Just wondering when it’s going to be finished/snagged? We know about the broken glass that needs a possession of the railway, the surface is still appalling and holds water especially on the stairs, some of the paintwork is patchy , the area at the bottom is not finished and is just fenced off( Glassworks side), there’s still the issue of a crossing that’s required Oakwell side that was really poor planning and most likely the councils fault, the signs on the side of the cinema still need putting on which won’t have been possible while construction was underway and now the Youth Xone is being built Keltbray have decamped. The bridge less than 12 months since opening is already looking tatty the lift doors are scratched the lifts are filthy it’s strewn with rubbish obviously scumbags fault but there should be bins. I’m a fan of the bridge so not having a go it’s just detail matters.
Agree. Those red and white temporary plastic bollards need moving from the Bingo side too - surely some kind of metal fence was part of the public realm works?
Poorly designed. What if the lift is out of action and you're in a wheelchair. Do you get a free parachute?
I genuinely think they sacrificed practicality for design. The whole thing is over-engineered for what it needed to be. I think most of the public would’ve been more than happy with a simpler design and ramps, rather than the one we’ve got. I’m not usually negative, and often praise and defend the council, but this is one thing I think they’ve got wrong. Being ambitious and wanting something striking I get, but it doesn’t even look that good and evidently hasn’t been good value for money. The quality of the finish is atrocious. The ‘gold’ cladding is horrible, the glass balustrade won’t be cleaned often enough so will often look dirty, and has already proven that it isn’t shatterproof. It will likely require possession of the railway to be repaired as and when it occurs. Having lifts and no ramps obviously looks better, but added extra cost. They’re prone to faults and will have occasional downtime. The lifts are also much smaller than what was originally proposed. The council claim there wasn’t enough space for ramps - I disagree. There’s unused land behind Cineworld and plenty of space in Market Gate Car Park.
There's an alternative lift about 100 yards away. If you're wondering why there's no ramp it's because the end of said ramp would genuinely have to be at the bottom of grove street to meet disability requirements for the angle of the slope.
There's nowhere near enough space for usable ramps without removing the market gate carpark and building one massive winding ramp that goes back and forward throughout the entire carpark. Even then I doubt there's space. Anyone in a wheelchair would be half dead before they'd made it to the top of the 0.3 mile long ramps
What’s a staggered ramp? Genuine question as i have no idea how to even picture what you’re suggesting
I think BR means a ramp with with a return. Could have been incorporated on the eastern end and a single ramp on the western end starting near the front of Botanist.
A ramp is tricky to keep safe during winter, and will involve kids on scooters, bikes and boards doing circuits on it each night. Steps are best tbf - and a ramp takes loads of room up, the one at the Etihad is a right trek.
I’m not talking about a ramped bridge with no other access. I meant a bridge with steps that also incorporated an accessible ramp instead of lifts. There’s plenty of space to fit one in without your dramatic exaggeration of a lengthy detour. A switchback wouldn’t take up that much of a footprint. I’m also not suggesting just tagging ramps onto the bridge as it’s designed. I think the overall design is poor, and the build quality is even worse. I was merely suggesting that if I was to start again with designing the structure and materials used, I’d be looking to reconsider the use of glass, cheap cladding, and the reliance on expensive and costly to maintain lifts. The bridges the council used to inspire the original design were much nicer, as was the first concept they came up with, but what we’ve ended up with is quite far removed from that.
