Some downtown merchants are unhappy with Courtenay council鈥檚 decision to include cantilevers in 5th Street Bridge repairs. Cantilevers will add $2 million to an estimated $6.3 million to recoat and renew the bridge deck, and increase the construction period from six to eight months.
Council voted 5-2 in favour of cantilevers. Doug Hillian and Manno Theos were opposed, favouring instead the recommended $6.3 million, and to explore options for a 6th Street pedestrian/bike bridge, estimated to cost $2-$4 million. Theos feels the cantilever option will create serious traffic congestion and adversely affect downtown businesses. He suggested a four-lane bridge, which David Frisch does not advocate because he wants to see people on bike and on foot. Melanie McCollum, Wendy Morin, Will Cole-Hamilton and Mayor Bob Wells also voted in favour of cantilevers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a growing community,鈥� said Greg Wilson, owner of Butcher鈥檚 Block on Fourth Street. 鈥淭hey (councillors in favour) were saying we鈥檙e all going to be biking, basically, and we鈥檙e not going to put any effort into roads or parking. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 true. We鈥檙e spending that much money on basically a Band-Aid, which would be fine, but it鈥檚 not going to help traffic in the future, because people are moving here, constantly. We definitely need a third bridge, maybe not right away.鈥�
鈥淭he City keeps saying they care about the downtown, but through all this, they鈥檝e showed it doesn鈥檛,鈥� added Wilson鈥檚 son Colby, who works at the business. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the worst case scenario. After the disaster up top on Fifth (Complete Street project), that鈥檚 foreshadowing what鈥檚 going to happen with the bridge. There is going to be business go out, and people laid off in downtown.鈥�
Colby suggests a three-lane bridge is what鈥檚 needed 鈥� an idea shared by Michael Gilbert, co-owner of Michael鈥檚 Off Main on Fourth. Gilbert also suggests a temporary bridge could be built off Anderton Avenue, running into the park during construction.
鈥淚鈥檓 shocked that they wouldn鈥檛 be trying to finally go for possibly a new bridge with three lanes,鈥� said Gilbert, who feels council needs to rescind the cantilver option. 鈥淚t would make traffic flow smoother, they鈥檇 get their bike lanes, they get viewpoints, they get pedestrians. They get everything.鈥�
The Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association has yet to comment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough decision,鈥� said former mayor of Comox Paul Ives, a lawyer whose office is at 5th and Fitzgerald. 鈥淭hey (council) have an obligation to maintain and improve the bridge, and there鈥檚 going to be inconvenience for at least six months. I think there鈥檚 maybe ways they can mitigate that on the traffic management side of it. They say they can鈥檛 do night work, but maybe there鈥檚 a way of working around that鈥he reality is for me, and I suppose many businesses downtown, would be that there鈥檚 still people driving cars, and there will continue to be for the next number of years, at least for the useful life of this bridge.鈥�
The City has said that recoating will potentially extend the life of the bridge another 50 years.
As it stands, in terms of non-vehicle traffic, Ives said commuters can walk or take the 10-15 seconds to bike across the 5th Street Bridge, single file. He feels the real issue faced by council is how to alleviate the public鈥檚 concerns during construction.
鈥淭here is going to be, undoubtedly, traffic chaos,鈥� Ives said. 鈥淚 think we can all remember what happens when the bridge at 17th goes up, even for half an hour at rush hour.鈥�
The bridge is expected to remain open to single-lane traffic during construction, though it might need to be fully closed for short periods. Construction will happen in 2020 or 2021. Council is expected to consider a draft borrowing bylaw this fall. The project will receive a $1.96 million federal grant if completed by March 2022. The remaining $6.3 million is proposed to be funded by the City, with funding sources possibly including reserves and borrowing. Loan authorization could be through the Alternate Approval Process (AAP) or a referendum. The AAP involves at least 10 per cent of electors petitioning against the proposed borrowing bylaw. If this were to occur, a referendum would be required to place the borrowing request before electors.
鈥淚 think they forget, though, that money was provided on the basis of a rehabilitation project,鈥� Ives said. 鈥淭he $2 million was at one point about half the cost, or less. To say there鈥檚 a free $2 million here and that justifies doing the cantilevers, that鈥檚 probably something they鈥檙e going to get some blowback on.鈥�
He notes that Wells has acknowledged that previous councils had deferred the project, thus the rising costs. Furthermore, building a new bridge would cost $25- to $30-million, which the City doesn鈥檛 have.
鈥淲e all saw what happened to Victoria (former Johnson Street Bridge). A $60 million bridge became $100 million bridge,鈥� Ives said. 鈥淔rom my perspective, I would say that people now have an opportunity to provide further feedback. The Master Transportation Plan is out there as well. Adding two more months, and adding $2 million more, is that the best use of taxpayers鈥� money? Is it the best use of having inconvenience additional to what they proposed? I think that鈥檚 something they鈥檙e going to get some feedback on鈥he council will listen to people, but you鈥檝e got to get in front of them. There鈥檚 always that silent majority that doesn鈥檛 speak up. This is still early enough in the process that further input can be provided.鈥�
Project updates are available at www.courtenay.ca/fifthstreetbridge. Or call City Hall at 250-334-4441 and ask for engineering services.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Like us on and follow us on
