No, I am not sentimental about the bridge. Not one bit. But I am really disturbed that the people making this decision--car-owners, all--are setting up a situation that puts pedestrians at much increased danger.
This past year I put a few things out there about the Viaduct. Unless there is an 11th hour halt to the demolition, it's all basically over. Just one more destructive car culture decision that ignores the actual needs of pedestrians and communities.
Why post these now? Well, as I said I did share these things earlier. But I want to put them out there again, because even if/when the bridge is gone, I want to do my part to make it know what a stupid, wasteful and dangerous decision this was.
Video tour
This past March I went to the Viaduct with my camera and took people on a
video tour, especially trying to explain why the alternative bridge was unsafe. I did it on the spur of the moment, after City Council voted against a public hearing.
Senior walker weighing in about Viaduct and safety
Sent this letter to the editor in February:
I
am almost 65, and have been an avid walker all my life. A walker
doesn’t get to that age without some basic sense of street safety.
So
let me just say this. The city is removing the viaduct under the
mistaken notion that the bridge at 12th & Bayfront Parkway is a safe
alternative. It most certainly is not. The viaduct may be only a block
away, but the traffic situation is much more intense at 12th &
Bayfront. Yes, there are traffic lights, but the risk of a problem is
greatly increased, especially at rush hour.
I often used the
viaduct when I worked in the area several years ago. I never used the
Bayfront bridge, in large part because I didn’t feel safe at that
crossing.
I walked that bridge for the first time a couple weeks
ago. Besides the intersection, I noticed a couple other things. (1)
exhaust fumes from traffic (2) it had been snowing heavily, and a plow
sprayed snow onto the sidewalk; pedestrians would have had no escape.(3)
I also wondered what would happen when the sidewalk was full of plowed
snow, and guessed some children might try to walk in the street.
These
safety concerns have never been adequately addressed. I am not
“emotional” about the bridge. I am, however, deeply worried that the
city is removing the safest passage through that area, and is expecting
children and others to use an intersection that I personally plan to
never use again.
Deb Spilko Erie PA
Photos investigating reports of crumbling bridge.
These are some photos I took this past summer. I kept hearing about how decrepit and crumbling the bridge is, so I walked underneath from one end to the other. I walked from end to end and back, taking photos at regular intervals (I took several dozen photos). I did not see anything resembling crumbling, and it would certainly have been safe enough as a pedestrian bridge. I realize there is more to determining the safety of a bridge than just looking at it. My point was, look here, it is not crumbling and chunks aren't falling on trains and people like detractors were saying.
Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.
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| would employees park under a crumbling bridge? |
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| I lightened this so you could see the condition of the underside. |
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| Lightened so you can see it better |
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| I think the "crumbly" pillar was actually hit by a truck, and the crumbles were not affecting structure. |
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| Surface is not in best shape but just seem to be surface issues. |
Sad to see the way Yellow Cab suddenly closed. Drivers and passengers deserved better than the treatment they received.
