Blue Bridge Public Input Extended, and much more

Another dynamic week for Victoria’s Johnson Street Bridge

The City of Victoria mail in survey deadline, which was August 3rd, has been extended to August 10th.

The city bulk-mailed about 25,000 of the information packages, each with a detachable feedback form and postage paid envelope with an original deadline of Aug. 3 to respond. However, some buildings, which have a no-unsolicited-mail policy, did not receive them

Read the full Times Colonist Article

There are over 45 000 households within the City of Victoria, so it is no surprise many did not receive a survey, and, why was only one survey form offered when the likelihood of more than one respondent per household is high? This also raises a question on why the City’s johnsonstreetbridge.COM website still claims:

The City of Victoria wants to hear how you would like to see the 86 year old Johnson Street Bridge addressed.
An information package and feedback form will be mailed to every Victoria household in early July and a scientific poll will be conducted at the end of the month.

Ipsos Reid is currently conducting a phone poll of residents but it appears they are not asking the question that concerns most – Rehabiliatation or Replacement. If you have not received your mail-in survey phone City Hall at 250-361-0288 or email johnsonstreetbridge@victoria.ca – and make sure you include our Supplemental Survey (Download to Print)

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Focus Magazine Poll

If the City of Victoria is avoiding asking residents what their preference is for the Blue Bridge, Focus Magazine is not afraid. Their online poll offers the City’s choice of a $77 million new bridge or $80 million rehabilitation PLUS a basic repair. Take the quick online poll and let us see if the Victoria Council takes any notice.

Once again, Focus’s investigator of all things civic is enlightening us. Sam Williams notes the pay increases for city staff and questions if taxpayers are getting the intelligence ‘bang’ for those ‘big bucks’…

But wait. There was one person who seemed to be paying attention to what the consultants were saying. Referring to the $50,000 peer review study done by Stantec Consulting’s Andrew Rushforth, Geoff Young said “Rushforth appears to be saying that the probability of occurrence of the event for which the bridge is being designed or repaired is not 30 percent over 50 years, but less than three percent. If correct, this is a significant difference that should be explained in the material [the City is sending to residents], in my view, since the increase in the cost of repair to this standard is far greater than the increase in the cost of new construction.” Bingo.

Rushforth’s peer review made an unusual concession for the sake of comprehension. He listed magnitudes of earthquakes alongside the probability they would occur at the Johnson Street Bridge site. He gave a “478 year event (approximate magnitude 6.5)” a “10 percent chance of occurring in 50 years” and a “1 in 2500 year event (approximate magnitude 8.5)” a “3 percent chance of occurring in 75 years.” For those few zany people who want to know, interpolating between Rushforth’s figures for a 1 in 1000 year event (approximate magnitude 7.5), you get a 5 percent chance of occurring in 50 years. The City staffer who authored the high-probability major quake claim, Johnson Street Bridge project manager Mike Lai ($128,347.14), didn’t respond to a request for an explanation by press time. And also no word on whether councillors Madoff, Hunter and Luton are questioning the science behind Rushforth’s peer review.

Sam Williams is a Victoria writer who predicts this is the end.

The entire Focus article by Sam is a must read

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Train on the Blue Bridge - Photo Dennis Robinson

and finally. Rail or no Rail on the bridge. The current options presented to the public do not include a rail line into downtown. Council directed staff to seek funding from the Capital Regional District before their August 12th decision, which they duly attempted on July 28th at the CRD Transportation Committee. However, there was not a direct ‘ask’ for a set amount, simply a presentation on the bridge options and a request for ‘funding approval in principle’ – for both the rail line, and the already included 5 metre wide, multi-modal-path. Graham Hill, the Mayor of View Royal and Chair of the committee noted the CRD cannot ‘approve anything in principle’, however CRD staff were directed to seek funding options to keep the rail line on the bridge.

That was followed with a coalition of Westshore Mayors, and the Island Corridor Foundation, endorsing the goal of municipalities other than Victoria sharing the cost. The CRD Transportation Committee will meet again in September, but only after Council has made a decision on the bridge and put forth a borrowing bylaw, to consider if funding is available. Read the Times Colonist article

Anyone confused yet?

Council plans to decide on August 12th for a $77 or $80 million replacement or rehabilitation of the Blue Bridge – that is what has been sent out to the public for survey feedback. Or they could choose to include rail, which most councillors want, but which jacks up the cost to $89 million for replacement and $103 million for rehabilitation – that without any guarantee of regional funding. The timeline is tight as a borrowing bylaw must be set by August 20th in time for a planned referendum in late November.

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