Roads: Bathurst Street Bridge

[Skeezix]

I walked over the bridge for the first time ever this past Easter weekend. It's a fantastic bridge, and serves as a link to the area's former character. It would be a huge loss to lose this bridge.

 

[darth_freeman]

I guess no one actually read the RFP...the existing bridge will be rehabilitated, not replaced. The rehab is to last another 30 years.

 

[Tuscani01]

I guess no one actually read the RFP...the existing bridge will be rehabilitated, not replaced. The rehab is to last another 30 years.

I guess you haven't read any of the conversation going on over the last few pages...

No one has said the bridge is being replaced.

 

[the lemur]

The Puente de Luz bridge is bad if you're trying to go directly somewhere because it makes you backtrack on both sides. If you live west of Bathurst south of the tracks there's no point in riding further just to ride up and across and come back. Bathurst is the most direct route (especially for getting to Adelaide), and should have bike lanes.

The P de L works for me as a way of getting from Portland to Dan Leckie and the waterfront but I wouldn't use it if my objective were to get somewhere directly on Bathurst. If the truss bridge has to stay, maybe the sidewalks beside it could be widened to allow both bikes and peds.

 

[PinkLucy]

Sidewalk riding is illegal (unless you're a child) so it wouldn't make logical sense to encourage it ... unless it were a separated bike lane and kept pedestrians and bikes separate.

 

[Tuscani01]

I wonder if it would be possible to add a new sidewalk just outside of the trusses, and convert the current sidewalk into a bike lane?

Edit: Did a quick Google search and found this proposal to do exactly that to a bridge in San Fran:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Bridge-bike-path-plans-move-forward-2399824.php

 

[junctionist]

I wonder if it would be possible to add a new sidewalk just outside of the trusses, and convert the current sidewalk into a bike lane?

Edit: Did a quick Google search and found this proposal to do exactly that to a bridge in San Fran:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Bridge-bike-path-plans-move-forward-2399824.php

That's what I was envisaging.

 

[salsa]

I guess no one actually read the RFP...the existing bridge will be rehabilitated, not replaced. The rehab is to last another 30 years.

Why not 50 years instead?

 

[dowlingm]

Why not 50 years instead?

Because they figure we'll have given up worrying about character for an Meccano set bridge by 30 years out.

 

[DSC]

Why not 50 years instead?

30 years seems to be a fairly standard time to aim for. In condominiums the Reserve Fund Studies also look ahead 30 years.

 

[muller877]

I wonder if it would be possible to add a new sidewalk just outside of the trusses, and convert the current sidewalk into a bike lane?

If this was done there would be serious issues with the northbound bike traffic and the right hand turns onto Front. The trusses would make this a blind right corner and even the most careful motorist could have a collision with a bike.

Imagine a situation where a car is going less than 5 km/hr trying to turn right. A bike is going 30 km/hr. The car can't see the cyclist (trusses block the view). Bam!

Counterintuitive but having bikes in mixed traffic here is probably safer for cyclists than a separated ROW outside the truss span.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Why not 50 years instead?

Rust would appear before then. It'll need sanding, painting, replacement of rusted metal, etc. before 50 years. Just leave your metal tools out in the weather and see how long it would last. Not even the Gardiner expressway would last 50 years after the new route is built before it would need work done on it.

 

[crs1026]

There's nothing wrong with replacing it provided whatever you replace it with is actually pretty. The new bridge could be real or faux truss style, respecting the current streetscape but improving traffic flow. Additional width would be safer, especially on the southern part where the girders create a wall.

If the existing span has heritage value, shift it west to become the footbridge instead of whatever has been designed.

- Paul

 

[dowlingm]

Given how industrial looking it is, maybe there's a place for it in the Portlands redevelopment.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Given how industrial looking it is, maybe there's a place for it in the Portlands redevelopment.

Except some of the bridges in the Portlands are in for replacement/expansions of their own, given the upcoming changes.

AoD