Less is more for bridge over the Grand
So the sparkly, weavy pedestrian bridge proposed for downtown Galt is now a dead duck. That’s a sensible decision by Cambridge councillors, who know a thing or two about navigating troubled financial and political waters.
Faced with rapidly rising costs, the councillors decided earlier this week that the city would just have a basic pedestrian bridge over the Grand River, connecting the east and west sides of Galt near the Dunfield Theatre.
The project will include a viewing deck, which will sit on top of an old concrete pier that once hoisted a railway line at the same spot.
The $2-million cost of the bridge project, which includes upgrades to a nearby walkway, has risen by more than 30 per cent over the past couple of years.
But the add-ons — including programmable colour lighting and a steel weave pattern meant to simulate the flowing waters of the river — would have raised that price by an extra million dollars.
So the councillors wisely stepped back.
This was not good news for the Venton Group of Architects, which came up with the custom design after listening to the wishes of selected stakeholders and citizens.
The firm has now disassociated itself from the project. “It doesn’t represent what we designed,” said Paul Sapounzi, managing partner of the group.
Fair enough. That’s the nature of creative work.
You start a project with a customer. But sometimes that customer has second thoughts about the vision — especially if the price keeps going up.
Sometimes there’s a difference of opinion that is so great, the partnership cannot continue. You get paid for the work you did, and you move on.
With the cities in Waterloo Region experiencing not only strong growth but also transformation of their very identities, it’s tempting for the leaders to turn up the heat when it comes to “placemaking.”
“Placemaking,” a word I admit I had never heard of a couple of years ago, refers to the art of making an ordinary street, outdoor square, riverbank or pathway into a special place to be, often using public art, custom lighting, or thoughtful design.
It’s a good thing to do, but requires a visionary touch, combined with a ton of sober second thought, to do it properly.
Otherwise, what seems like a genius move in a presentation may end up becoming an expensive irritant in real life.
Take the example of Waterloo council, which is currently mulling over an $800,000 proposal to put glow-in-thedark, solar-powered luminescent concrete on 300 metres of trail in Waterloo Park.
Some councillors love the idea, which has been put into practice in the Netherlands.
But Waterloo councillors also had the good sense to send the plan back to staff to get more information on issues like maintenance costs and how long the paint would last in our climate. That issue is expected to come back to council in a couple of months.
Meanwhile, in Cambridge, as costs for the pedestrian bridge soared, it became apparent that bells and whistles on it might not be necessary.
After all, the bridge is already in one of the prettiest cities in Ontario, with its church spires, heritage architecture and beautiful river. There’s plenty to look at without over-decorating the bridge.
Sometimes the most important thing for creative people to know is when to get out of the way.