The Third Bridge, To Nowhere?

Are we ever going to get the third bridge across the Cataraqui River?

According to Kingston City Councilor Vicki Schmolka, “it doesn’t make sense to allow a $50 million bridge to an area with 13,000 residents.” Yet, it makes sense to spend $20 million on a 50 meter pool?

The Lasalle Causeway is a major bottleneck and handles 24,000 vehicle trips per day. How many people in Kingston require a 50-meter pool every day, instead of the proposed new 25-meter pool? Could it be 50 people? Let me be generous and estimate that 100 athletes in Kingston might need an olympic sized pool every day. This makes the 50-meter pool about 100 times more expensive than the bridge on a per use basis. Yet the pool is being pushed forward while the bridge is being held back.

The bridge is long overdue by any measure, and should be one of the city's highest priorities. This is not a Bridge to Nowhere. It is a bridge to 13,000 citizens who deserve better access to the city that takes our tax dollars, and it is a bridge to the future prosperity of the region.