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Eau Claire

That could be the reason, would make sense. The Jaipur Bridge replacement is in the design stage rn, I think expected completion on it is summer 2021. I haven't seen any news on the boardwalk unfortunately. I do know that the western end of West Eau Claire Park is starting construction like any day now, and design development on East Eau Claire Park is to be complete within 2019.
 
The Jaipur Bridge replacement is going to CPC next week as an item for information (CPC doesn`t really get to approve or disapprove it)
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Pretty generic looking design which is rather disappointing given the location and that the bridge it's replacing had a bit of a unique look to it. It also would have been nice to see some bulge outs on either side in the middle for benches and a place for people to take photos without impeding traffic flow.
 
Pretty generic looking design which is rather disappointing given the location and that the bridge it's replacing had a bit of a unique look to it. It also would have been nice to see some bulge outs on either side in the middle for benches and a place for people to take photos without impeding traffic flow.
I couldn't agree more. I'm glad they're replacing the bridge, it's too crammed and needs to be widened. I would like to see a design that widened the bridge even more than this bridge. Make a more of a public space. Maybe have it terraced going east to west, so people can sit and enjoy the lagoon and the sunset, etc..
 
Yeah, that's super underwhelming. Dang. Looks like something you'd see in a suburban park over a stream.
 
Yeah, that's super underwhelming. Dang. Looks like something you'd see in a suburban park over a stream.
I wonder if the City admin and consultants have a bigger hang-over due to the Peace Bridge furor than the general public does when it comes to "fancy inner city pedestrian bridges". This looks to be an attempt to go fairly cheap and simple (not necessarily a bad thing, just curious on the decision process v. Peace Bridge type projects). Love the additional width though, that bridge is congested (as are most inner city pathways).
 
Between this bridge, the rebuilding of the riverfront, the demolition of Eau Claire Market, and the possible routing of the Green Line down 2 Ave SW, we're missing a huge opportunity to undertake a mega-development project similar to the East Village. All of these projects should be planned as one coherent whole. If this bridge was reconceptualized as a centrepiece of a larger redevelopment plan, the City would probably have devoted more thought and resources to it. It could be the focal point of a brand new Eau Claire plaza that would also be redesigned to accommodate a new surface-level LRT station.

A new vision for Eau Claire could be a great campaign pledge for a 2021 mayoral candidate.
 
Next stage of Riverwalk and the Eau Claire plaza go to CPC next week:
Report:

If someone wants to do a deep dive into the policy for the entire area, here is the draft:

The plaza:
1590780976086.png


Riverwalk / Flood Barrier:
1590781022194.png

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AND!!!! The updated design for the Jaipur Bridge (old version is just up thread):
1590781146091.png

1590781169969.png
 
To me the bridge seems kinda generic looking for the location....like a run of the mill highway bridge. I like the sets along the edge, would make a great spot to sit and people watch. The lighting under the seats is nice too.
 
Great find. I agree on the generic design but I do think it's a nice improvement over the previous generic looking bridge they had proposed the first time through.
I agree, I like the design and would certainly be an improvement, albeit a rather plain one.

I would only add that it's a bit wider, but not reeaaally wide. It's ironic that we sell these projects on their resiliency and 100-year design, referring to the structural properties itself rather than the use of the structure. This isn't the same as the larger highway/transit projects that make those short-vs-long term capacity trade offs when capacity increases might cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars so a line has to be drawn in how much capacity we build today, this is fairly minor pedestrian bridge at the centre of the whole network. We could easily afford an extra metre or two on this bridge.

This design would still bottleneck on a particularly busy Folk Fest day or Canada Day in non-COVID years, let alone in another 50 or 100 years of a few more hundred thousand people living here. Assuming we also want greater than the background average growth in number of pedestrians, cultural vibrancy and festivals, as well as residents downtown - as well as my bias towards attractive, high capacity public realms - I would have erred on the side of a larger, wider and more grand structure (of course, if budgets weren't a thing).
 
I like the design, this is a location where the bridge design should be subtle and there are a few other weathering steel structures in the area that this will compliment.
 

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