06-28-2021, 06:10 PM
(06-28-2021, 05:29 PM)ac3r Wrote: What you're proposing is still way too much money for them to build. If that were not an issue then anything could be constructed, but that's not how things work. In a case like this, it's a bridge or nothing as they're not going to absorb the cost to connect to dig under the expressway to connect Dutton Drive and Northfield Station. While it's not accurate, using Google Maps, the bridge to Northfield Station appears to be about 330 meters including the sidewalk running up to the station. It wouldn't cost a lot to build that.
Now I'm not sure what your idea for a tunnel would be...something going under the highway, then splitting off to both Dutton Drive and Northfield Station? For one, digging the tunnel would cost a ton of money, not to mention the construction of the walls, roof, electrical, drainage and so on. There is also a small creek here so there would be a lot of water that would slowly deteriorate the concrete walls of the tunnel. They wouldn't be able to run it under the ION facility without digging an incredibly deep tunnel (to deal with that building foundation/basement/lowered maintenance bays) and they would need to because that forested area is owned by ROW so they can likely expand the facility in the future. This then creates issues with grading which you need to consider for accessibility (wheelchairs etc) whereas this bridge appears to be a pretty narrow grade.
The plaza at Albert and Hazel is way too far to justify a connection to Dutton Drive as well. And there's nothing significant there besides a beer store, dollarstore, water store, a niche Arab grocery etc...hardly destinations that would warrant millions of dollars in infrastructure. It'd be much easier for people to walk to the plazas at King and Northfield.
Again, a bridge is also going to be massively expensive. The cheapest possible crossing being built at 7/8 and Strasburg is projected to cost 7 million. This is a significantly larger project, with ramps at least twice as large. So the idea that a tunnel would be too expensive, pretty much means there is never going to be a bridge either.
I am certainly not proposing a tunnel under the ION facility. We are talking a 10 meter long tunnel under the roadway only. The bridge appears to be a standard grade, but because it is crossing a superelevated roadway carrying oversized vehicles it is going to be 7-9m above the level of the ground. Where as a tunnel only needs to be ~3m below the level of the roadway, which is already ~1 m above the ground due to superelevation. Therefore the access ramps would be minimal.
As for whether the amenities are worth providing access to...leaving aside the hundreds of units of housing that you ignored, I think it's entirely unreasonable for us to judge that a plaza isn't worth providing access to. Even if YOU don't like the stores there, others may, and those stores may also change. As for distance, it would be a 20 minute walk...which is a perfectly reasonable walk out to a restaurant for dinner (there's a second plaza as well with a restaurant, tims, etc).