Chief William Commanda Bridge (former Prince of Wales Bridge)

[zzptichka]

Originally Posted by LRTeverywhere

Believe its just the work site / boat launch area for the Commanda bridge work

I thought they are mostly done with it, and that's a lot of beams and blocks they got there.

[LRTeverywhere]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

I thought they are mostly done with it, and that's a lot of beams and blocks they got there.

Some work left on the north bridge, will require a couple temporary path closures I believe.

[zzptichka]

It's indeed for the bridge work.

[Uhuniau]

Doing ongoing "storytelling" about work like this would be a useful goal of city comms staff.

Also lol at the patio umbrella.

[rocketphish]

Chief William Commanda Bridge to close for winter on Wednesday
Pedestrian crossing over Ottawa River will be unsafe for public use, city says

CBC News
Posted: Dec 03, 2024 5:17 PM EST | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The Chief William Commanda Bridge will be closed for winter as of Wednesday.

The pedestrian bridge spanning the Ottawa River will be closed for the duration of the winter season "as it will be unsafe for public use," according to a post on X by the City of Ottawa.

"New gates have been installed and will be used to open and close the bridge in the spring and fall as required," the post continued.

Up to 10 centimetres of snow is expected to fall on Ottawa throughout the day and into the night Wednesday, according to Environment Canada.

The 140-year-old former railway bridge reopened to pedestrians and cyclists last summer after a nearly $24-million revamp.

The bridge was open for a little over three months before being closed for four months last winter, with city staff saying the bridge's steel structure and timber plank surface did not allow for safe plowing, salting or grit operations.

"While staff have explored alternative de-icing products, none have been found to be suitable for the type of structure or the location of the bridge within the source water protection zone," the city said in a memo last month.

This winter, the city hopes to assess whether allowing snow to accumulate could permit the bridge to be kept open for activities such cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...sing-1.7400241

[Uhuniau]

Most of last winter, there was less ice on the bridge decking than there was on the average sidewalk in Sandy Hill.

If the bridge was unsafe for pedestrians... so was the rest of the city's pedestrian infrastructure and the snow- and ice-clearing practices that govern them.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Most of last winter, there was less ice on the bridge decking than there was on the average sidewalk in Sandy Hill.

If the bridge was unsafe for pedestrians... so was the rest of the city's pedestrian infrastructure and the snow- and ice-clearing practices that govern them.

Damn-it man, the city has made a decision and they are sticking with it! No matter the amount of information out there that their decision is asinine, they have made a choice and they will stick with it come hell or high water!!

[zzptichka]

[vtecyo]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

What a relief - it's so nice to see the city taking the threat of... (checks notes) "walking on snow on a bridge" as seriously as we all thought they should.

That definitely looks totally impassible - and the (furious estimating...) 3 foot high step ladder of fence on the right hand side cannot be bypassed - ever - by anyone - don't even think about it.

Seriously though - is that the only gate or fence on that side? Is there anything right up at the entrance to the bridge deck?

[dougvdh]

Originally Posted by vtecyo

What a relief - it's so nice to see the city taking the threat of... (checks notes) "walking on snow on a bridge" as seriously as we all thought they should.

That definitely looks totally impassible - and the (furious estimating...) 3 foot high step ladder of fence on the right hand side cannot be bypassed - ever - by anyone - don't even think about it.

Seriously though - is that the only gate or fence on that side? Is there anything right up at the entrance to the bridge deck?

It will be much safer forcing cyclist to use the snow and ice filled lanes next to traffic on the sides of Champlain Bridge or Chaudiere Bridge than allowing them to risk death crossing William Commanda in a few cms of drifting snow.

[Uhuniau]

There's another fencey-gatey thing on Lemieux Island, but it wasn't closed on Wednesday at least.

This is almost like a non-closure "closure".

Also, it looks like there's a small-scale experiment using the winter trails people's snow fencing. I would have gone slightly bigger and more experimental with it, but it'll be interesting to see how that works out.

[VANRIDERFAN]

The gate on the Ottawa side is open. Someone unlocked it. People were running, walking and biking across.

[DTcrawler]

Common sense prevails, no thanks to the city and its clenched-cheek lawyers.

[zzptichka]

Nice. And the padlock is still in place, undamaged.
That's some guerilla urbanism I can get behind.




BTW this is what the city deems safe and wants you to use if you are on a bike:

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Nice. And the padlock is still in place, undamaged.
That's some guerilla urbanism I can get behind.

BTW this is what the city deems safe and wants you to use if you are on a bike:

Very good summary of why decisions made by bureaucrats with their heads buried in policies (and up their a*ses) should not be seen as a reflection of what's actually safe vs. unsafe.

[Uhuniau]

Gate gently opened, the first set of internal fences at the Lemieux Island end of the south spans gently cut open, and the second set of internal fences in the middle of the north span also lovingly cut open. (Not that I was ever on the very closed bridge over the weekend, of course.)

NOW: About safety.

1. That internal fence in the middle of the north span actually makes the "closure" more dangerous than leaving the bridge open. Why? Because some person determined to make the crossing could well be tempted to try and clamber around it, and boy would that be a bad idea. It goes to show how much the closure is driven by the idiots in legal, and not by anyone with a grain of sense about how people actually behave.

2. The sidewalks this morning on Queen Street and on Bank Street over the weekend are and were far more dangerous to walk on than the bridge surface. The bridge is covered with rapidly-dissipating wet snow that offers traction. The sidewalks are covered in the same annual compacted crap that the city throws some salt in the general direction of, and calls it a day. Passengers getting off buses are actually at risk of slipping, and falling under and being crushed by the bus they just disembarked from. That risk is 0 on the WCB.

City of Ottawa Legal: if the bridge isn't safe, I have terrible news for you about the liability of the rest of the city's pedestrian infrastructure.

You, too, winter maintenance team.

Edited to add: To the councillors who have been defending this, get out there and walk the damn bridge. Do it. Walk the bridge. Walk the damn closed bridge. And maybe visit Parliament Station on your way home.

[zzptichka]

Meanwhile, the bridge right now is probably the safest place for pedestrians in Ottawa.

[harls]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Meanwhile, the bridge right now is probably the safest place for pedestrians in Ottawa.

Man that is scarier than Indiana Jones jumping onto that invisible walkway at the end of the Last Crusade.

[DTcrawler]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

Edited to add: To the councillors who have been defending this, get out there and walk the damn bridge. Do it. Walk the bridge. Walk the damn closed bridge. And maybe visit Parliament Station on your way home.

Have councillors actually been defending the closure? I was under the impression they've been silent on the issue with the exception of a few trying to have it re-opened only to be dismissed by rat-nosed city lawyers.

[lrt's friend]

Are insurance costs keeping the bridges closed? I have no doubt that insurance is rising at a pace beyond what is allowed by the city budget.