Tuesday, February 1, 2011

[I'd] like a bridge over troubled waters

Red Hill 
They come in different styles, shapes, designs, costs and extravagance but they all do the same thing.  They enable pedestrians and cyclists a safe, direct way of crossing the major highways throughout Ontario.  They encourage people to cycle by making it safer. They promote active life styles and eventually cut health costs.
Bridges over [troubled] highways aren't cheap!  While the Cambridge bridge cost a paltry (in comparison) $1.8M, Hamitlon's new Red Hill Creek bridge is budgeted at $7.6M, paid for by the provincial government!

With the help of MTO & GO Transit, Hazel's gone for the gusto & built a $17M monument in Mississauga.

Pickering bridge rending
Pickering's 22M bridge is a monster from both an aesthetic & financial viewpoint.  However the $22M price tag will be picked up by the taxpayers through MTO, Metrolinx and the federal government.  
Bridge are not inexpensive investments but compared to the $5.3 Billion cost of inactivity in Canada, they are a bargain.
Hope that Burlington is grabbing a share of these government handouts.  The prohibitive cost of these bridges for any municipality or city like Burlington to tackle on its own, makes it a Bridge too Far. 

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