Ongoing Calgarians complaining about pedestrian bridges thread

[mykalberta]

How does a 25M dollar bridge have a 17M construction budget? Did Spaniard take 8 mil in architect fees?

Strange, the article in the Herald is different than that on its website.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Guess they better raise that property tax a little more. Judging by the comments at the bottom this is a very popular expenditure.

Didn't you read the article? Some of the material selection such as the bridge deck and some design elements are being refined to bring the project down within budget. Besides, this project as has been stated a million times does not affect your property taxes - it's not being funded from muncipal property taxes.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

Guess they better raise that property tax a little more. Judging by the comments at the bottom this is a very popular expenditure.

My personal favorite comment on there is:

Stevie Wonder could have seen this coming

[Dion]

"If there's a way to scale back the project without losing the integrity of the project, that is worth exploring," Ald. Druh Farrell said.

Farrell, council's most vocal champion of a project that will connect Sunnyside and Eau Claire in her ward, acknowledged there's no appetite on council for spending more than the $24.5-million already approved out of the city's portion of provincial infrastructure grants.

"If we're getting the bridge, then that ship has set sail," said Ald. Gord Lowe, one of the bridge's many council critics. "I don't intend to put my hand up for anything in excess of that which is budgeted."

How about cancelling the whole project Druh?

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Didn't you read the article? Some of the material selection such as the bridge deck and some design elements are being refined to bring the project down within budget. Besides, this project as has been stated a million times does not affect your property taxes - it's not being funded from muncipal property taxes.

I'd bet $50 to CP this project goes way over budget. There isnt any local historical information on costing a project like this. Its pretty ridiculous they didnt didnt do any "value engineering" prior to going out for bid. Did we ever actually need a granite walkway? Just because the initial budget is coming from the province doesnt mean we won't be paying cost overruns out of municipal taxes.

[mykalberta]

As a resident of the inner city and someone who might use the bridge, I am all for it. You suburbenites can have your multi-lane freeways and your easy Ctrain access, and your yard - let us have our bridge. Although I dont want it to go over budget - 25M is enough.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'd bet $50 to CP this project goes way over budget. There isnt any local historical information on costing a project like this. Its pretty ridiculous they didnt didnt do any "value engineering" prior to going out for bid. Did we ever actually need a granite walkway? Just because the initial budget is coming from the province doesnt mean we won't be paying cost overruns out of municipal taxes.

Let's not forget the city itself creating price inflation on anything involving human labor. Remember that 'living wage' policy enacted in the boom times? I wonder if contractors would have to budget in paying low-skilled jobs related to the project like garbage removal at $16.50/hour. Also have to wonder if this policy directly led to unemployment (20 or so employed laid off at the city earlier this month with 100 unfilled positions being scraped also). Garbage policies like that should show everyone that the city views doing things in a cost effective manor as a low priority.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

Let's not forget the city itself creating price inflation on anything involving human labor. Remember that 'living wage' policy enacted in the boom times? I wonder if contractors would have to budget in paying low-skilled jobs related to the project like garbage removal at $16.50/hour. Also have to wonder if this policy directly led to unemployment (20 or so employed laid off at the city earlier this month with 100 unfilled positions being scraped also). Garbage policies like that should show everyone that the city views doing things in a cost effective manor as a low priority.

But weren't the good times supposed to last forever?

[Bunk]

More bridge news supposedly coming today. The three shortlisted designs for the St. Patrick's Island bridge are being announced.

Go:
1. Halcrow Yolles - The Reach
2. SPF - Glide
3. Arup/Kasian

It'll be very nice when the bridge and a completely redone St. Patrick's Island are complete. It could be as nice as another Prince's Island Park.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'd bet $50 to CP this project goes way over budget. There isnt any local historical information on costing a project like this. Its pretty ridiculous they didnt didnt do any "value engineering" prior to going out for bid. Did we ever actually need a granite walkway? Just because the initial budget is coming from the province doesnt mean we won't be paying cost overruns out of municipal taxes.

What puzzles me is that an unhoned granite surface, which is the only kind feasible in Calgary's weather, wouldn't look too much better than concrete.

[yads]

So they scrap the granite in favor of concrete which according to the story will likely account for most of the overrun on the bid. Sounds fine to me.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Didn't you read the article? Some of the material selection such as the bridge deck and some design elements are being refined to bring the project down within budget. Besides, this project as has been stated a million times does not affect your property taxes - it's not being funded from muncipal property taxes.

The architect told the Herald this summer that his project in Calgary "is a bridge as I have never done, a bridge that will be built within budget and on time."

Beautiful. Hard to imagine that this would be over budget if he's never designed one IN budget before...

[Table 5]

The 3 Finalists of the St Patricks Island bridge have been released. Surprise suprise, Calgary goes with "subtle".

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/story.html?id=2233155

[CaptainCrunch]

Well after seeing the city select a red and white Penis shaped bridge penetrating the North backside of down town, I was expecting a bridge that would look like lady bits from space.

Imagine my dissapointment.

[Muta]

Wow... I was involved with a submission for this competition, and this is not what I expected. I'm dissapointed, I won't lie.

[Table 5]

Yeah, definitely a big let-down after all the hype. I didn't have a clear favorite because I thought there were some really solid submissions....but none of these were on my wish-list.

I guess I'll go with the Calatrava knock-off though?

[Muta]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Yeah, definitely a big let-down after all the hype. I didn't have a clear favorite because I thought there were some really solid submissions....but none of these were on my wish-list.

I guess I'll go with the Calatrava knock-off though?

Me too, but we'd be setting our standards too high. Lower them by a significant margin, and that's what we can expect.

Banal design seems to be the popular thing in Calgary, that certainly hasn't changed.

[octothorp]

Yeah, I think this is a 'sweep-it-under-the-rug' shortlist. I guess it's better in this economic climate to spend $25 million on something that looks forgettable and utilitarian then spend the same amount on something unusual and memorable. Sort of puts a damper on the entire east village project, which had been looking like it had massive potential. It still has potential, just a little less than it had yesterday.

I'm with Table 5, go with the Calatrava knock-off.

[Pastiche]

Calgary: conservative

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Sort of puts a damper on the entire east village project, which had been looking like it had massive potential. It still has potential, just a little less than it had yesterday.

True that. One would imagine that if the city is trying to create excitement around the redevelopment of the East Village, it would want to pursue a bridge that will add to that sense of excitement.

The East Village does have some great people/firms working on the area though, so I still expect it to be a quality neighborhood in the end....but as you said, it's a little less shiny today then it was a couple of days ago.