Saskatoon group ramps up debate over Traffic Bridge

A lobby group said Thursday it's trying to reignite debate over allowing motor vehicles on a replacement for Saskatoon's condemned Traffic Bridge.

City council has picked a design that will include motor vehicle traffic. But Marcel D'Eon wants it restricted to pedestrians and cyclists.

He now leads a group called SCRUB -- Saskatoon Coalition to Revisit and Reimagine our Urban Bridge.

"We're trying to gain a little bit of momentum for reconsidering, reconceptualizing, rethinking what we're going to do with this particular bridge," D'Eon said.

He added much has changed since council's decision in 2010, citing the completion of the South Bridge and the city's commitment to improve rapid transit bus service to the downtown.

D'Eon also points to a 2011 traffic report, projecting an 11 per cent reduction in motor vehicle traffic over downtown bridges by 2029.

"The life of [a replacement Traffic Bridge] is about 80 years, and we don't want to have a marginal traffic bridge here that isn't really going to contribute to the quality of life in Saskatoon," D'Eon said. "But we think a park bridge would be just a jewel in the crown of the riverbank here."

Last fall the provincial government indicated it probably won't put up money for a new Traffic Bridge. D'Eon saw it as a chance to recharge public debate over the project.

SCRUB held a strategy meeting Thursday night attended by about 40 people.

The group floated potential questions for a public opinion survey it hopes to conduct, once it raises money to pay for it.

It also plans to form alliances with other like-minded groups, to press city council to reconsider its choice.