Do you support a Bower Ponds to Capstone pedestrian bridge?

Really Financial Stewardship?

How does a $50 Million Bower to Capstone pedestrian bridge fit into your "focus I've consistently championed over the past four years"?

"Coun. Victor Doerksen is an enthusiastic proponent of another pedestrian bridge and believes it would attract investment and spur development in Capstone. Doerksen said he would like to see the bridge added to the 2025-32 capital plan." - Capstone pedestrian bridge report coming to city council soon, Red Deer Advocate, March 17, 2023

New Capstone-Bower Ponds pedestrian bridge could cost $50M, says Red Deer city report:
"During the last capital budget process in December, Coun. Victor Doerksen was very interested in getting cost details for the construction of a new direct pedestrian connection between Capstone with Bower Ponds.

If a new bridge is built at that spot, then developers will come to Capstone, predicted the impassioned councillor.

Doerksen asked administration what it would take to advance the bridge project and put it in the 2025-32 Capital Plan? A new bridge will spur long-awaited residential-commercial development, “I can guarantee it,” stated Doerksen, who felt there are philanthropists in Red Deer who could contribute funds to such a legacy project."

If people want to go from Bower Ponds to Capstone, they can take the very solid, very nice views of the river valley, Taylor Drive Bridge like everyone else does. It's a lot closer to the park and Capstone, than the CPR Bridge is to Gaetz Avenue - where the Capstone developer expected the "undesirables" to cross the River instead of the old bridge.

Fiscally responsible?! Seriously?! This is precisely why the Mayor and all of the current Councillors in Red Deer need to go!
​
If I am elected I will vote NO to any pedestrian bridge linking Bower Ponds and Capstone UNLESS 100% of the funds do NOT come from Red Deer taxpayers or our reserve/legacy/budget funds.

More information: https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/news/one-of-a-kind-tourism-attraction-proposed-for-red-deer-6817206

https://rdnewsnow.com/2023/04/03/city-says-a-capstone-pedestrian-bridge-could-cost-up-to-50-million/ (photo source)
​

Don't quote me on this and perhaps someone can tell me the correct source, but should we point out that only a few years ago the City? refused to acknowledge the mass of land (island) in the middle of Red Deer River as an actual 'island' and called it something like sedimentation that would wash away with the next flood. Now the city wants to build on it? Think about this, to tear down CPR Bridge would have cost $8 Million, to rehabilitate it $11 Million ($22+ Million), with that project in mind taxpayers could expect to fund about $20 Million+ for this bridge. It's not like the Federal grant for the CPR Bridge, that was used to restore historical infrastructure. This is for a bridge that does not need to be built - the Federal Government tends to be less generous about vanity projects like this one. 

Look, if you want to spend $250,000 to redo the ramps and stairs leading up to Taylor Drive Bridge from Bower and Capstone and make them accessible and pretty, I'll consider it, but $5 or $50 Million for a new bridge just for Capstone residents to have an easy way to walk to Bower Ponds (which they will probably drive to anyways) - no thanks.