stal̕əw̓asəm (Riverview) Bridge (Pattullo Bridge Replacement) | U/C

[Lexus]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Not even close to the same thing

I did not say its the same thing. But thats how your reaction will look in 20 years from now when there will be thousands of daily rides through the bridge by electric scooters and e-bikes. If you only rode a bike before for a recreational use only and never commuted by cycling you will hardly understand me what I’m trying to tell here. And that’s totally fine. But objectively cycling is another form of transportation and its evolving super rapidly these days thanks to new technologies such as an electric motors with batteries. Also to keep in mind that bridge is build to last and serve for decades and all forms of transportation must be equally considered.

[osirisboy]

Yes, that is all interesting.

But I asked "wonder how many people would be walking over the bridge" and now you are talking about escooters?

I was wondering, for example, Has transliink counted pedestrian crossings now and what they think it'll be in the future. What are they on crossings like Alex Fraser etc

[WarrenC12]

I'm pretty sure the interchange was eliminated due to cost, like 99% of everything else.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Seriously? Just because they build something doesn't mean People will therefore use it.

Actually, "build it and they will come" is a pretty good description of what's happened with bike lanes and transit in Vancouver. I'm sure that if the new Patullo bridge has reasonable access for cycling then it will see a decent amount of use. No, not nearly as popular for cyclists as the Burrard bridge, but you just have to look at the popularity of the cycle/pedestrian path on the Canada Line bridge over the Fraser River to see that the infrastructure is justified.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

Actually, "build it and they will come" is a pretty good description of what's happened with bike lanes and transit in Vancouver. I'm sure that if the new Patullo bridge has reasonable access for cycling then it will see a decent amount of use. No, not nearly as popular for cyclists as the Burrard bridge, but you just have to look at the popularity of the cycle/pedestrian path on the Canada Line bridge over the Fraser River to see that the infrastructure is justified.

Right. In other words your just guessing. many things are built that end up being under utilized as well

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Right. In other words your just guessing. many things are built that end up being under utilized as well

Yes, I can think of some giant bridges that had that problem recently.

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Yes, I can think of some giant bridges that had that problem recently.

Or anything like new parks, shopping centres, airline routes. My point being just because infrastructure is built doesn't mean it will therefore be heavily used.

And the rendering showing the bridge full of people just made me wonder if translink actually expects to see that many pedestrians use it. Or just artistic interpretation

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Or anything like new parks, shopping centres, airline routes. My point being just because infrastructure is built doesn't mean it will therefore be heavily used.

And the rendering showing the bridge full of people just made me wonder if translink actually expects to see that many pedestrians use it. Or just artistic interpretation

Artistic interpretation. Definitely. And that goes for bridge decks with gloriously free-flowing traffic vs the inevitable bumper-to-bumper crawl during peak periods.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Just going to point out that with Burrard, there's something worth walking/biking to on both ends. There's already the Expo for rides from New West to Whalley, so if TPTB want foot traffic to increase, Bridgeview and Queens Park're going to need a makeover.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Just going to point out that with Burrard, there's something worth walking/biking to on both ends. There's already the Expo for rides from New West to Whalley, so if TPTB want foot traffic to increase, Bridgeview and Queens Park're going to need a makeover.

Of course there is, but look at the Canada Line bridge. It was busy with cyclists and pedestrians even before Marine Gateway was a thing. There's quite literally nothing on the Richmond side.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Of course there is, but look at the Canada Line bridge. It was busy with cyclists and pedestrians even before Marine Gateway was a thing. There's quite literally nothing on the Richmond side.

River Rock? But yes, point taken.

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Right. In other words your just guessing. many things are built that end up being under utilized as well

Of course. But my point is that these kinds of projects have a good track record of being well utilized here. Exactly the same kind of objections were raised about separated bike lanes in Vancouver, but lo and behold the cyclists really did come, and former critics have recanted. The Canada Line bridge is another case in point. There are no guarantees, but there's plenty of empirical evidence across the region to suggest that providing good pedestrian and cycling access to the Patullo bridge won't be a waste of money.

[Metro-One]

Why did this devolve into an argument about pedestrian / cyclist use?

Having used the Canada Line Bridge nearly daily when I lived in South Van and having cycled a few times over the GEB I can say that having such infrastructure added as part of all new major road and rail river crossings is a very good thing. Don’t see the need to complain otherwise and I don’t see how this related to the bridge being under built for road use upon opening.

Again, at the bare minimum it should be opening with 5 lanes (the southbound add / drop lane that I have described before) otherwise south bound has three consecutive merge points. I can really see that causing issues.

[osirisboy]

I just reread the posts. Not sure if there was complaining

Anyways how many pages and pages talking about number of traffic lanes there should be? The bridge is more than just for vehicle traffic. Maybe they should have wider sections for pedestrians/cyclists?

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

I just reread the posts. Not sure if there was complaining

Anyways how many pages and pages talking about number of traffic lanes there should be? The bridge is more than just for vehicle traffic. Maybe they should have wider sections for pedestrians/cyclists?

Skimming through just seemed to be that tone.

I don’t think anyone would argue against it, and in that factor the bridge does look to have ample capacity.

Save for the south end, which along with the removed interchange also removed nearly all of the upgraded pedestrian / cycling ramps and facilities.

There also better not be a crosswalk across the offramp to the SFPR. Instead the pedestrian / cycling facilities should dip below.

[idunno]

I guess what all of this means is that the south end interchange, along with SFPR/124th street flyovers and all related ped/bike improvements will just be a separate project some time down the road.

Similar to the SFPR/Nordel Way interchange coming in 9 years later.

[logicbomb]

I don't cycle much nowadays but I do recall the Port Mann Bridge pathway being used quite a bit in 2017. It provides a decent connection for commuters going to Lougheed and/or the Central Valley Greenway.

Patullo is also used however the narrow sidewalk on it is very dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. I do believe a bike path there would be used a lot. Usual cycle time for me was 25 min from New West to Surrey Central. Major issue is the stupid detour you have to take from the Patullo to King George via 110 Ave. That would add 5-7min to my trip with the lights and traffic.

[CanSpice]

Yeah, if you look at the Strava Global Heatmap the Pattullo Bridge is already fairly well-used. It connects the BC Parkway with Whalley and Surrey's city centre district. Surrey's cycling infrastructure will (hopefully) continue to improve, so there's every indication that cycling volume over the Pattullo will only keep increasing.

Strava's heatmap isn't super fine-grained for volume determination but the Pattullo actually looks to be on-par with the Port Mann, which I personally find hard to believe given the sad state of the Pattullo.


(source: Strava, screenshot by me)

[logicbomb]

I believe it.

The Port Mann has a decent path but the North side does not really connect to any cycling pathways. You are either taking a massive gamble cycling beside 80-100km/hr traffic on narrow shoulders on Lougheed or the Mary Hill.

The Patullo sucks and is scary for 1-2km but the BC Parkway or Central Valley Greenway greets you on the other side.

[Galaxy]

Perhaps sometime in the future, another crossing could also be built somewhere between the Pattulo and Portmann Bridges that could add capacity and prove to spread traffic in what every form out a little.