We Don't Need a Cycle Lane, We'll Just Take the Whole Bridge!

Today was the 50th birthday of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. At 9am, thousands of people attended a protest organised by the Get Across Campaign at the Curran St on-ramp calling for pedestrian and cycle access to the harbour bridge. Wayne McDonald, the Auckland regional director for the New Zealand Transport Agency told the crowd repeatedly he would not let them across, despite the fact that police were standing by to cooperate at his word.

Realising that simply asking wasn't going to get results, people began walking calmly around the newly erected chain link fence and straight through the police lines. Thousands of people streamed onto the bridge walking, cycling and pushing prams, they laughed, shouted and sang their way all the way across and all the way back. Traffic was completely stopped for about 90 minutes.

The support shown today for pedestrian and cycle access to the harbour bridge was enormous and will be hard for Transit to ignore. Especially if people show up again next Sunday as many were suggesting!

Links: Get Across Campaign | Cycle Action Auckland

Early on in the build up to this event the NZ Police had said they would provide safe passage over the bridge. Half of the lanes heading North were scheduled to be closed anyway. However, Wayne McDonald, the Auckland regional director for the New Zealand Transport Agency announced that the walk could not go ahead because of safety concerns. He had a brand new chain link fence erected alongside the on-ramp to keep the crowds at bay and had opened the whole motorway up to traffic again. He himself was stationed at the gate halfway along the fence with some NZTA workers and a couple dozen Police.

By 9am, people were pouring into the park at Westhaven Marina below the harbour bridge and gathering in nervous excitement, hoping for the rare chance to cross the harbour bridge without a car. Several speeches from campaign leaders and supportive politicians were given. A history of the bridge was told, government policy challenged, and support given for pedestrian and cycle access to the harbour bridge.

By the time the fourth speaker took the microphone, the crowd had gotten restless and began to make its way over to the fence to meet with Wayne McDonald himself. A protest organiser with a megaphone asked Wayne why it was that the crowd could not cross the bridge and relayed his evasive answers to the crowd. While Wayne was speaking several dirt clods landed on or near him, coming anonymously from among the crowd.

When the people grew tired of talking to Wayne the crowd surged towards the top of the onramp to see if the answer would be different there. The fence only made it as far as the bushes, so everyone started going around the fence. A handful of Police attempted to block access, but they only lasted a few seconds before people began walking past them. At he very end of the on-ramp the Police made a slightly more effective attempt to block the crowd with cars and more officers, but it was still too easy for everyone to just hop over a small barrier and go around.

The protest organisers had made it very clear that they had no intention of crossing the bridge without permission, but my guess is they were happy to join the crowd once it was clear that it could not be stopped.

By the time a few bikes had made it cautiously out onto the motorway, traffic was in the process of being stopped by NZTA and the Police. People began to freely swarm onto the road, taking up all four North-bound lanes.

For the next hour a continuous stream of people made their way leisurely up and over the bridge and all the way down to the other side. Well thought out chalk messages were left at the apex of the bridge such as "Bikes Rule!" and "Give us a Cycle Lane." Happy birthday was even sung to the bridge. Some left happily for their homes on the North side of the harbour, but the majority of people turned about face and walked back.

Police were well behaved throughout and most NZTA workers were just as excited by the event as those walking over the bridge. There was even a lot of support from motorists on the side of the bridge which was still functioning.

Every protester crossing that bridge was theoretically risking a $250 fine, but I didn't see any getting handed out and the paddy wagons left empty.

Today's protest was a huge success and will give the Get Across Campaign a huge boost. There is a protest planned this coming Wednesday, May 27 at 8:30am outside the Sky City Convention Centre where the associations of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities will be having their regular bridge conference.

As they were leaving the bridge, many people were suggesting a repeat the following Sunday to keep the pressure on, so keep an ear out for that…

Related

http://getacross.org.nz/

http://www.caa.org.nz/