Champlain: Ottawa agrees to work with Quebec
Pauline Marois says Ottawa has agreed to collaborate with Quebec to push forward on the Champlain Bridge dossier. Traditionally, the federal government has gone it alone on the bridges, which are their domain.
Now if only Montreal can get them to deliver a bridge with sensible provisions for public transit…
Clément 16:44 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Let’s make that sensible provisions for alternative modes of transport. Public transit + cycling and walking year-round.
Bert 17:36 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Clément, soyons sérieux. There is little use for a bicycle / pedestrian lane on the new (or old) Champlain. There is at least 2KM between the 132/10 intersections to Nuns Island. How many people will actually use that day-in day-out, much less in winter?
Public transit, yes. Make some sort of system that doesn’t get shut down when there is too much wind (which currently does not affect the J-C, why should it affect the Champlain?)
Chris 19:37 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Bert, 2 km is not far on bike…
Ant6n 20:16 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Plenty of people use the Champlain to bicycle – despite the hassle having to get up there. Plus, the bicycle lane doesn’t need much space, or require much strength.
Philippe 20:21 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
There isn’t a bike lane on the Champlain Bridge. Don’t you mean the estacade? I’m assuming the estacade isn’t going to be demolished regardless of how plans for the new Champlain are laid.
SN86 21:11 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Ant6n might be referring to the Jacques-Cartier bridge path. A path on the new bridge would be very useful and it will most likely increase commuters by bicycle to and from downtown, at least from Brossard on nice days. Currently, the commute by bicycle from Brossard to downtown has many obstacles and is disjointed with the many paths you ave to take.
Ant6n 21:42 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Sorry, yes, I mean’t the Jaques-Cartier, which is a pain to use, but still well-frequented.
Daisy 21:51 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
I use the ice bridge (estacade) in the summer but it’s super annoying to be delayed 30+ minutes every time there’s a ship. Probably more cyclists would use the Champlain if there were no delays.
Philippe 22:13 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Even without the delays caused by ships going through the St-Lambert locks, the detour to the Victoria bridge to cross the seaway, by itself, is probably sufficient to discourage potential bike commutes to Brossard. I don’t know if it makes economical sense to include a complete bike path on the new Champlain bridge given the ice bridge, but I think it would make sense to have at least a partial one going over the seaway, accessible by a ramp or even stairs.
Blork 22:34 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Many people would use a bicycle path on the new Champlain bridge. Very few would walk it, (unlike the Jacques Cartier, which is used by a lot of pedestrians). Bicycle lanes should be non-negotiable. But they needn’t expend money and effort on pedestrian paths.
Clément 23:12 on 2013/02/02 Permalink
Why is it that so many people always expect bike paths and public transit to be financially neutral (not cost anything to the taxpayer), yet have absolutely no problem having all the taxpayers (even the cyclist taxpayers, the pedestrian taxpayers and the transit user taxpayers) pay for roads used only by motorists?
Faiz Imam 00:11 on 2013/02/03 Permalink
Umm, did you all miss the news last week?
““The new bridge will include a dedicated bicycle lane,” Transport Canada spokesperson Kelly James told The Gazette.
“This consideration forms part of the mandate given to our consultants responsible for preliminary engineering design.”
The bridge was previously confirmed to have 2 bus lanes, which may be converted into rail lines at any point.
In addition, despite being twice as large(or potentially double decked) the new bridge will have the same number of car lanes as the old one so all in all the fundamentals of the project seem to be extremely well thought out.
The current bridge has 6 lanes that are narrow and with no extra space, while the new one has:
-6 lanes of car traffic
-2 emergency shoulders(which should decrease congestion times caused by accidents and mechanical failures)
-All lanes will be wider to meet national standards, which should increase speeds and reduce accidents.
-2 bus lanes
-plus additional room for pedestrian and bike traffic (hopefully separated lanes for both) This might end with a ile st-helene style side ramp on the Brossard side, since an existing path runs parallel to highway 132 below the bridge).
Its possible, though I would be pleasantly shocked, that they create a path 2km further in till Boul Taschereau’s much more trafficked and useful bike path, adjacent to Terminus Panama.
Ant6n 00:42 on 2013/02/03 Permalink
@Faiz
Yeah well every week plans change. Last week’s plan didn’t include consulting with Quebec, did it?