Pedestrian bridge in Bellevue

[Coyote]

Demolition begins on Bellevue pedestrian bridge project



BELLEVUE, Neb. — Demolition started Monday on a pedestrian bridge in Bellevue. The project site sits along Galvin Road near Hansen Avenue. Galvin Road will continue to stay open, but you can expect lanes to shift as crews work to finish the project. Eventually, the road will need to close to safely remove the steel bridge girders.

Bellevue's public works department says this will create a safer route for walkers and bicyclists. The project will also include upgraded traffic signals near Birchcrest Elementary School.

[ProgKingHughesker]

Are they replacing it with a crosswalk light?

[ChadJK]

That's near my brother's house. I've walked over it several times and have been driving under it for many years. I hope they replace it with another pedestrian bridge. There seems to be this time period where pedestrian bridges were quite popular over major roads and then just sort of stopped building new ones.

Here it is on Google Maps:
https://goo.gl/maps/VHBiuWfG4xuC6HKo9

[Renovator2559]

That's near my brother's house. I've walked over it several times and have been driving under it for many years. I hope they replace it with another pedestrian bridge. There seems to be this time period where pedestrian bridges were quite popular over major roads and then just sort of stopped building new ones.

Here it is on Google Maps:
https://goo.gl/maps/VHBiuWfG4xuC6HKo9

Pedestrian bridges are really just car-centric infrastructure, they enable cars to step on the gas with the confidence no pedestrians will cross.

By the looks of it, they are only planning to setup traffic signals and paint markers, if this is all that is being done; no pedestrian safety will improve and will just make it dangerous for children and cyclists to cross.

Now if they install a median (with or without trees, narrowing of the road, similar to the crossing in 24th street at Creighton, then drivers will be effectively slow down themselves


This may be too much narrowing of the road for this application but this provides the overall idea.



We'll just have to wait and see what their definition of safety

[TransitOriented]

Now if they install a median (with or without trees, narrowing of the road, similar to the crossing in 24th street at Creighton, then drivers will be effectively slow down themselves

LOL, right

[ChadJK]

It seems people in Bellevue were sort of asleep to the change until the demo started and now everyone is up in arms about it. I guess the city and the school district decided it was cheaper to just bus kids that walk across the bridge or to have a crossing guard on duty than to build a new bridge (I think the replacement cost was $3M). Though, I'm not sure I agree with the city acting like that pedestrian bridge is only used by kids going to and from school and for no other reason. As if kids (and other pedestrians) don't go anywhere but school. Now, they get to walk across a 5-lane road.

[skinzfan23]

Bellevue is always trying to get out of paying for upkeep of bridges. Just recently they were wanting to demolish the Hwy 370 bridge over Ft Crook Rd. Thankfully they did some repairs and are keeping it. Although, not a super high traffic area, there are certain times of the day that area gets congested with all the base traffic.

[ita]

This seems like one they should of just replaced. Bellevue must be strapped or something because they had another article about a facilities plan that included getting rid of several parks because of costs. Some of the parks seems odd and justified, but others had me scratching my head.

Also, though pedestrian bridges can be considered "car-centric", this is a 5 lane road. For this application, particularly servicing an elementary school, I think this benefits pedestrians and bicyclists more than it hurting some perception of carcentricity.

[Renovator2559]

This seems like one they should of just replaced. Bellevue must be strapped or something because they had another article about a facilities plan that included getting rid of several parks because of costs. Some of the parks seems odd and justified, but others had me scratching my head.

Also, though pedestrian bridges can be considered "car-centric", this is a 5 lane road. For this application, particularly servicing an elementary school, I think this benefits pedestrians and bicyclists more than it hurting some perception of carcentricity.

A 5 lane road can easily be made safer by taking out a lane by the school and adding a median that seperates the crossing into to too.
Some this is a school zone, making this area narrower and planting trees, will subconsciously influence drivers to slow down, without posting a speed limit. Because speed limits don't work, I'd the roads are wide and designed to be speeded on.