Bridge the Gap
Present Role
The bridge raises and lowers at periodic intervals as required by marine traffic raising and lowering both its railway section and automobile section separately. The deck is a metal grate and dangerous for bicycles or motorcycles where it can give the inexperienced a thrill for a minute. Whether a revitalized bridge needs the rail section is up for open debate as there is no rail in the city of Victoria past the terminus at the east side of the bridge. The traffic handling on the Esquimalt side of the bridge could be improved with little effort. The bridge functions, is reliable and serves as one of the links between east and west in the greater Victoria area. The use of the bridge for rail is much debated as the community is reviewing the entire rail network based on the former E&N rail bed. There is much discussion as to the future of rail in Victoria but whether the rail extends over the bridge into Victoria or not is an open question. This factor affects the renovation costs of the Blue Bridge and should be part of a total transport systems analysis. Bicycles are a popular form of transport in Victoria and environs with many bicycles, bike lanes and active bike trails such as the Galloping Goose Trail. Cyclists near downtown have two alternative bridges that they can use, a wooden trestle especially built for bicycles across the Selkirk Waters as part of the Galloping Goose system and the Bay Street Bridge which is a much more logical bridge to spend money on for an upgrade. Cars should not, and do not, consider the Blue Bridge part of the rush hour traffic system because it can be interrupted at any time by marine traffic. That situation could be improved by simple marine scheduling for bridge openings to be restricted during peak traffic flow, thus working for everyone.