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CBC
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Province 'grasping at straws' for solutions for Centennial Bridge, residents say
Social Sharing 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. WATCH | 'The sidewalk on the Centennial Bridge is my freedom' Shuttles, buses and boats: province proposes alternatives for Centennial Bridge sidewalk 2 hours ago Duration 2:42 Some residents say they're open to the idea of finding a different way across the river, but for others it just won't work. 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.
CBC
02-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
Miramichiers say Centennial Bridge sidewalk needs to stay
Social Sharing Since the Centennial Bridge opened in 1967, Miramichiers have been able to walk, bike or roll across it, but after it gets a long-planned new deck, this will no longer be an option.. Sidewalks running along both sides of the bridge will be removed during the upgrade that starts next summer, and they won't be replaced. "When I found out that they were planning to take the sidewalks out, that's not right," said Daniel McGraw, who crosses the bridge about three times a week on his mobility scooter. The bridge is the fastest way of getting from Miramichi east, formerly Chatham, to downtown Miramichi, formerly Douglastown. Plans to make it inaccessible to people on foot or in chairs provoked a protest at the kilometre-long bridge on Sunday. The only other way for people in the area to cross the Miramichi River is to take a 20-kilometre detour and use the bridge in Newcastle. "I've actually attempted to drive from where I live through to Douglastown, through Newcastle, and I made it halfway before [my chair] died," McGraw said. When McGraw heard about the rally being organized to protest removal of the sidewalks, he and his scooter were at the front of the group. Miramichiers protest removal of sidewalk on Centennial Bridge 7 hours ago Duration 1:51 Not in the budget The overhaul of Centennial Bridge has been a long time coming. It was first announced in 2015 by the Liberal government of Brian Gallant, with a nine-year timeline, but the project quickly faced delays. The next government, under Progressive Conservative Blaine Higgs, cancelled contracts, and the timeline was set back further by rising costs. A sidewalk was taken out of the plans but eventually put back in. "Myself, the other MLAs, folks from the city council had met with the department and the then minister was minister Green," said Miramichi East Conservative MLA Michelle Conroy. "And we fought to have the sidewalk put in because of the same reason: it's essential." Now, with a new Liberal government, the project is on track to be finished in 2027, for a total cost of $195 million. But in question period last week, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Chuck Chiasson said a sidewalk was never a part of the plan, even under the former PC government. "The sidewalk was not part of the scope of the project. Your government had six years to do so to put it into the scope of the project," Chiasson said when asked by the Opposition. "It was never put in. It was never budgeted for." Conroy is determined to keep pushing for the sidewalk alongside other Miramichiers. "It's essential for people. "A lot of people use that bridge, and we need to be able to get across on foot." Dangerous and potentially deadly About 50 people gathered to walk in the rain to the midpoint of the bridge for the protest. Cars and transport trucks zoomed by — the posted speed limit is 80 kilometres an hour — splashing water onto the marchers, who weren't deterred from chanting "Save our sidewalk." Sadie Rose Trudelle started organizing the march about a month ago, and started a Facebook group in support of a sidewalk on the bridge, which she said has about 400 members. "There's all kinds of reasons that people might not be able to drive a car or use the public transit or whatever, and I don't think we can count those people out," Trudelle said. Trudelle said her son walks across the bridge every day at 4:30 a.m. to get to work, and she'd worry for his safety if there wasn't a sidewalk. "They keep telling us it's finances," Trudelle said. "But honestly, the first person that gets hurt on that bridge, it's going to cost a heck of a lot more." Others at the rally voiced similar concerns. "I don't think I'd want to walk on it unless there was a sidewalk or some sort of barrier," said resident Laurence Lynch. "It was built with a sidewalk. So I don't know why they don't fix the bridge and still have a sidewalk." "It's kind of treacherous now and with different weather conditions that we get blowing winds, rain," said Miramichi resident and business owner Karen Daley. "Taking the sidewalk out. It's just a moment of time before something fatal, and an accident does happen." The right kind of sidewalk The government has said the projected cost of a sidewalk is about $50 million, since it would have to include on-ramps and separation from vehicle traffic. But residents said they don't need that, they just want to be able to cross safely. "I understand the bridge needs to be maintained and fixed up, but that doesn't mean that we have to lose a sidewalk," said McGraw. Miramichi Mayor Adam Lordon told CBC's Maritime Noon that taking away the sidewalk would be a detriment to the promise of increasing active transportation along the river. "When it was announced to the community, a sidewalk was a part of the project at the beginning," he said. "And so I don't think it's unreasonable for the community to expect that a sidewalk will remain as it always has been, and as we were told it would be up until recently." At the legislature, Chiasson said his department is more than willing to "engage the community on transportation solutions," and he hopes to hold a public meeting in the community soon. But Trudelle and other residents say they aren't giving up on the sidewalk, and are gathering signatures in an online petition that they hope to present to the government before it's too late. "We're not going away," Trudelle said. "We're not going to be quiet."
