The saga of the red bridge over the Bow River is finally coming to an end on Saturday when the Peace Bridge opens to pedestrians. Probably no other piece of city infrastructure has generated as much press per dollar of spending as the Peace Bridge. But for its symbolic importance as a measure of where our city is heading, for its functional utility and its aesthetic quality, it was money well spent.
There has been much gnashing of teeth about the price tag, but it turns out $25 million is not out of line with similar footbridge projects. The Peace Bridge cost about $30,000 per metre. The Fort Edmonton bridge and the Esplanade Riel Bridge in Winnipeg were built for about $34,000 and $50,000 per metre respectively.
Another bone of contention was the sole sourcing of the design to Spanish starchitect Santiago Calatrava. This bridge had some unique and demanding design considerations — no suspended overhead towers to avoid conflict with the Heliport; no mid-river piers for environmental reasons and, of course, the design “wow factor.” For structural engineering expertise, design reputation and a proven ability to deliver the goods, the invitation to Calatrava was prudent public policy.
Still others complained that we didn’t need another bridge. With the Peace Bridge we now have eight bridges within five kilometres. In Florence, Italy, the famous Ponte Vecchio sits in the middle of eight bridges in a 4.4-kilometre stretch. In our opinion the pedestrian network across the Bow could use another two bridges — one spanning the Elbow River at the confluence of the Bow and another connecting the north side with what will eventually be a densely populated West Village. The combined cost of these two new bridges, the Peace Bridge and the soon to be started St. Patrick’s Island bridge would be less than the price of one suburban interchange.
For the complete FFWD article by EVDS Assistant Professor Noel Keough and Urban Studies teacher Geoff Ghitter, click here.
Image by Santiago Calatrava