Bikes and the Blue Bridge

The city of Victoria has a beautiful natural harbour. At a narrow gap, there are two bridges crossing the harbour to Vic West and the city of Esquimalt. (You'd never know you were in a separate city but that's a story for another post.)

These two bridges are side by side. One is for vehicles and pedestrians and the other is a rail bridge that also has a path for bicycles and pedestrians. A short while ago the city decided that the rail bridge was unsafe for the single car passenger train that used the bridge a couple of times a day. At the same time they decided it was no longer safe for bicycles and pedestrians.

I find it fascinating that within a few days a bridge can go from being able to support a many ton train to being unsafe for a few pounds of pedestrians and cyclists. But that's what's happened. I'm sure the bridge IS unsafe. However, it seems a bit over the top to restrict commuter use by cyclists and folk on foot. Couldn't city engineers have checked the bridge every few days to make certain it wasn't about to fall into the harbour suddenly?

And so the rail bridge sits in its fully raised position until it's torn down sometime in 2012 to make way for a new bridge that won't include rail.