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The $33.5 million walking and cycleway across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which was given resource consent this month, will be designed, built and managed in Warkworth.
Independent planning commissioners approved the resource consent for the SkyPath on July 3. The application received 11,586 submissions with 11,413 in support, five neutral and 168 in opposition. The project is still not over the finish line yet, with an appeal period until July 24.
If it is not appealed, the detailed design work will start straight away and construction will start by the beginning of next year, with completion due by the end of 2016.
The SkyPath is led by Point Wells project director Bevan Woodward, Leigh resident Garth Falconer of Reset Urban Design is leading the design team and Warkworth firm Core Builders Composites are proposed to manage the construction.
Bevan says he is excited about it becoming a reality, but after working on it for 11 years he is used to waiting. He says he wasn’t the first to think of a walking and cycleway across the bridge, but he didn’t give up when he was told it couldn’t be done. He had spent years himself cycling through Auckland and driving over the Harbor Bridge and is a sustainable transport advocate.
“It ticks a lot of boxes. Health, tourism, reducing carbon emissions and making a more liveable city.”
Conceived as a community initiative, it will be funded by Morrison and Co Public Infrastructure Partnership Fund and the delivery partner Downer Construction. They will recover costs from an entrance fee on the Skypath, proposed at $2 to $3 each way with a hop card.
Auckland Council has been asked to underwrite the business to 75 percent of the business case. If revenue falls below 75 per cent, Council will top up the fund. After 20 years the path will be gifted to Council.
Mayor Len Brown says the next step will be a Council report on the proposed commercial arrangements and recommendations on how to proceed.
“Besides being of enormous benefit to cyclists, it’s a fabulous opportunity for Aucklanders and visitors to the city to walk across and have great views of our spectacular harbour.
“It illustrates how our roads are no longer just about trucks and cars but also for the use of cyclists and pedestrians.”
In their decision, commissioners acknowledged that SkyPath is a “critical transport link” and “will help promote alternative transportation modes and active lifestyles and improve recreational options for Aucklanders and visitors to the region.”
The commissioners say issues raised by residents at either end of the bridge can be adequately mitigated.
“The traffic and parking effects associated with parties who chose to drive to SkyPath will be adequately mitigated through provision, implementation, and review and monitoring of the operational plan,” the decision reads.
Core Builders Composites, who also build Oracle’s America’s Cup boats, will use leading marine technology composite material for the SkyPath. The material is light and strong in the form a series of U beams that clip onto the underside of the eastern edge of the bridge with a composite foam core deck. Horizontal composite rods are spaced out across the enclosure to allow viewing and maintaining safety.
Auckland Harbour Bridge Pathway Trust is a not-for-profit community organisation whose objectives are to construct SkyPath then use any future income to support other walking and cycling projects. The three Trustees Bevan Woodward, Christine Rose and Andy Smith have developed the SkyPath project since 2009.
