Jan. 19, 2009
When Noella Frenette goes to work she sits by a big glass door and watches the traffic.
Since the Morrissy Bridge closed in September there hasn't been as much to watch.
"Now it's quiet. Too quiet," she said.
Frenette lives in Chatham Head on one of the streets near the bridge and works only a short distance from her home. Although the closure hasn't affected her commute to work, it has for her husband Victor.
He works at the Superstore in Newcastle and used to take the Morrissy Bridge to get there. Victor said he takes the Miramichi Bridge and since everybody has to go the same way since the closure, it has caused traffic problems.
"Traffic is really bad there now."
For Noella, one of Morrissy Bridge's benefits was its size because she doesn't like travelling behind big trucks and they couldn't cross the old bridge.
"There was nothing big."
Johnny Vickery also lives in Chatham Head near the bridge and used it on a walk back from Newcastle last week. Vickery said he works out west and still uses the bridge whenever he is home.
"When I'm home I walk it quite a bit."
Although he isn't against the idea of a pedestrian bridge, Vickery said taxpayers would probably pay the bill.
"I don't think we really can afford it now."
Vickery said people think they should have things, but there's no money to pay for them. He added they can't just say fix it and have taxpayers pay for it.
"It all comes down to politics."
If people have to go around to get across the river, they will go around and will have to accept change, he said.
"It's too bad to see it go down, but you know, what do you do?"
Victor said it would be nice to see the bridge stay open for pedestrians or snowmobilers to use.
"Hopefully they keep it."
Noella said there is nowhere for people to walk on the Miramichi Bridge and she thought it was dangerous because people have to walk on the shoulder at the ends of the bridge.
"I wouldn't walk it, that's for sure."
Newcastle Business Distrtict general manager Natalie Bradford said she hasn't had any negative input from businesses in the area around Morrisy Bridge, but there seems to be a change in traffic flow with some days busier than others.
"Overall, the downtown seems to be quite busy."
She has had to deal with traffic in Newcastle and said the situation around Miramichi Bridge can be bad as people try to merge together.
"It can get pretty intense there."
Bradford said pedestrian traffic seems to be lower in downtown Newcastle, and although she said the time of year may affect that, she would usually see some foot traffic.
"Certainly not as many people walking."
David White, one of the owners of Jean Coutu on Pleasant Street, said they haven't noticed any change in business since the briged closed.
"Nothing that we can say has been due to the bridge."
Incline Sports owner Scott Campbell said there always seems to be a lot of traffic on Pleasant Street since the bridge closed, but he didn't monitor the affect of the closure on his business.
"I can't say I notice a difference as far as the bridge being closed."
Incline Sports sells bikes, skateboards, snowboards and clothing and Campbell said his store is the only one of its kind in the area.
"If people are gonna come here they're gonna come here."
Campbell said he has to drive across one of the bridges and although it only adds a few minutes to his drive, he goes through Douglastown to get to his store.
"It doesn't seem as convenient, I guess."
Michael Mersereau is involved with the group trying to preserve the bridge for pedestrians and said an engineer was supposed to inspect the bridge piers, but he didn't know if an engineer was selected yet.
"It's supposed to be done by now."
The group has been getting a lot of positive feedback from the public and there has been a lot of interest in saving the bridge, he said.
"They're pleased that this is being considered."
Mersereau said the city needs to renew its membership with NB Trails so they can get advice and support from them, but it's not a big issue.
"It's a minor housekeeping detail that has to be taken care of to keep this on track."
Miramichi Landings (formerly the Miramichi Open River Eco-Museum) spokesman Paul McGraw said his group hasn't seen any proposals to incorporate the bridge into the eco-museum and they haven't considered it because their emphasis is on using water taxis to link the different sites.
"We're concentrating from the river side to begin with."
He said they aren't going to build walking trails, but may map out existing trails and sidewalks for use by people who want to visit the eco-museum's sites.
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