Calgary Peace Bridge Discussion

   I think that most Calgarians will agree that the "Peace Bridge" controversy has been one of the most polarizing issues in local politics in may years.  Love it or hate it, the Peace Bridge is finally nearing its completion after nearly fifteen months of delays.   I had the chance to appear as a guest on the CBC Calgary Eyeopener again this week to discuss everybody's favorite pedestrian bridge and had a blast as always. 



Personally, I think that the bridge is quite odd looking, but unique.  My issues with the bridge include the following:

•  I am not a fan of the way that this bridge funding was pushed through council.  I would have preferred a public tender process and more transparency during the whole process.  Had there been more discussion on this, I think that this bridge would not have become such a polarizing issue. 

• I agree that most people were not sold on why this bridge would be needed as there are some additional pedestrian bridges nearby.

• It will be interesting to see what additional costs will be added to the final totals ( here is an interesting link about the nearby Heliport) once the dust settles. 

 Either way, I am pleased that because of the public uproar over this bridge, city council will never go through with this type of untendered public infrastructure project again. 

Here is a link to the CBC Eyeopener chat....

http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/columnists/unconventional/2012/02/22/unconventionals-discuss-peace-bridge/

What are your thoughts on the Peace Bridge?

Shane

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?