Manor Park residents invited to propose Blasdell bridge name

By Mike Trudeau September 29, 2022

Manor Park residents have been invited to name the new pedestrian bridge at Blasdell Ave. — On August 31, National Capital Commission (NCC) work crews installed this 23-metre pedestrian bridge at the end of Blasdell Ave. to replace the makeshift bridge that was torn down without warning by the NCC. *Photo: Doug Banks*

Put on your thinking caps: Manor Park residents will be able to suggest names for the new footbridge at the end of Blasdell Ave..
According to the NCC, members of the community will have the chance to suggest names for the bridge during a six-week consultation period.
The bridge was installed August 31. At time of writing, the NCC plans to re-open the trail about 10 days after the installation.
The crushed-stone road that was constructed to allow access to heavy machinery will be left intact as an improved trail leading from the bridge to the Aviation Parkway.
Although initially planned to open in time for the summer, construction of the bridge has been subject to multiple delays, including union strikes and unexpected conditions at the site conflicting with the bridge foundations.
As a result, residents and visitors have gone the summer without access to the stream crossing after the NCC unceremoniously demolished the resident-built and maintained wooden bridge that had spanned the small forest stream for over a decade.
The NCC announced plans to replace the bridge with a 23-meter long steel footbridge after residents loudly expressed their dismay at losing their main point of access to local woodlands and submitted a petition containing more than 600 signatures.
The final names will appear in three languages: English, French, and Algonquin.

For more on the bridge-naming criteria, click here.

Read Douglas Cornish’s rumination on the significance of neighbourhood bridges.