Discussions

There is congestion on 18 th street everyday

When talk first started about replacing the bridge I was in favor of the idea. Both a vehicle and pedestrian bridge. I used the bridge regularly and it did make my travel time shorter and more convenient. After the bridge was damaged (hit by a truck) and subsequently repaired, I decided I wasn't going to use it anymore. I saw the repair and I felt less than comfortable with it. After a while of not using the bridge I no longer miss it, so when it was closed it was a non-issue for me.  
 
I do see a need for a footbridge though, but for how many people, and at what cost? Can that cost be reasonably justified?  
 
It strikes me that a pedestrian bridge that spans the tracks at $11,000,000.00 is way overboard. The 1st. St. Bridge with four lanes of traffic and a pedestrian crossing on each side has been estimated at $40,000,000.00. Not only does the 1st. St. Bridge cross the same tracks but as well, the river. The price of the 8th. St. Bridge seems way out of line by my way of thinking.  
 
Maybe some sort of reconsideration is needed.

My biggest regret in life is not realizing that the last time I drove over the 8th Street bridge would be my last.

Your greatest regret? You must live a very charmed life

I would love to see the bridge fixed and opened again. I have been forced to drive an extra 4 kilometers to school and work at ACC Victoria Ave East and the same extra 4kms back home after I am done school and work. This adds an extra 5 minutes to my daily commute, and no, that does not sound like a whole lot of time wasted driving. But how many of you get frustrated when there is construction in the city on your daily route? I would guess at least 90% of people complain about the extra time it takes to get to work when they have to wait on construction. But most construction will end after a few months. For anyone who uses the 8th street Bridge, we have been adding minutes and kms to our drive every day since it was closed June 2015. I’m not stupid, there is a very slim to none chance that the city would ever decide to pay millions of dollars to fix a bridge that is used maybe a tenth as much as the 18th street bridge or 1st street bridge. I just wish people realized that a lot of people did use that bridge and it does affect our lives now that we cannot use it. We are isolated in that corner of the city, and it really sucks. No matter what the city decides to do with it, people will still be upset. Whether they put up the 11 million to make it safer for pedestrians, leave it the way it is, or tear it down all together, someone will start up a discussion to rant about it on here.

Dugr71 said "Your greatest regret? You must live a very charmed life "

I wonder if the poster was just trying to live up to his name?  
In any case, you gave me a good laugh!

Had to be a lot of people going that way rather than waiting on 18 th

The taxes in the city are already too high spending 11 million on a pedestrian bridge is too much. The amount of people that would benefit or make life easier for doesn't justify the cost.

The city better be expecting less revenue from the home owners in the north end due to this reduction in service. I know my neighbours and I will be appealing our property tax assessments. And to say we will get used to doing with out the bridge I still swear every time I drive by it.

https://paperlesscouncil.brandon.ca/attachments/A_2016/GEN_VZHRJFGXTCLLDAKUGFFZLIUNOXDTTARTWFQRRRQYAUWTCCRNXXY_8th%20Street%20Bridge.pdf

I understand tonight council meeting they make the decision.  
 
I do not have access 12 nor can I make the meeting. If anyone reading this goes or watches WMGC please update us. Inquiring (nosey) minds want to know !  
 
Edited by Doug, 2016-04-04 18:29:56

going to be watching.

D.D. said "The city better be expecting less revenue from the home owners in the north end due to this reduction in service. I know my neighbours and I will be appealing our property tax assessments. And to say we will get used to doing with out the bridge I still swear every time I drive by it. "

By this rationale you are quite OK with your taxes going up 3 grand a year to pay for this confidence.

how much does a bridge affect property appraisals? Does it really make that big of a noticeable difference?

build a new bridge would not be designed the same as today since bridge standards has changed drastically. It would never fit in the current footprint, it would have to be widened for today's standards. Then there is the grade at Pacific, it's very steep and not acceptable with today's standards. Then there's the hight requirements over the tracks, which then increases the grade at Pacific.  
 
From an engineering perspective, having a bridge there is not doable. And from a traffic standpoint, it's not needed there.

$30 million is before you factor in interest rates. It will likely end up being near $54 million. That's still not including any cost overruns. So how much will $54 million increase taxes on top of the already debt.  
 
Rehabbing cost of $1.3 million is the low end and can go up quickly as they start digging into it. It could end up being $10 million just for rehab and only get 3 years out of it. It sounds like it has already been through numerous rehabs already.

And there you have it... council votes to demolish the bridge. Next step will be to look further into the option of some type of pedestrian "corridor" to make the connection, though vote tonight was for demolition. I only caught the tail end of everything but it definitely sounds like there's an appetite to make that corridor happen in whatever form it eventually takes.  
 
Edited by Adam, 2016-04-04 21:39:53

like the fate of the 8th St bridge is sealed, it will be torn down. And the decision is based on engineering and costs to taxpayers. When bridge building experts are saying not to spend a dime on it, it tells you something.

City of Brandon . Once again a sever lapse in forward planning over the years ends in a decision of a bridge torn down. The only one you are responsible for!  
 
Lets review:  
1984, 1992, 1999, 2012, 2014. All band-aid fixes. 42 years to plan and implement a replacement for this bridge, study after study year after year. Wow.... the bridge could have been well paid for over the years with lower construction costs.  
Instead lets put a bike bridge over a river, not accessible in winter to connect to downtown paths. Really how does this connect now. Maybe I'm missing something but from my point of view This city puts off decisions, wastes money on excessive consultations and has no forward thinking to anything. You are a stagnant city that will always remain small and narrow minded.

Trevor B said "like the fate of the 8th St bridge is sealed, it will be torn down. And the decision is based on engineering and costs to taxpayers. When bridge building experts are saying not to spend a dime on it, it tells you something. "

I gather that there's still a lot of discussion and planning that would take place but did you catch anything more on what was said about what would and wouldn't eventually be an option for the active transportation/pedestrial corridor?

Nothing at this time . Will revisit other options at a later date. Again , when? 1, 2, 5, 10 or 15 years later. Who knows! How many consultations until then? At what cost? Oh right, what does it matter, the present council made a decision, further decisions will be up to a different council probably.  
Prediction: nothing will ever be built in it's place, pedestrian or traffic. Why bother with a low tax base area of town. It is insignificant to council but meaningful to the residents. to the re

Adam said "    Trevor B said "like the fate of the 8th St bridge is sealed, it will be torn down. And the decision is based on engineering and costs to taxpayers. When bridge building experts are saying not to spend a dime on it, it tells you something. " I gather that there's still a lot of discussion and planning that would take place but did you catch anything more on what was said about what would and wouldn't eventually be an option for the active transportation/pedestrial corridor? "

didn't get into much detail on that corridor. Most of the talk was about the rehabbing, and a bit about a brand new one.

How safe would a walking/bike bridge be? If I am walking somewhere I pick a road with a lot of traffic as opposed to a street with barely a car going by. Just common sense to keep myself safe.  
 
I read today on that new website that the corridor should be a covered bridge. Really? Oh that would be great for criminals preying on people!

would be like the ones in Saskatoon that are fully caged to avoid jumpers or accidental falls

AnimalLover said "would be like the ones in Saskatoon that are fully caged to avoid jumpers or accidental falls "

Wouldn't want a new sexy bridge to be the instrument for the demise of depressed people! To me covered means something different.  
 
How safe do people think it would be for walking with no constant vehicular traffic?

AnimalLover said "Nothing at this time . Will revisit other options at a later date. Again , when? 1, 2, 5, 10 or 15 years later. Who knows! How many consultations until then? At what cost? Oh right, what does it matter, the present council made a decision, further decisions will be up to a different council probably.   Prediction: nothing will ever be built in it's place, pedestrian or traffic. Why bother with a low tax base area of town. It is insignificant to council but meaningful to the residents. to the re "

you wanted additional major increase to property taxes for a low income area? When all is said and done for it could cost $54 million for a new bridge. That doesn't include any additional costs and using the low estimate.  
 
Likely the reason for the past rehabs was to revisit an new bridge. For 32 years a viable and cost effective replacement option did not exist.  
 
To conform with todays standards or even standards in the past 32 years, there would never be a vehicle bridge at 8th St.

Johnbisonbear said "    AnimalLover said "would be like the ones in Saskatoon that are fully caged to avoid jumpers or accidental falls " Wouldn't want a new sexy bridge to be the instrument for the demise of depressed people! To me covered means something different.     How safe do people think it would be for walking with no constant vehicular traffic? "

been pedestrian only for how many years and how often have crimes taken place on it? There's been one that made it to the media. Crime is going to happen anywhere no matter if it's busy or not.

Trevor you miss the whole point! However from other posts I guess you are now an engineer and City planner.  

AnimalLover said "Trevor you miss the whole point! However from other posts I guess you are now an engineer and City planner.   "

What point am I missing? Do you know better than the engineers to counter them?  
 
I watched the entire portion of the council meeting and just relaying what was said. And I agree with the engineering assessments. Who do I believe more a specialized bridge engineer with over 30 years experience or someone with zero experience and only want it kept open based on emotion?

Trevor B said "    AnimalLover said "Nothing at this time . Will revisit other options at a later date. Again , when? 1, 2, 5, 10 or 15 years later. Who knows! How many consultations until then? At what cost? Oh right, what does it matter, the present council made a decision, further decisions will be up to a different council probably.   Prediction: nothing will ever be built in it's place, pedestrian or traffic. Why bother with a low tax base area of town. It is insignificant to council but meaningful to the residents. to the re " you wanted additional major increase to property taxes for a low income area? When all is said and done for it could cost $54 million for a new bridge. That doesn't include any additional costs and using the low estimate.     Likely the reason for the past rehabs was to revisit an new bridge. For 32 years a viable and cost effective replacement option did not exist.     To conform with todays standards or even standards in the past 32 years, there would never be a vehicle bridge at 8th St. "

Really Trevor? That's an appalling statement!  
 
So forget the poor people in Brandon but if you live in say Brookwood then spend tax dollars? Shame!  
 
The rest of us (the low income as you point out) have kept this city running all these years!  
 
We are the ones that pay our taxes so that the airport can be expanded three times the size so the elitists in Brandon can be more comfortable when going on their numerous vacays and have different destinations.