Province 'grasping at straws' for solutions for Centennial Bridge, residents say
DTI considering subsidized bus fare, shuttles, water taxis for people losing access to sidewalk
The province is considering subsidizing bus passes, shuttling people from one side to the other and even launching a water taxi to make up for the loss of the sidewalk on Miramichi's Centennial Bridge.
But some residents aren't convinced those options will cut it.
The bridge deck is set to undergo much-needed upgrades over the next two years, but the plans don't include preserving the sidewalks, which some rely on as a cheap, accessible and healthy way to travel between Miramichi and Chatham.
Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson said in an interview on Maritime Noon that the department has been in talks with the City of Miramichi about other options, and that he is open to hearing from the community to find a solution.
Some residents believe none of the options consider vulnerable populations, and that they miss the mark when it comes to preserving the connection residents have with walking the bridge that links their community.
Daniel McGraw was born with cerebral palsy which restricts his ability to walk more than a few feet at a time. He relies on the sidewalk when he crosses the Centennial Bridge several times a week on his mobility scooter.
He was part of a group of nearly 50 people who participated in a protest last month in response to the sidewalks being removed.
While he said he appreciates the province is making an effort to try and address concerns, he thinks the ideas being tossed around are only realistic for people without a disabilities.
"I'd probably be better off buying a lotto ticket and winning the lottery than fitting this thing on a bus," he said, adding that most bus services he has tried in the area aren't wide enough for his scooter to turn in.
A shuttle service would drive people from one end of the bridge to the other from the morning into the evening to coincide with people's work schedules, Chiasson said. He also said shuttles would be accessible but did not provide any details.
McGraw said he can't afford a bus pass, and believes other residents have resorted to walking or cycling the bridge to save on costly gas prices.
"People can afford to walk because it's free," he said.
While Chiasson did mention bus passes could be subsidized for people who need the assistance, he didn't say who would qualify or how much of the cost would be covered.
Water taxis are the option McGraw could most likely get behind, he said. But he pointed out that they would need to be made accessible for all.
Miramichi Deputy Mayor Paddy Quinn said some community members are excited about the idea of a water taxi but he questions the idea when he considers how long the service could run in a given year.
"I think there's a certain cachet to taking a water taxi across the beautiful Miramichi River," he said. "Is it a viable option? It is while the water's running, so to speak. What does that look like in January and February?"
Brittany Tremblett lives in Sussex but she has fond memories of walking across the Centennial Bridge when she used to visit her grandmother.
"When I was a kid, it was like my dream to walk across it with my grandmother … and we did do that together one time and I had the best time," she said.
When she heard about the plans to remove the sidewalks, she felt sad for others who, like her, feel a connection to the bridge.
"I thought, well there goes one of the best memories."
Tremblett said walking the bridge offers a unique perspective of the river for newcomers and regulars alike.
"I think it is a really cool experience," she said. "Especially as a kid, it was just so much fun to be right there, see the water."
'It always comes down to cost'
When previous governments began plans to revamp the bridge more than 10 years ago, Chiasson said the intention was always to keep a sidewalk in the long run.
But he said there isn't enough space to install a sidewalk on the new bridge deck that could meet today's safety standards.
"It's not that there's no will to put a sidewalk, it's that it's not possible to put it on the deck of the bridge," Chiasson said.
By today's standards, there needs to be a barrier between pedestrians and traffic in a zone in which cars drive faster than 50 km/h.
"That would add a big amount of weight to one side of the bridge and would throw the bridge off balance," Chiasson said.
Quinn said governments need to work together to come up with a solution sooner rather than later for a growing population that needs viable public transit.
"Our population went over 19,000 for the first time in a long time in the last couple of weeks," he said.
He believes that options on the bridge deck should be exhausted before any of the other possibilities are considered.
To keep a sidewalk option, Chiasson said, it would mean building a walkway as an extension, along the outside of the current bridge barriers — an undertaking he estimates at more than $50 million.
He said the possibility of adding a sidewalk in the future "is always there" but that it would likely demand federal funding.
Quinn said it would be unrealistic for citizens to have a reduction of services on the bridge after a decade of talks to fix it. He said the city is still pushing the department to consider a solution.
"We have not given up," he said.
As for McGraw, he believes provincial and federal governments might be reacting differently to citizen concerns if the issue was happening in a larger city like Fredericton, Moncton or Saint John.
"We need to be treated the same way, not identically, but with the same respect."
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