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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Only $25Million for this Peace bridge...are you sure? ( and some alternate names?)


Ummm....ahem. YUCK!
After so much speculation and hoopla over the unveiling of the $25MM pedestrian bridge, I must admit I was quite disappointed with the final design. I was expecting this big, iconic bridge that would add something spectacular to the tourist postcard photos of downtown Calgary. This design is actually quite silly in my opinion.
Technically I am sure it is quite revolutionary, as the typical pillars and steel girders are purposely missing, but who really cares at the end of the day. It is so low to the ground, it looks like someone hauled a large log and laid it across the river. Yikes....
I am surprised that the architect did not put a cowboy hat on top of it, you know, to give it that Calgary Feel because it sure does not match with anything else in this city.
The Name...
I was really pissed when I found out that some council members threw up the NAME smokescreen to hide the biggest mistake of their political careers. Calling this the PEACE BRIDGE is fine, but the optics and reasoning are political in nature only. Who is going to come out and speak against our counties Armed Forces? This got me thinking...I wonder if any other names where thrown around? Here are my thoughts on some they should have potentially considered:
  • "Don't throw rocks at small, cute kittens" Bridge? ( Because everybody loves kittens!)
  • "FRIDAY" Bridge? ( Again...everyone loves Friday's!)
  • "Druh Farrell's direct route out of council" bridge.
  • "What a bloody waste of Money" Bridge.
  • " We do not need to cut property taxes" Bridge.
  • " The Piece of Shat" bridge.... ( Shortened to just the PEACE BRIDGE.)
  • "Remember when Bronconnier was Mayor?" Bridge.
  • "This would never happen if Ric McIver was mayor" Bridge.
  • "I am sure the Wildrose Alliance will blame Premier Stelmach for this bridge" Bridge.
  • "The Dollar Store Candy Cane" Bridge.
Any others?
Posted by Shane at 7/29/2009 08:27:00 AM
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15 comments:

  2. Agreed. Well outside the Wildrose Alliance will blame Premier Stelmach for this bridge. Between his caucus and himself he has screwed enough up, he can't afford to take credit for Bronco's Blunders.
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  3. Awesome, just awesome. You've definitely got yourself a new fan with this one, CR.
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  4. I'm rather partial to "Farrell's Folly"
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  6. Maybe PEACE stands for:
    Profoundly Expensive Architecturally Crazy Experiment
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  7. There's another bridge in the east called the Peace Bridge which connects Fort Erie in Niagra to Buffalo. It's suppose to commemorate the 100 year solidarity between Canada and US. Why the heck we're calling our tiny ass bridge that name as well is beyond me. I'm sure we can do better with that money considering we have 2 other bridges 3 blocks away on each side..
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  8. Tina and Gene...lol, I could not agree more with with you both! Thanks for posting!
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  9. I feel the same way you do. Thanks for voicing your opinions.
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  10. Yeah...the bridge kinda looks like a ballpoint pen or a gigantic version of Toblerone choclate, either way, aesthetically not too appealing.

    I wonder if the bridge would get submerged if the Bow river flooded?

    As for the name, maybe we should call it WASUC (We Are So Un-Creative) bridge.
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  11. "Remember when Bronconnier was Mayor" bridge

    Wow, thats a winner right there. I like "City Council tunnel vision" bridge.
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  12. I give that all of a day and a half before there is vandalism all over it.
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  13. I'm sorry bu this bridge is a complete waste of money. I have been I'm this city my whole life and I am VERY proud to call myself a calgarian but it's
    things like these that fille with remorse for this city. Here were in a recession the homeless rate is increasing everyday and we have to build some fancy bridge so people can get accross the river. Sure it's nice but wouldn't a regular bridge suffice?
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  14. I actually don't care how much the bridge costs, and if it moves a huge amount of people and bikes across, I'm all for it. Everyone bitches about urban sprawl, rightly so, and if helps to build density around the core then it's probably a good thing.

    But the sausage design is embarrasing. Why not just color it like a corn dog? It's the most ridiculous thing ever, and you nailed - all it needs is a cowboy hat. And the name.
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  15. I now drive by the construction of this bridge every day, and I like to call it the "Chinese Finger Trap" bridge. What a waste.
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