{Winnipeg Free Press] $18-M remake for Osborne Bridge Focus on cyclists, pedestrians, art

By: Geoff Kirbyson

A newly rehabilitated Osborne Bridge will have separate spaces for cyclists and pedestrians, as well as an artistic component to fit in with the eclectic neighbourhood, according to plans unveiled Thursday evening.

A smattering of area residents and users of one of the city's busiest bridges discovered active transportation will be the central theme of a planned $18-million renovation. Construction, which is scheduled to begin in April, will feature one three-metre-wide walkway and two two-metre-wide bike paths. [image: The Osborne Bridge, shown in artist’s conception.]

Enlarge Image http://media.winnipegfreepress.com/images/artistosborne.jpg

The Osborne Bridge, shown in artist’s conception.

To accommodate these features, the bridge will be widened by about five feet by extending the overhangs and replacing the existing wide median with a narrower barrier.

Matt Chislett, bridge projects engineer for the city's public works department, said the city decided against a joint pedestrian-cycling lane.

"We have a high percentage of people in the area with vision impairment or who use seeing-eye dogs and we didn't want them sharing space with cyclists," he said at an information open house at Holy Rosary Church.

Chislett said making the bridge safer for people on foot has been a concern since a vehicle jumped the curb and killed a pedestrian in the late 1980s.

He said the renovation will prolong the lifespan of the bridge for another 75 years. The Osborne Bridge was built in 1975. Replacing the bridge would cost about $25 million, he said.

Chislett said he and his team will take the most recent public feedback and potentially "tweak" bridge plans. The current schedule calls for the east side of the bridge to be closed in April, with construction finishing up in October. The following spring, the same thing will happen to the west side.

During both construction periods, traffic flows in both directions will be restricted to a total of three lanes, he said.

"It's going to be a snarl," he said, noting 40,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.

Most of the time, two lanes will head south, with one going north. During morning rush hours, however, it will be reconfigured with two lanes heading north.

Chislett said an artist has been hired to incorporate art into the bridge's design, such as the handrails or at the end of the bridge.

"We want to make it an esthetically pleasing bridge to fit the neighbourhood," he said.

About 60 people came through the open house during the first three of four hours Thursday night. Gerald, whose family operates a business in the area and who asked that his last name not be published, said he appreciated the chance to voice his opinions on the project design. He said he was confident it would not result in the public relations disaster that accompanied last fall's introduction of traffic circles in several neighbourhoods.

He said he believes the bigger problem is traffic flow in Osborne Village, used by people from other neighbourhoods simply passing through on their way home from downtown.

"I think they should tunnel under the Osborne overpass and come up under the river by the (Legislative Building)," he said.

geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca