Chief William Commanda Bridge (former Prince of Wales Bridge)

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

Here`s a thought, install gates on either side of the bridge. Shut them when the weather is inconvenient. Heck you could make the gates operate remotely and have a person at the operations center open and close when required. If there is a sudden unaccounted for snowstorm and gates are not closeable then send the PW person to clear the bit of snow.

This country is full of important people whose responses to issues are as follows:

It`ll cost money
It`s too hard
Somebody will get hurt
Somebody will sue the city
Not my problem
It`s another level of government`s problem
Not my pay grade

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.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

This is Ottawa and it is normally a frozen winter wonderland. There are certain things that cannot be easily maintained over winter. Everything has a cost and a benefit. When the cost goes up in winter and the benefit declines, some tough decisions have to made. Otherwise, more important infrastructure will not be maintained as well. Exactly, who is going to use a frozen port-a-potty?

Given where climate change is heading, they might want to reconsider their policies and lack of flexibility.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Given where climate change is heading, they might want to reconsider their policies and lack of flexibility.

Flexibility in government or any big organization is difficult to achieve. When it comes to closing bridges and stairways etc., there is some preparation and scheduling needed. This is usually done weeks in advance. How do we know when the first big blizzard will hit? We don't, regardless of climate change. We certainly don't want to have the bridge open and have someone slip under something into a fast moving Ottawa River like what happened in Quebec just recently. We can compare this to getting snow tires on our cars. The same logic would mean, why do we need snow tires on our car this winter? Look at the weather. Then we get two feet of snow next week, and wonder why we can't get an appointment to change the tires the day before, when everybody else is doing the same thing in a mad panic?

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

Flexibility in government or any big organization is difficult to achieve. When it comes to closing bridges and stairways etc., there is some preparation and scheduling needed. This is usually done weeks in advance. How do we know when the first big blizzard will hit? We don't, regardless of climate change. We certainly don't want to have the bridge open and have someone slip under something into a fast moving Ottawa River like what happened in Quebec just recently. We can compare this to getting snow tires on our cars. The same logic would mean, why do we need snow tires on our car this winter? Look at the weather. Then we get two feet of snow next week, and wonder why we can't get an appointment to change the tires the day before, when everybody else is doing the same thing in a mad panic?

So you mean people should be allowed to use the bridge in the winter, like they are allowed on the roads in Ontario without winter tires? Okay.

[lrt's friend]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

So you mean people should be allowed to use the bridge in the winter, like they are allowed on the roads in Ontario without winter tires? Okay.

No, that is not the comparison at all. The comparison is the time required to adjust schedules.

We have closed the bridge because it might not be safe to have it open all winter but look at the weather, we don't need to close it. But if a major blizzard came, how do we close it quickly? The same with snow tires. We planned to get snow tires but look at the weather. Then that same blizzard is forecast, and you try to get the snows on in a panic, but no appointments are available.

[Uhuniau]

I keep thinking the official opening got forced in a hurry after some petty vandal slash model citizen opened the fence on the Quebec side in July.

[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.

[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 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)

[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!!

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by acottawa

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

During the blizzard?

Are we sure of that, or are we inventing yet another bit of hypothetical bullshit to use as an excuse for inaction and not spending money, because it sure seems like the latter when no other bridge closes for blizzards,

[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.