A possible active transportation corridor on Liverpool’s Town Bridge will not go ahead. Active transportation refers to the building of infrastructure such as bike lanes and pedestrian corridors to improve community connectivity and to increase physical fitness and reliance on cars.
Municipal staff had determined the railings and sidewalks on the 60-year-old structure needed to be replaced.
Council wanted repair work completed to make the sidewalks safe but asked staff for a more comprehensive solution that would widen the pedestrian walkways and allow for potential bicycle lanes.
CBCL Engineering was contracted to come up with ways to possibly reconfigure the bridge. They developed four options.
The first proposal was to maintain existing bridge, replacing the deteriorated railing and rehabilitating the asphalt and concrete sidewalk surfaces at a cost of $325,000.
The second option -- to modify the existing bridge, spending $700,000 to combine the two sidewalks on one side of the bridge and widening it to allow better access for cyclists.
The third option -- to move the sidewalk and bicycle lane to the outside of the bridge structure. That comes with a price tag of $3,400,000.
At $4,400,00, the final and most expensive option is to build a separate pedestrian bridge across the Mersey River to create a Separate Active Transportation Structure.
The bridge is owned by the province but maintained through a cost sharing agreement with Queens.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman coming up with that kind of money just isn’t in the cards for the municipality at this time.
“To spend three, four million dollars on a structure that does not belong to us; we’re just going to look after what’s there,” said the mayor.
Norman says there could be other opportunities to upgrade the infrastructure down the road.
“So needless to say, we’re just going to maintain what we have for now and keep our eyes open to any federal monies that may be coming in the next two years.”
Council voted to address the current deficiencies to make the bridge safe and not go ahead with any new infrastructure.
To listen to the interview with Mayor Norman regarding the bridge, press play below.