The Waka Kotahi NZTA board has decided it will not open lanes on the Auckland Harbour Bridge for a formal walking and cycling trial.
The board met on Thursday to reconsider its position after the threat of legal action by a group campaigning for alternative modes of transport.
Chair Sir Brian Roche said in a statement on Friday that while Waka Kotahi was strongly committed to providing a safe walking and cycling network and to support a shift to active and shared modes of transport, it could not back reallocating lanes.
"The Board cannot support a trial of lane reallocation on the Auckland Harbour Bridge due to the significant health and safety issues associated with walking and cycling on the bridge structure at this time," Sir Brian said.
Sir Brian added that the transport agency is planning a range of projects in Auckland which include walking and cycling to encourage people to use more active transport.
Waka Kotahi is planning to allow Aucklanders to walk or cycle across the bridge in a "safely controlled environment" during a series of single-day "festivities" over summer.
"The Board has considered lane reallocation on the Auckland Harbour Bridge on a number of occasions, and it is clear that the risks for people walking and cycling on the structure cannot be mitigated to the level where we can be confident that it is an activity which can be managed safely on a permanent basis, alongside our other considerations of managing the long term resilience of the bridge as a critical transport asset and its key role in the region’s transport network," said the chair.
"The most recent safety assessment, undertaken by Waka Kotahi this year, identified a number of safety risks which would be created by the permanent reallocation of lanes for walking and cycling on the bridge.
"Waka Kotahi has undertaken a detailed analysis of all of the evidence available, and having considered that analysis, the Board has determined that a trial of lane reallocation on a permanent basis would not be appropriate at this time."
Simeon Brown, National's transport spokesperson who has opposed reallocating lanes, said "common sense has prevailed".
"If NZTA had proceeded with this trial it would have caused significant congestion for motorists, inefficiency for freight moving through Auckland and disruption for public transport users on the North Shore," he said.
"NZTA has made the right decision not to proceed with this proposal and the lobbyists pushing for removing a lane for this cycle lane need to accept this decision."
The agency had previously decided it would hold events later this year allowing cyclists and pedestrians to cross the bridge. This was instead of a "trial" of a lane for cycling, something that Minister of Transport Michael Wood had suggested.
In July, the Movement advocacy group in July expressed its intention to apply for a judicial review of the decision on a number of grounds, such as that the decision was based on flawed information and didn't properly take into account how reallocating a lane may decrease carbon emissions. The NZTA then decided it would reconsider its decision at Thursday's meeting.
Newshub revealed in April that as part of identifying an alternative walking and cycling route across the Waitematā Harbour NZTA planned to review previous work around reallocating lanes "to ensure we have not missed anything that would make this option viable in the future".
That was despite Waka Kotahi Board chair Sir Brian Roche saying in December that allocating lanes to cyclists was being "ruled out".
Waka Kotahi was to present Wood with a full report containing a preferred crossing option earlier this year. However, the Government's yet to publicly state its position.
The idea of reallocating a lane to cyclists and pedestrians gained momentum last May when a large group of cyclists rode past police and onto the bridge, rallying for more permanent access. The Government then announced a plan to construct a standalone bridge alongside the Auckland Harbour Bridge for cycling and walking, but that was later ditched due to public opposition.
Wood has said any decisions about reallocating lanes legally sit with the Waka Kotahi Board.
"In the short term, I have encouraged them to consider a temporary trial option, and they have confirmed that some events will be held, starting later this year. Other options to improve access will be presented to me shortly," he told Newshub in April.
Modelling has found taking one lane away from vehicles would require traffic to be reduced by 17,000 vehicles a day in order to have a neutral impact.
