While it’s certainly become an iconic part of the city’s landscape, Calgary’s Peace Bridge has also proven to be a rather costly, problematic, and controversial project.
And even though the pedestrian bridge has been open to the public for a few years now, the project is still costing taxpayers. There was a recent $200,000 bill to repair cracked glass on the bridge, for example. Furthermore, the city recently announced that they were going to spend $400,000 to add another crosswalk near the bridge to try and curb jaywalking (the new crosswalk still won’t line up with the bridge, though – it will be a block to the west. That’s in addition to the existing crosswalk a block to the east).
And now we learn that the lights on the bridge were not built to handle Calgary’s winters and so that’s going to cost taxpayers an additional $700,000.
When it comes to Calgarians and the Peace Bridge, it’s sort of like when an adorable kid acts like a brat – it’s hard to stay mad for too long. People clearly like the bridge and are using it in large numbers. But that doesn’t mean the taxpayer shouldn’t question why the project seems to be an endless money pit.
Is this latest $700,000 cost the last financial hit the bridge will bestow upon Calgarians? Let’s hope so, but don’t hold your breath.
Rob Breakenridge is host of “Afternoons with Rob Breakenridge” on Global News Radio 770 Calgary and a commentator for Global News.
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