Vote for your favorite design!
We are looking for input from City residents on the proposed designs. Please leave a reply indicating which pedestrian bridge concept you would like to see built.
Leave your response below. Please specify if you would prefer your comment to be public or private.
| Design #1 Cable-stay Bridge | |
|---|---|
 cable stay aerial |
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| Design #2 Park Over the River – Straight | |
 straight park aerial |
 straight-park close-up |
| Design #3 Park Over the River – Curved | |
 curved park aerial |
 curved park close-up |
 curved park at night |
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Vote for your favorite design!
We are looking for your input on the proposed designs. Please leave a reply indicating which pedestrian bridge concept you would like to see built. Please specify if you would prefer your comment to be public of private.
I vote for the Booklyn Bridge syle . . .very Regal looking!
Design #2 looks great.
Curved park would be awsome
#3 Curved Park is very nice. Incorporating a park into the bridge design is a wonderful idea.
Curved park bridge!
I like number 2; but number 3 is a close second!
#1 is a bridge the rest of these “ideas” are way too much in maintenance , safety etc. and I’m pretty sure I have been on a lot of bridges and have never seen trees growing on any of the. I’m thinking there must be a reason. If we have to have another bridge…. let’s keep it simple…..
I like the cable style, looks like a brick facing on the towers, can save some money and use the bricks from them old Chalmers brick buildings when they come down. Recycle and retain city history.
My vote is for Design #1, the Cable Stay Bridge, for 3 reasons:
#1. The design lends itself more easily to emergency usage. If the main river bridge should suffer some sort of calamity, this bridge could be converted quite readily to car traffic – it is a straight roadway that emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks could quite easily cross.
#2. The design, as Karin Hetrick says, is regal looking. The bridge as viewed by motorists from the Thruway passing thru would be inspiring. Perhaps sightseers might even come to look at it. It has that “Golden Gate Bridge” look and feel to it. It would subliminally say that this is a city with a future.
#3 Upkeep would be less expensive. Numbers 2 and 3 designs would require much more caretaking for the trees and shrubs shown in the artwork. I’m also not so sure about the foliage’s ability to withstand the harsh and strong winds that blow down the river in the winter.
The 2 and 3 designs are very beautiful and would be nice to use for pedestrians, but in the long run, knowing how our weather can be and how difficult it is for the City to maintain that which it has, I think the tried and true suspension bridge, with its beauty designed in its structure (rather than the addition of flora to “make the beauty”) make more sense for us.
Design #1 is my pick
Curved Park is an awsome idea. I think that would make the entrance to the city beautiful to look at. Its also nice to be able to sit and enjoy our beautiful city view.
As nice as the cable-stay is, it’s not at all original. If you actually want to attract people to the bridge and make them want to use it then I suggest the more interesting and unique curved bridge. I know it might require more upkeep but the millions of dollars that have been put aside to build the thing would surely cover its maintenance for a while. Who is gonna travel to see a smaller version of the Brooklyn bridge? I’m sure people will respond better to something that is exciting and new. And as for the trees not being able to withstand the winds, there are hundreds of islands in the river that are covered with trees that are doing just fine. The city is quickly turning into another cookie cutter town with its huge big-box superstores and all of the charming old buildings are being demolished left and right and the trees are being cut down everywhere. I say we need to embrace the bolder, albeit higher maintenance option, and plant a few trees rather than cutting some down.
Trees do grow on Islands with nice deep soil and lots of moisture. I know from watering the flower pots on the existing bridge (which, basically is the concept for the pedestrian bridge) that the plants need more water there than they do downtown. The plants on the pedestrian bridge would be contained in planters that would not provide as much protection to the roots of plants planted in them, thus freezing of the roots might happen. From what I can make out from the drawing of the Cable-Stay Bridge, It does look that there are provisions for flower pots.
Also, from my experience, the plants that we have had in large planters throughout the city at various times in its history have pretty much bit the dust – most of the planters don’t even exist any more.
Sometimes smaller representations of larger objects appeal to people – I’ve seen many versions of smaller buildings built to look like their larger brethren. Look at the New York, New York Casino in Las Vega, or the various miniature versions of the Statue of Liberty throughout our country or the many geographic sites in different states that are called for example, “The Grand Canyon of the East.” With the right lighting on our miniature “Brooklyn Bridge”, I think it would be quite dynamic.
Thanks for your ideas, “just some guy” . I thought I would express my views based on what I’ve experienced. I agree that the curved bridges warrant consideration. They are different, and would look real nice with all the plants and flowers growing on them – perhaps events could be held there – that would encourage the upkeep of the plants. I would help to keep the plants maintained.
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$16.5 Million? Are we crazy? Just say no to this nonsense. This is a total waste of taxpayer money. I’m sure we’ve paid 10′s of thousands already just for these designs. We need to bring common sense back to the decision making table.
Design #1 by far! Looks like a bridge and requires little maintenance. Looks like New York and that is where we are. Love design #1!!