KEY POINTS:
Concern is mounting over a recommendation from consultants that dozens of peak-hour buses be allowed across a limited-access bridge linking central Auckland to a re-developed Wyndham Quarter.
Te Wero Bridge is a $37 million Auckland City Council project to provide an "iconic" gateway for pedestrians, cyclists and some degree of public transport, including bus shuttles or even light rail trams.
Seven short-listed design teams have been working on the project, and the council expects to announce a winner before the end of this month, for the bridge to be built between early next year and 2011 - in time for the Rugby World Cup.
Their brief has been to design an opening bridge to retain boating access to Viaduct Harbour as "an enduring landmark on an outstanding New Zealand waterfront location."
But a recommendation to the council that the bridge also be used by regional buses including North Shore services, to take pressure off Fanshawe St, has raised alarm among other organisations looking forward to the Wynyard redevelopment.
Transport consultants Flow have recommended in a study prepared for planning hearings starting this week that 18 buses an hour during week-day peak periods be allowed over the 13m-wide bridge in each direction, and up to 12 at other times.
As well as reducing dependence on Fanshawe St as the sole transit route between central Auckland and the harbour bridge, the consultants suggest it would also take pressure off scarce "layover" space for buses around the Britomart transport centre.
Heart of the City business association chief executive Alex Swney says allowing diesel buses to travel through the centre of the quarter, let alone using it as an overflow parking area, would "blight" what was billed as a world-class redevelopment.
While supporting the use of the bridge for localised public transport such as an extension of the free electric City Circuit buses part-funded by his organisation, he said Wynyard Quarter was no place for regional diesel services.
Mr Swney said mass-transit diesel buses would be unsuitable for a pedestrian boulevard planned for Daldy St and for a dining and entertainment zone along Jellicoe St, which will face the new bridge as part of Wynyard's first development stage.
Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee, whose organisation has joined forces with the city to re-develop Wynyard Quarter, said the new bridge was supposed to be "for people" rather than rapid transit.
"There is no way we are going to have buses or anything else rumbling along Te Wero Bridge," he said.
"The ARC would strongly oppose buses careering across the bridge.
"Te Wero Bridge was always envisaged to carry short-range buses, but we are not having Wynyard Quarter redevelopment as some sort of rapid transit thoroughfare for buses coming from North Shore."
Auckland City development general manager John Duthie said the report did not represent his council's position, but simply the views of consultants. It would be up to the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, a subsidiary of Mr Lee's organisation, to determine future bus routes.
Although he could not rule out the possibility of some buses travelling through Wynyard Quarter to other destinations, he did not believe the transport authority would support the use of the bridge for North Shore services.
Mr Duthie said any traffic using the bridge would face a speed limit of no more than 30km/h on the Eastern Viaduct approach from Quay St, and should expect delays whenever it opened its gates to allow boats past. New bus lanes which the council had provided in a $12 million project to widen Fanshawe as an extension of the Northern Busway were working well without need for extra capacity.
Transport authority officials could not be reached for comment.
