Auckland's Deputy Mayor says the prolonged closure of a major pedestrian bridge has become a "reputational issue" for the city, with the failed crossing "highly visible" to international visitors.
It comes as a well-known Wynyard Quarter hospitality venue that partnered with Team New Zealand during the America's Cup starts consultation to lay off staff due to a 50 percent drop in revenue.
Newshub has been provided with a letter written by Desley Simpson, in her capacity as lead councillor for council organisation Tātaki, in which she takes aim at Eke Panuku Development Auckland's maintenance programme for the bridge.
The Wynyard Crossing bridge, officially called Te Wero, is a key accessway between Auckland's viaduct and Wynyard Quarter's bars and restaurants but is closed until late-2024.
"Considering the bridge was only ever intended as temporary but has nonetheless become an essential link in our waterfront, I am concerned that Eke Panuku has seemingly not provided for replacement of it as part of its asset management planning," Simpson's April 4 letter reads.
"Surely Eke Panuku's asset management planning could have been better here, rather than expecting council to provide additional funding once the bridge broke down."
Simpson calls the bridge a "reputational issue" for Auckland, adding "national and international audiences can see this highly visible piece of failed infrastructure".
Meanwhile, Wynyard Quarter businesses say the prolonged closure has seen revenue reduce by up to 50 percent.
"It's definitely not a good feeling. Every day you're kind of waking up and forcing yourself to go into work [and] you're looking at everyone's faces. No one's making the money, we're all taking cuts in terms of hours," Wynyard Pavilion GM Alex Pearson told Newshub.
The walk across the bridge normally takes about one minute. Newshub walked the 1.5km detour in about 17 minutes.
Venue owners say the new route has resulted in a massive loss of foot traffic.
"In terms of staff, we are going through a consultation process at the moment with our team, because we are going to have to make redundancies and let people go," Pearson said.
"They've worked really hard for us over the last few years, and unfortunately we just can't sustain it at the moment."
Ake Panuku, Auckland Council's development arm, told Newshub the bridge's default position is down when maintenance is required.
Documents show that stems back to an objection from what was then Auckland City Council to the original resource consent. The consent conditions initially stipulated the default position during maintenance would be up.
In a statement, Panuku stated its "major preventative maintenance programme" should be completed by late-2024, but it could not give a more definitive timeframe.
In the meantime, it's committed to trialling alternative water access to the Wynyard Quarter bars and restaurants, in addition to initiatives like marketing and free bus trips to the precinct for cruise ship passengers.
But those measures haven't had much impact, according to the likes of Pearson.
"As you can see right now, we've probably got about five tables on a sunny Tuesday lunchtime where normally we'd be pretty full," he said.
But Panuku told Newshub the works are "critical". It added, due to budget constraints, a brand new bridge is not an option.
