General Road and Highway Discussion

[bravado]

Hell might be freezing over but Doug Craig wants another pedestrian bridge across the Grand and it's a solid idea:

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-...20a22.html

A second pedestrian crossing over the Grand River is being considered for Cambridge, with safety concerns associated with the CN train bridge behind Galt Collegiate Institute at the forefront.
“There’s always been an issue with the tracks to GCI and with students and with the public, even to this day, using that bridge to cross over,” said regional Coun. Doug Craig.
“It’s very unsafe, that’s the first issue, and we need a direct linkage across the river from the west side for students and people that want to walk the trail on the other side,” he said.
“It’s also just as important for people on the east side to get over to the Riverbluffs Park and all the trails, the canoe club and facilities they have there. I think it’s an important linkage that we need to work on.”

Craig, who represents Cambridge, brought the matter up last week at a regional council meeting, emphasizing it’s an item he doesn’t want to see “lost in the background” after council approved a $742,800 increase to the budget for a pedestrian and cycling bridge over Hwy. 7/8 in Kitchener.
Consideration of the proposal will be addressed within the region’s upcoming integrated mobility plan, transportation commissioner Mathieu Goetzke said.
Craig’s request has been included in the scope of the overall study that’s going to tender for a consultant who will evaluate future needs, based on population and location.

“These are big strategic questions that will be brought back to council as part of that plan,” said Goetzke, noting that a new pedestrian crossing of the Grand River would be a significant construction endeavour.
Craig wants to “light a fire” to see something move ahead within the next two to three years in the area near the Cambridge Mill, where towers are planned along the river.

The city opened its first pedestrian bridge crossing of the Grand River in 2018, between Founder’s Point on the east and the Cambridge Sculpture Garden on the west, as part of the former city council’s “Back to the Rivers” vision for Cambridge, when Craig was mayor.
A second pedestrian bridge is on the region’s radar because it would hook into the regional trails system, with hiking and cycling a main focus of the upper-tier government, Craig said.

“We’re a river city and in major cities across the world that are river cities, there are a multitude of pedestrian bridges,” he said. “It’s just part of the growth of a community and I think it’s important to frame that.”

Constituents continue to express safety concerns and there was a death on the train bridge years ago, Crag noted, so “what can happen will happen,” he warns. Last year, a man was seriously injured while fishing, when a group kids dropped a railway tie on his leg from above. The injury could have been much worse, possibly fatal.  The principal at Galt Collegiate didn’t respond Monday to a request for comment, however students and a custodian who spoke to The Record say they don’t see many pedestrians using the bridge these days, with fencing and other safety precautions in place.

“The railway bridge is out of bounds and very dangerous. It is your responsibility to avoid it,” GCI’s Student Code of Conduct reads.

“Parents of any student caught trespassing will be notified by administration. Students will be reported to police and suspended from school.”