Barbara Campagna, chief architect at the National Trust, is a sustainability expert. She was in Victoria last week to talk about preservation as sustainability. But will Campagna’s message reach Victoria on the issue of the Johnson Street Bridge? [...]
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What should Victoria learn from Federal Finance Minister Flaherty’s announcement that social programs will be cut back to balance stimulus funding expenditures? It’s time for this Mayor and Council to stop and examine its conscience: does it want to follow Ottawa, or stay on course with the platform it was elected on? [...] A few posts back I referred to the clinical fear of bridges known as gephyrophobia. I’d argue that fear of one kind or another shapes some of the rhetoric that drives Mayor Fortin’s bridge replacement project. [...] Many residents of Victoria are wondering why the arguments by the Mayor and the majority of Council against a referendum on the Blue Bridge borrowing bylaw, are reversed in other local municipalities. There is no consistency in the approach to public approval of vital issues which DO affect the finances and safety of our communities. [...] While council was considering their own questions, maybe seeking alternatives, johnsonstreetbridge.ORG put together a letter to Mayor Dean Fortin and all city councillors outlining not only questions that need answering, but providing reliable information, links and notes from experienced bridge engineers – the expertise that should be recognized and tapped for complete consideration, and due diligence. [...] Discussion around the existing Johnson Street Bridge’s seismic vulnerability is sure to increase, since it’s part of the PR arsenal set to shell public opinion. But let’s step back a moment and ask: what are we building? A new bridge or new roads? Examination of the new renderings suggests a disturbing focus on a new roads-for-cars development, which is arguably the wrong way to approach new urban design. [...] The new Johnson Street Bridge design is a fast one-night-stand compared to the existing bridge’s sensual intricacy. Read on to see why longer doesn’t mean better. [...] It seems that the bridge project – at least the bridge replacement project – will only compound and amplify the city’s budgetary problems, and seriously weaken its ability to address previously stated goals, such as addressing social issues related to homelessness and housing affordability. At the same time, the city is considering dipping into its reserve fund to stem what looks like an inexorable rise in Victoria property taxes. [...] A report commissioned by the City of Victoria (but to date not released by the city) concludes that the Johnson Street Bridge has “significant heritage value.” Yet the city is disregarding this information in a rush to replace an irreplaceable piece of early 20th-century technology. [...] In discussions around replacing or refurbishing Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge, we should consider the Dutch model of self-explaining streets. Instead, the city appears wedded to an older concept of the forgiving highway. [...] |
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