The Canadian Pacific Otonabee River bridge - Date/Photographer unknown.

5 March 2012

Bridge a Vital Link

Peterborough Ontario - In good weather on a summer day, Maria St. resident Douglas Schalin might cross the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge walkway eight times getting back and forth to downtown.
 
The walkway has always been the vital link between East City and the downtown for Schalin, a cyclist and walker who doesn't own a vehicle.
 
He would join the steady stream of dog-walkers, runners, bikers, anglers, tourists, teenagers, and seniors who rely on the sidewalk, which is part of the city's Trans-Canada Trail system.
 
But since the city closed the walkway in November due to structural failures, Schalin's closest route downtown includes an additional 15 to 20 minute walk each way using the Hunter St. Bridge.
 
"It's huge inconvenience," Schalin said. "And I'm healthy. I'm not sure for people who are less fit than I am, how much time it will take them."
 
With the pathway closed, Schalin has already seen residents revert to more dangerous means to cross the Otonabee River.
 
"If there is no sidewalk, people are going to walk the tracks illegally. They are walking the tracks illegally now. I see it all the time," he said.
 
Dave Dame, avid runner and owner of Runner's Life on Charlotte St., says running groups are impatiently waiting for the city to come up with a solution.
 
"It's a vital link. Our message is get it done quickly. We don't need much. We don't need a fancy bridge. The old bridge did the job," he said.
 
Dame said his running groups, made up of 20 to 40 runners, used the walkway up to six times a week. His customers have been venting about the closure for months, he added.
 
"It's one of our natural routes. There are literally hundreds of runners in the city inconvenienced," he said.
 
Kieran Andrews sells bikes, rides bikes, and advocates for bikes. He's co-owner of Wild Rock Outfitters on Charlotte St., a member of the Peterborough Cycling Club and sits on the Peterborough Bicycle Advisory Committee.
 
The walkway closure has forced hundreds of extra bikes onto congested roads as cyclists now rely on Hunter, George, and Lansdowne streets to exit the city, he said.
 
"Yes, it inconveniences people, but that's not really the big issue. Putting a few hundred extra cyclists across the Hunter St. Bridge every day, that's a bigger issue," he said. "Closing that one little corridor forces people to spread out through the city streets."
 
The city knows there are many others, who, like Schalin, Dame, and Andrews, want action on the bridge.
 
"Residents see this bridge as very important. It's very high priority. Many people, especially on the east side of the river, are inconvenienced by the fact the walkway is no longer there," city planner Brian Buchardt said.
 
The city announced Tuesday it will pay Sanchez Engineering Inc. more than $20,000 to do a structural engineering assessment and design of a new walkway along with a cost estimate.
 
City council took immediate action to set aside $1 million in funding for a potential new walkway after the closure in November, making last-minute changes to the 2012 capital budget.
 
There was already $1 million allocated for walkway improvements ($500,000 in 2012 and $500,000 in 2013) as part of the city's overall trail system investment, but the closure in November forced earlier action.
 
But just how far $1 million will go is unclear. Given the walkway's history and the structural problems currently facing it, the new, wider pathway the city is hoping for might not be feasible.
 
That could mean the walkway would close permanently, or consideration of a much more costly standalone pedestrian bridge.
 
"There is always the do nothing option, which I don't think is really an option," Buchardt said. "The other option is to build another bridge, a pedestrian bridge over the river, (but) it may be too big of a price tag for us to even consider."
 
Building a bridge across water requires layers of approval, which would make that option both costly and time-consuming, he added.
 
Clouding matters further, CPR has the final say on anything concerning its bridge.
 
The popular walkway dates back to the time of the First World War. The city and the railway entered into an agreement in 1916 to build the sidewalk to move pedestrians across the river and discourage trespassing on the railway tracks.
 
The original walkway was made of wood. It soon rotted and was replaced with a steel support structure with precast concrete slabs on top.
 
The walkway is nearly completely cantilevered off a single girder on the CPR bridge, a design that led to its recent structural failure. Over the years sections of the support structure deteriorated and were repaired or replaced.
 
Public works closed the walkway 15 Nov 2011 after parts of its sub-structure detached from the girder, causing two long sections to slump. Before that decision was made, however, a CPR engineer had already recommended the walkway be removed from the bridge because it was causing corrosion of the bridge girder, a staff report indicates.
 
With the growth of the city's vibrant trail system, the pedestrian path has become an increasingly focal part of moving people across the river.
 
The Otonabee River Trail through Millennium Park forms part of the Trans-Canada Trail and the CPR walkway provides a logical link to Roger's Cove and to the south end of the Rotary Greenway Trail.
 
The 1916 agreement gives CPR the right to order the city to remove the walkway from the bridge at the city's expense, the report states.
 
CPR has since been satisfied its engineer's concerns could be addressed as long as the current engineering study includes a thorough examination of the girder's condition.
 
The city hopes to have the finished engineering assessment, preliminary walkway design, and cost estimate by May.
 
In the meantime, Buchardt will keep his fingers crossed, hoping the engineers can find an affordable way to rebuild the walkway in a timely manner.
 
The other options, doing nothing or building a costly standalone bridge, are not nearly as attractive.
 
"That's one of the reasons we are so hotly pursuing the rebuild (option)," he said.
 
Galen Eagle.