Chief William Commanda Bridge (former Prince of Wales Bridge)

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Rather than going to the trouble to design an automated gate (or paying people to open and close the bridge multiple times a year on a moments notice, regardless of if its part of their job description or not), I would rather see that money go towards making it usable all year long.

Totally agree.
I was extremely sad when the announced closing happened.

[zzptichka]

I still don't understand why they close this bridge but not any of the other Ottawa River crossings. Falling or jumping from them is equally deadly in the winter.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

I still don't understand why they close this bridge but not any of the other Ottawa River crossings. Falling or jumping from them is equally deadly in the winter.

Which other bridges across the Ottawa River are owned by the City of Ottawa? I thought all of the other public bridges were owned by the NCC.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by roger1818

Rather than going to the trouble to design an automated gate (or paying people to open and close the bridge multiple times a year on a moments notice, regardless of if its part of their job description or not), I would rather see that money go towards making it usable all year long.

It isn’t a moment's notice, the city prepares for winter storms all the time by getting all the extra plough crews ready, pre salting roads, notifying residents of overnight parking bans.

[Kitchissippi]

I don't understand why they can't just leave the bridge open with a sign that says it is not winter maintained and to use at your own risk. They have these types of signs on the beaches when they're not supervised. The Greenbelt also has all kinds of bridges and boardwalks that remain open all seasons without issues.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by acottawa

It isn’t a moment's notice, the city prepares for winter storms all the time by getting all the extra plough crews ready, pre salting roads, notifying residents of overnight parking bans.

When they know about them in advance. They have been fooled sometimes and had to scramble.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

I don't understand why they can't just leave the bridge open with a sign that says it is not winter maintained and to use at your own risk. They have these types of signs on the beaches when they're not supervised. The Greenbelt also has all kinds of bridges and boardwalks that remain open all seasons without issues.

I'm guessing they don't want more headlines like the following one this past week:

Body of 2nd teen recovered from Ottawa river after reports boys fell through ice

(note: in this case, the river in Ottawa was the Rideau River)

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by roger1818

When they know about them in advance. They have been fooled sometimes and had to scramble.

I have heard of cases where a storm was bigger or smaller than expected. I have never heard of a winter storm coming out of the blue. There may be places in the world where that happens, Ottawa is not one of them.

Anyway, it is a pretty epic straw man to keep a bridge the city payed millions for closed 6-8 weeks earlier than necessary most years.

[Uhuniau]

I'm sorry, but why would a blizzard necessitate a closure?

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

I'm sorry, but why would a blizzard necessitate a closure?

Railings would no longer be a minimum height off of the actual ground level.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Walked past the south entrance this morning. People have opened all the gates and fences to access the bridge. The Paroles have spoken! Open the bloody bridge!!

[lrt's friend]

This is highly unusual weather for Ottawa. Normally, without plowing (which does cost money), an unmaintained walking path would be potentially unsafe to users and opens the city to potential liability in the event of a fall. The maintenance cost and potential liability is the reason why certain pathways and stairs are closed for the winter. In this case, are the connecting pathways being maintained on the Quebec side? If not, there should be no debate, close it.

[acottawa]

It isn’t uncommon that there is little snow accumulation until late December or early January. Closing everything up for winter at some arbitrary date in mid November makes no sense.

The Weather Network’s long term forecast was for above seasonal temperatures and below seasonal precipitation in the early winter, so this should not come as a surprise to anyone

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

This is highly unusual weather for Ottawa. Normally, without plowing (which does cost money), an unmaintained walking path would be potentially unsafe to users and opens the city to potential liability in the event of a fall. The maintenance cost and potential liability is the reason why certain pathways and stairs are closed for the winter. In this case, are the connecting pathways being maintained on the Quebec side? If not, there should be no debate, close it.

Absolute defeatist bureaucratic drivel. Life should go on as usual even when there's snow on the ground. Carbrains don't understand this because they rarely do anything outside the comfort of their vehicles but imagine if the city stopped maintaining "non-essential" roads during winter and said drive somewhere else. People would be up in arms.

The city has plenty of money. It's a matter of priorities and allocating funds accordingly. Right now the city's priorities are misguided, and that's largely thanks to the mindset of the homebody suburban populace who vote for this.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Absolute defeatist bureaucratic drivel. Life should go on as usual even when there's snow on the ground. Carbrains don't understand this because they rarely do anything outside the comfort of their vehicles but imagine if the city stopped maintaining "non-essential" roads during winter and said drive somewhere else. People would be up in arms.

The city has plenty of money. It's a matter of priorities and allocating funds accordingly. Right now the city's priorities are misguided, and that's largely thanks to the mindset of the homebody suburban populace who vote for this.

I don't even think suburbanites are pushing for this. When they come downtown from time to time they want paths, etc. to be open. I just think it is lazy bureaucrats who don't want to actually have to adapt plans, it is easier to just close everything in November.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I don't even think suburbanites are pushing for this. When they come downtown from time to time they want paths, etc. to be open. I just think it is lazy bureaucrats who don't want to actually have to adapt plans, it is easier to just close everything in November.

Staff would love to do nothing if they could, but we see that the city is very diligent and on point with clearing roads when it snows. That's what I mean when I talk about priorities. Staff know where they can cut corners without inviting too much pushback. Of course suburbanites would love those paths/stairs/bridges to be open when they come downtown but if you asked suburban voters if they'd be ok re-allocating part of the snow clearing budget for the bridge or even pulling money from another part of the budget, most would probably be against it. Same with how many suburban drivers act disgusted with the state of our transit system but at the same time would vote against increased funding for it in a heartbeat.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by DTcrawler

Staff would love to do nothing if they could, but we see that the city is very diligent and on point with clearing roads when it snows. That's what I mean when I talk about priorities. Staff know where they can cut corners without inviting too much pushback. Of course suburbanites would love those paths/stairs/bridges to be open when they come downtown but if you asked suburban voters if they'd be ok re-allocating part of the snow clearing budget for the bridge or even pulling money from another part of the budget, most would probably be against it. Same with how many suburban drivers act disgusted with the state of our transit system but at the same time would vote against increased funding for it in a heartbeat.

I suspect it was not designed to be cleared in the winter (i.e. there is insufficient protection of the iron from salt). I think the only option is whether staff close it at an arbitrary date in November, or wait until actual winter conditions appear. I don't think suburbanites are blocking the latter.

[OTownandDown]

Originally Posted by acottawa

I suspect it was not designed to be cleared in the winter (i.e. there is insufficient protection of the iron from salt). I think the only option is whether staff close it at an arbitrary date in November, or wait until actual winter conditions appear. I don't think suburbanites are blocking the latter.

Another fun hiccup is that the railings are not designed for snow plows to push snow off the bridge. How would anybody plow the thing to keep snow clear to begin with? Picture two feet of fresh snow. How is the snow removed if not by a sidewalk plow? Even if snow were pushed 'to the side' it would ruin the railings (similar to the absolutely stupid chain link fence between Bayshore and Moodie protecting the transitway, and now the OTrain from highway plows. It failed immediately, and has continued to be ripped to shreds for years, and is being reinstalled as-is, at least with double the number of posts...for some reason).

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Another fun hiccup is that the railings are not designed for snow plows to push snow off the bridge. How would anybody plow the thing to keep snow clear to begin with? Picture two feet of fresh snow. How is the snow removed if not by a sidewalk plow? Even if snow were pushed 'to the side' it would ruin the railings (similar to the absolutely stupid chain link fence between Bayshore and Moodie protecting the transitway, and now the OTrain from highway plows. It failed immediately, and has continued to be ripped to shreds for years, and is being reinstalled as-is, at least with double the number of posts...for some reason).

Use a snowblower. The lack of imagination is irritating.

[skyscraperaccount]

Originally Posted by OTownandDown

Another fun hiccup is that the railings are not designed for snow plows to push snow off the bridge. How would anybody plow the thing to keep snow clear to begin with? Picture two feet of fresh snow. How is the snow removed if not by a sidewalk plow? Even if snow were pushed 'to the side' it would ruin the railings (similar to the absolutely stupid chain link fence between Bayshore and Moodie protecting the transitway, and now the OTrain from highway plows. It failed immediately, and has continued to be ripped to shreds for years, and is being reinstalled as-is, at least with double the number of posts...for some reason).

Snowblower? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzQuzRqd9fM

Also, while we are at it...no reason NCC couldn't be clearing the MUP with these (the ski trails can be made along side the path, plenty of room for that)