Friday, July 11, 2008

New bridge to Nun's Island

It seems as if they are thinking about a new bridge to Nun's Island.  This is the photo of the proposed route.
 
 

1 comment:

bigfellow6633 MSN said...

This is from Coolopolis  http://coolopolis.blogspot.com/2008/07/verdun-bad-bridge-planning.html   At the last borough council meeting, all 8 elected reps of Verdun voted to build a second bridge to Nun's Island. It's a good idea because currently the only access is via the Champlain/Bonaventure, which is often crowded or under repairs. The bridge (in green on the map) is going to cost something like $15 to $20 million. We're not sure who pays for this, but usually it's the feds that build bridges. 71 percent of mainland Verduners and 74 percent of Nuns Islanders supposedly want this bridge. However they won't be allowed to actually use it, as only buses, bikes, pedestrians and emergency vehicles will be allowed to cross. Borough Mayor Trudel fears that it could be overrun by people trying to get a shortcut to the south shore.

Seems that Trudel needs to rethink this.

The 60,000 residents of Verdun should get a special sticker for their car that would allow them to use the bridge. That would restrict traffic dramatically. It would offer incentive to live in Verdun. Or else the municipal authorities could further restrict it to Verdun residents willing to pay an annual fee to use it. Or thirdly they could charge a big toll on the bridge for anybody who wants to use it, thereby allowing the trickle of cars that go through to pay the at least part of the $20 million price tag.

It's fashionable to hate cars but in fact all sorts of good things happen when a car can get somewhere. The guy who fixes your fridge ain't takin' the bus, nor are those who stock the shelves of your grocery store with delicious grapefruit. There's a limit to the anti-car movement. The idea of a bridge linking Verdun and Nun's Island is absolutely great. Refusing to cars to drive over it is bad. Posted by Kristian at 10:59 AM