Winnipeg Construction IX

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

It will be official when the city allocates funds for it in the city budget otherwise it’s still just a proposal. The Winnipeg Foundation is encouraging the city to fund the bridge sooner rather than later and has offered up a donation of 5M.

Would a bridge like this cost much more than $5m? I actually have no idea. The Assiniboine is much smaller than the Red. Can they get a deal on engineering by just duplicating (and scaling) this between Old St. Vital/Riverview and St. Vital/U of M? lol

[DancingDuck]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

It will be official when the city allocates funds for it in the city budget otherwise it’s still just a proposal. The Winnipeg Foundation is encouraging the city to fund the bridge sooner rather than later and has offered up a donation of 5M.

The $5 million would be contributed to the bridge and the restoration/repair of the Carnegie Library to house the archives.. the two projects have a combined price tag of $25 million, but I don't know how much each is individually. I'm not sure if the Winnipeg Foundation would give money to one and not the other if the city decided to only proceed with one of the projects.

In terms of bridges over the Red River (whether St. Vital/U of M or Old St V/Riverview) I imagine it would cost in excess of $20 million. For reference, the Disraeli AT bridge cost $16.5 million, but it was only that low because the piers from the old bridge were reused. The city does have plans for a bridge from St. Vital to the U of M but it is very (with emphasis on very) low priority.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by buzzg

Would a bridge like this cost much more than $5m? I actually have no idea. The Assiniboine is much smaller than the Red. Can they get a deal on engineering by just duplicating (and scaling) this between Old St. Vital/Riverview and St. Vital/U of M? lol

I should clarify the bridge itself would be significantly more, like mentioned probably around $20M the Winnipeg Foundation has put 5M on the table on the condition the bridge (and renovated archives) are completed by 2021 for it’s centennial.

[trueviking]

Assiniboine River is much smaller than the Red. I bet it’ll be $10-15 mil.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by headhorse

^ still just proposed but https://www.railsideattheforks.com/

Cool. Thanks. Hope it goes through, it looks nice.

[EspionNoir]

I’m interested in what 185 Smith will offer when its design is finished. It’s a good sign that such a rather basic housing tower can find a private investor quickly, I think it will boost the services there too. Probably it will be repainted and/or have glass treatment?

[EspionNoir]

Originally Posted by pspeid

This bridge, and specifically this design, would be another great piece in the revitalization of the downtown area. At some point projects like this, the Tache promenade, the new art installations, etc. will add up to the point where even the most cynical Winnipeg-haters will have to admit the downtown has become attractive and very livable. At least I hope so!

I believe it’s gonna be like that eventually. A city approaching 1m population is going to have a bunch of services and amenities, no doubt

Because imo if a city can be approved to built projects like CMHR and Diversity Garden it’s getting special attention and nice future plans

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by DancingDuck

The city does have plans for a bridge from St. Vital to the U of M but it is very (with emphasis on very) low priority.

There is probably pushback on that because it would unfortunately (but inevitably) turn a residential area of St. Vital into a U of M/IGF parking lot.

[optimusREIM]

Such a bridge would be a touch more convenient but I doubt that there are that many students willing to walk that far to get a free parking spot.

[bomberjet]

You'd be surprised what people do for free parking. Especially students with little money. Paying potentially hundreds per month to park a car is not cool at that time in your life. At the U of M, people park all the way up Markham road to near Pembina and walk in.

Same thing at hospitals. People park far and wide.

[DirtWednesday]

I remember my cheap ex step father parking on Wellington Cres for Bomber games. People will go to great lengths to save a couple bucks at any age.

[Curmudgeon]

^ If I decided to drive, I was always able to find parking on Strathcona or Ashburn. I sure miss the location of the old Stadium. IGF is way too far out and there is nothing around within walking distance.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by Andy6

There is probably pushback on that because it would unfortunately (but inevitably) turn a residential area of St. Vital into a U of M/IGF parking lot.

On street parking time limits could really limit that.

Ideally the bridge would have been for more than just active transportation. Even adding transit could heavily boost the value of homes in the area. If the bridge allowed private vehicles as will property prices would take a significant boost as the housing becomes "university adjacent" granted illegal rooming house might be a new issue but you can't win them all.

[esquire]

I presume that as with the residential areas south of U of M, parking restrictions would be put in place in St. Vital if and when an AT bridge is built.

I would think that an easy way to increase the university's connectivity to St. Vital without making it too easy for students and others to just park in St. Vital would be to place the bridge towards the eastern end of the U of M lands... basically, to build an AT path along banks of the Red and then have the actual bridge somewhere along the outermost part of the peninsula. I think I even recall seeing a conceptual plan to that effect some time ago.

[Curmudgeon]

^ On street parking limits would negatively affect the people who live there, ie. for their out of town guests or other visitors. Plus there would be an increase in traffic, and that means more people speeding around and more noise at all hours. Not to mention increased foot traffic means more litter. The result would more likely be a depreciation in values. I wouldn't want it.

Isn't that what the SWBRT was all about, to encourage students to use transit?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by CoryB

On street parking time limits could really limit that.

Ideally the bridge would have been for more than just active transportation. Even adding transit could heavily boost the value of homes in the area. If the bridge allowed private vehicles as will property prices would take a significant boost as the housing becomes "university adjacent" granted illegal rooming house might be a new issue but you can't win them all.

That's straying a bit from the original vision for an AT bridge, though. At that point you have to ask yourself whether a car bridge connecting the U of M campus to South St. Vital is really the top priority for new car bridge links in the city... I suspect there are other places where you could build a major river crossing and get way more bang for the buck in terms of traffic impact.

[Curmudgeon]

^ As the crow flies, the Fort Garry Bridge (Bishop Grandin) is little more than a kilometre (around a mile) from a bridge over the Red from UofM to S. St. Vital. That is pointless duplicity.

The city doesn't need any additional vehicular bridges. It can barely maintain the bridges that it has and renewal/replacement for several of them is either now or quickly approaching.

[bomberjet]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

^ On street parking limits would negatively affect the people who live there, ie. for their out of town guests or other visitors. Plus there would be an increase in traffic, and that means more people speeding around and more noise at all hours. Not to mention increased foot traffic means more litter. The result would more likely be a depreciation in values. I wouldn't want it.

Isn't that what the SWBRT was all about, to encourage students to use transit?

SWBRT does nothing for people living in the SE part of the City. If they take the bus, they'd be on local routes coming over Bishop Grandin.

An AT bridge would encourage people to ride bikes or walk. Which is ultimately what we should be encouraging.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

^ As the crow flies, the Fort Garry Bridge (Bishop Grandin) is little more than a kilometre (around a mile) from a bridge over the Red from UofM to S. St. Vital. That is pointless duplicity.

The city doesn't need any additional vehicular bridges. It can barely maintain the bridges that it has and renewal/replacement for several of them is either now or quickly approaching.

In terms of bigger-picture traffic impacts, building an interchange at River Road would cost less and make a much bigger difference than a car bridge linking River Road to the U of M campus.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by esquire

in terms of bigger-picture traffic impacts, building an interchange at river road would cost less and make a much bigger difference than a car bridge linking river road to the u of m campus.

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