Franklin bridge project proceeding without city changes
CAMBRIDGE — Construction of the new bridge over Highway 401 at Franklin Boulevard is now expected to begin in “early to mid-May,” according to Ministry of Transportation of Ontario officials, without any changes in the design to resolve safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists brought forward by the City of Cambridge.
At Tuesday’s planning meeting, councillors Nicholas Ermeta and Mike Devine raised alarm bells telling council little headway has been made regarding the design of a safe pedestrian/cycling route over the proposed new Franklin Boulevard bridge.
“It’s something we have to keep pounding,” said Devine in reference to comments coming from the city’s trails committee.
In its January minutes, committee member Chris Smith reported on his December meeting with city and regional officials and MTO staff. “MTO came to the meeting without any detailed drawings and were unable to provide clear response to the challenges presented.”
Smith said he believes MTO will tender the project as currently designed, but believes there is still time for MTO to look at a revised design as requested by city council.
“We are still waiting to hear back from the ministry, which is certainly taking its time,” Devine said.
The MTO is replacing the Franklin Boulevard Bridge as part of its widening of Highway 401 to 10 lanes. In January, MTO staff told council the new bridge would be built this spring and construction is slated to take a year to complete.
On Thursday, Smith said that he sat in on a meeting involving MTO staff, and city and region officials in late February to review the safety concerns and potential options to solve the problems.
“Essentially, they (MTO) were there to say we’re not changing (the bridge design),” he said. “One thing they did do was confirm what Mike Devine has been saying: that the roundabout at Pinebush Road is increasing traffic on the bridge.”
The Times contacted MTO’s London office about the project and received the following statement:
“Based on the multi-use trail/ramp crossing concerns first expressed at the ministry’s Nov. 14, 2017, public information centre, and by Cambridge council on Dec. 12, 2017, ministry staff have reviewed the concerns brought forward and explored alternative ramp crossing designs. A preliminary review of a grade separated ramp crossing by ministry staff determined that our proposed design is the preferred option and a grade separated crossing for pedestrian and bicycles is not required.
“Ministry staff completed speed studies along Franklin Boulevard in February 2018 to confirm existing operating conditions. These studies indicated that the overwhelming majority of drivers operate their vehicles at speeds that are reasonable for the conditions on Franklin Boulevard and that there were sufficient gaps in traffic for trail users to cross the ramp.”
The new bridge will have a separated pedestrian/cycle lane on the east side of the structure, but concerns have been raised that anyone walking or cycling across the bridge won’t be seen by motorists using the westbound on-ramp to Highway 401, which crosses the bike lane on the north side of the span.