Mayor urges driver caution on bridge
Mayor Walter Sendzik is urging drivers on the Burgoyne Bridge to leave room for cyclists, pedestrians and those with mobility devices because of “dangerous,” “poorly designed” conditions.
Sendzik wasn’t involved in the design plan at the region to get traffic moving over the bridge during construction, but said he wouldn’t have supported it.
“I can honestly say I would never have been in support of the staging of that bridge, knowing that the sidewalk would be so small and that the space for pedestrians and/ or cyclists and those who are using mobility devises would be put in such a dangerous situation,” Sendzik said during his monthly online chat #AskSendzik at The Standard Friday.
“Whoever decided that, whoever the engineer was that said that would be ok, they need to go and see what that bridge looks like today.”
Sendzik was responding to a question from a Standard reader asking if the city could do anything to increase cyclist safety on the Burgoyne Bridge until the second span opens. The reader noted it’s a “terrifying” ride now as motorists don’t seem to obey the signage “no passing cyclists on bridge.”
Sendzik said it’s a constant question coming into City Hall. People on bikes and using mobility devices should be able to cross as safely as someone in a car and that isn’t the case, he said.
Niagara Regional Police are aware of the issue and anyone caught passing a cyclist will be ticketed and fined, he said. But there isn’t 24-7 surveillance on the bridge or someone standing there all the time to catch people.
“What I’m asking for is the people who are using the bridge who are driving, be cognizant of those using mobility devices and those using bikes, that they have the right of way, because of how poorly the bridge has been designed,” he said, referring to the temporary situation.
The Burgoyne Bridge spans Twelve Mile Creek and Hwy. 406 in St. Catharines. A new $91 million version is being built in two halves which will be separated by an arch. Traffic in both directions is currently travelling over one half, leaving a narrow sidewalk, while the second half is being built. Both halves are scheduled to open by the end of the year.
Sendzik said once bridge construction is done, the bridge will have proper sidewalks and bike lanes.
Until then, everyone will have to tolerate the current situation. It’s one he’s seen first hand. “I run across that bridge and if someone is running towards me, we don’t have space. Someone has to turn sideways.”
The full chat can be viewed at www.stcatharinesstandard.ca.
The Chat with the Mayor touched on other subjects, including what the province said it was going to do about arbitration with emergency services at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, the proposal to transfer Morningstar Mill to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and what residents can do about absentee landlords in their neighbourhood.
The next online Chat with the Mayor is in September and readers are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time on Twitter with the hashtag #AskSendzik, on The Standard’s Facebook page or by emailing them to kwalter@postmedia.com