[Phanuthier]

Chiming in again, same thoughts as before...

I'm pretty Calgarian myself, a very direct point A to point B thinker. Bridge is used for crossing, who cares what it looks like, a bridge is a bridge. A bridge should be built to move people from point A to point B. Pretty simple stuff.

But lets face it, the cash cow that black gold is bringing to Alberta isn't going to last forever. A long term plan simplly has to be put into place for developing industries when oil/gas isn't bringing in the money. To me, the consensus opinion here conforms to short term band-aids (more schools, more roads, etc) but when the markets arn't so favourable to AB, then what? We're left being Detriot, a giant suburban shell with nothing inside. Abandoned schools when the population crashes? Abandoned malls? I can say coming from Edmonton, a huge abandoned building that is a former mall or school is hard on the eyes and sure makes your city look gritty. As far as long term plans go, Calgary needs to add infrustructure and a system to will allow for future growth into future markets - Calgary has to be a place businesses want to be. To me, these pretty bridges are part of that long term goal to make Calgary an attractive and favourable city to run a business. Its not going to be an overnight process to turn Calgary into Waterloo or the high-tech startups in Vancouver, but it will hopefully open the doors to some upcoming market that wil be a successor to the dominant oil/gas sector that has been running Calgary's market.

One pretty bridge isn't going to make the difference between bringing a, say, PMC Sierra or RIM to Calgary. But the big picture - as Muta and many have pointed out, you have to start somewhere - is that this bridge is a part of many future city and private infustructure that will allow companies to move in and use its facilities. While there is a little extra cash now, its time to start developing higher-cost projects that will make Calgary asthetically pleasing and welcoming for other businesses to come in for the future. Its not about a bridge that few people will cross or for the local citizens to see, its an attraction for the future to tell the world - Calgary is open for business.