While drivers might not notice the details, the pedestrian bridge spanning 14 Street at 7 Avenue Northwest in Calgary is showing its age.
“The bridge is in really bad shape,” Ward 7 Coun. Druh Farrell said Monday. “It’s at the end of its life cycle and it needs to be removed.”
“And the question is what do we replace it with?”
The bridge will be replaced with an at-grade crossing. (According to Transportation Alberta, an at-grade rail crossing “is where a road passes across a line of railway.”)
While pedestrian overpasses allow traffic to move uninterrupted, in an interview with Global News Radio 770 CHQR Monday, Farrell said a street-level crossing is a safer option that could also help make the neighbourhood more walkable.
“The ideal would be to have a safe, at-grade crossing — that means changing the way 14 Street looks and behaves,” she said.
“Right now the speeds are high, there’s a hill, the lanes are wide and people go over the speed limit generally. The speed limit is 60 km/h, so we would have to take it down to a lower speed limit.
“It’s going to be a challenge because 14 Street isn’t particularly a walkable street, but we have the opportunity to make it more walkable and then maybe we’ll see some more development along it.”
Farrell said the city is also likely to put in full signals at 7 Avenue Northwest and may put in other measures to control traffic as it streams toward downtown.
Community highlights need for bridge
Yoga instructor Jenelle Kitto said the type of street crossing needs to account for the amount and speed of traffic along the north-south corridor.
“I feel like with the amount of traffic here and the fact that people are so oblivious to the new (flashing light) crossings, I don’t know that I would feel safer,” Kitto told Global News.
“I know in lots of areas, people don’t stop for those or don’t notice them. They’re just cruising.”
Farrell added the bridge also acts as a “vital link” for children to walk to and from Hillhurst School, which sits on the east side of 14 Street.
“It’s really important that we ensure whatever we decide on is safe and feels safe,” she said.
“We try and encourage kids to be active and walk to school, it’s healthier for them and the environment, so it has to be safe.”
Another suggestion is to replace the existing pedestrian bridge with a new one, however, Farrell said that would cost about $6 million. The space needed for an up-to-code overpass is another challenge.
“There’s not a lot of room in that immediate area, and bridges we build today are accessible,” Farrell said. “They need those long, loopy ramps, and that takes up a fair amount of space.”
Farrell also said that a possible site north of 7 Avenue Northwest would necessitate a land purchase.
However, before any final decision is made on how to replace the much-needed connection from one side of the road to the other, Farrell said the city will be asking for input from residents.
“The decision to pull down the bridge was just made,” she said.
“So the community will have an opportunity to weigh in on what they would prefer.”
Work to remove the pedestrian overpass is expected to begin this summer.
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