The lack of urgency to demolish the Coteau Street East bridge concerns Coun. Heather Eby, who thought its closure was “imminent” when she supported its destruction during 2021 budget discussions.
“… was I mistaken when I voted in favour, feeling like this was a safety issue and we had to get this done right away? Because now it looks like we don’t have to do it right away,” she said during the May 24 regular council meeting while discussing the bridge’s fate.
“Did I miss something? I don’t understand why now we’re looking at (demolition) five years out.”
Closing bridge to vehicles
Eby noted that she “would totally be in favour” of closing the bridge to vehicles immediately and making it a pedestrian-only structure. The structure can handle four tonnes, while city hall would need to monitor it until it was demolished.
During the meeting, city administration presented an updated bridge condition assessment report that indicated the structure was still usable despite continued deterioration. However, Eby felt that the report “muddied the waters” since a report in 2020 suggested immediate action was required.
When Associated Engineering re-assessed the bridge in February, it said the structure’s condition was 55.3 per cent, compared to 56.2 per cent in 2020, said Bevan Harlton, director of engineering services. City administration asked AE if it was time to close the bridge but was told it was still safe to use and its four-tonne rating was sufficient.
“If I were to suggest that it’s emergent work or immediate work, I would not say that’s the case,” he added. “But we can tell you it’s past its service life and in very poor shape, (so) that’s why we’re recommending demolition.”
Lack of consultations
While the additional information in the report was helpful, Coun. Crystal Froese didn’t think AE had consulted enough with area residents. In particular, she pointed to everyone who signed the petitions and spoke to council last fall about preserving the structure.
“It (the report) said that there was no official traffic study done of counting people walking over the bridge; two hours (of monitoring) does not make a traffic study,” she said.
A significant detail in the report is that Canadian National Railway (CNR) thought it unnecessary to finalize the cost-sharing demolition agreement now, Froese continued. She thought that meant the company was unwilling to split the $190,000 demolition cost or move forward with the project. Thus, she didn’t see the need to proceed with tearing down “this historic bridge” either.
“I am quite pleased to see that we’re looking at Home Street for an improvement because I know that street particularly absolutely needs attention,” she added. “It’s a terrible, terrible road to drive. Even walking is not very pleasurable.”
CN Rail is still committed to cost-sharing the demolition expenses, while council doesn’t need to worry about signing the agreement since work isn’t happening yet, said Harlton.
A 180-degree turnaround
Coun. Dawn Luhning echoed some of Eby’s concerns, noting that the latest report “is a complete 180-degree turnaround” compared to a report from last year.
She pointed out that in 2021, city administration and AE had put this bridge at the top to be closed and demolished, something with which council agreed. Yet, demolition now won’t happen for about five years and residents can continue to use it.
Last November, council wanted administration to confirm that CN would pay half to tear down the bridge, Luhning continued. However, in another 180-degree turnaround, city administration recommends “all of a sudden out of the blue” that money be spent to upgrade Home Street.
“I have real concerns with this report … . I am not sure which one is right or wrong. Is it (the bridge) safe or unsafe? Both reports have completely opposing views,” she said.
AE’s first report did not say the bridge needs to be closed immediately, and from the company’s perspective, it has not “flip-flopped,” said Stephen Chiasson, AE’s manager of bridges and structures.
Coun. Kim Robinson didn’t think AE was inconsistent either since its latest report indicated the bridge had further deteriorated. The only urgency was in ensuring CNR would split demolition expenses.
“I don’t see a huge change. We may get a little more life out of this (bridge), but the end result will be much the same,” he added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, June 13.
