has been formally shut down which means that even the most modest efforts to provide transport options over the harbour bridge are now off the table.”
Hormann says Walk It, Wheel It’s cancellation joins sharp cuts in budget proposals for active modes from both Auckland Council and central government.
“It is just the latest example of transport agencies backtracking on their investment intentions for cycling and walking. When you turn your back on cycling and walking you’re turning your back on the environment, on public health, on congestion reduction and on climate change. Auckland deserves better.”
