Tilikum bridge -- First Carfree Bridge
 

I discovered Portland was building a carfree bridge that only allows lightrail, bus and peds/cyclist but no cars! Tilikum crossing means bridge of the people. I like that name.

It's too bad we don't have more of these bridges that restrict cars and are only for transit. It looks like Portland is leading the way for the rest of the nation. Can you imagine a bridge built for public transit and walking.

Just look at the size of the bridge and it's simply amazing they are going to restrict cars from entering. Incredible.

Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project: Construction - Multi-Use Transit Bridge

Atlanta has a bridge over GA 400 (which is a controlled access highway) near Lenox Mall. The bridge is built specifically for foot traffic and bicycles. It is no wider than a single lane road.

So I say not "first".

Little Rock has the Big Dam Bridge which spans the Arkansas River, peds and bikes only please.

http://www.arkansasoutside.com/wp-co...011/02/bdb.jpg

We also have two shorter pedestrian bicyclist only bridges in downtown Little Rock. But I'm glad that Portland is upping the game too.

There are heaps of car-free bridges. Some are for rail ... some are for peds and cyclists ...

Myra Canyon, anyone? Two big bridges, several sizable trestles and two short tunnels to boot. All car free.:D ;)

If you go to Victor Harbor, South Australia you can walk across the bridge to Granite Island ... or you can take a the horse drawn tram. But you can't drive to Granite Island.

Granite Island Recreation & Nature Park : Last of the Horse Drawn Trams : Victor Harbor South Australia

Nice.

That bridge looks impressive. I can't believe downtown Little Rock had that kind of money to spend on pedestrian bridges. Go figure.

You're probably right.

I like the bridge in Portland because it's a huge super structure built to restrict the flow of auto traffic. In a wealthy tri-state like New York, all bridge construction must have auto traffic. We could never have a billion dollar bridge built for peds and transit.

I created this thread because that is the type of community one could easily become car free. Did you watch the video and notice all the business (ie Jobs) and buildings going up near that bridge? I could live there and become carfree with all the transit options available.

Really? All bridge construction must have auto traffic? Surely you have decommissioned rail bridges which have been converted into ped/bicycle bridges?? And bridges in parks which don't allow motorist traffic??

In Winnipeg ... the Esplanade Riel Pedestrian Bridge ... complete with restaurant ...

Esplanade Riel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Landmarks | Tourism Winnipeg
Esplanade Riel Bridge, Canada*- DSI Canada


In Red Deer the historic railway bridge was converted to a pedestrian/cyclist bridge ...

Canadian Pacific Railway bridge now 100 years old - Michael Dawe
HistoricPlaces.ca - HistoricPlaces.ca

I think it's great to have a major bridge newly constructed for carfree travel. I don't think all of the bridges mentioned by other posters would meet these criteria.

We have a lovely iron bridge, built in 1930, which links Seville with a nearby town and which cars are no longer allowed to cross. There's a sidewalk for pedestrians and a bike lane, both physically separated, and a bus lane. There's another bridge next to it used by subway trains. I love riding over this bridge because I think it represents the future of transport: more walking, cycling and mass transit and far fewer cars.


The only problem with this bridge, as I mentioned in another thread, is that pedestrians and cyclists who cross it and are bound for the city center must either cross a dangerous motorway or go several kilometers out of their way, so we've successfully lobbied to have a new bridge built over the motorway. This one will be for cyclists and pedestrians only, no bus traffic.

That bridge looks great. Portland seems to be doing a lot of things right in the way of cycling infrastructure, mass transit and safe streets.

Here's our Pedestrian/Bicycle bridge across the Missouri River. There are plans to expand it so it goes further into downtown.

Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge | Omaha Attractions - Things to Do

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=408366

That's a beautiful bridge. Another beautiful purpose-built bridge for pedestrians is the Millennium Bridge in London.

http://www.sir-robert-mcalpine.com/f...B_detail04.jpg

Another English city (Newcastle?) has a similar bridge, also called the Millennium, IIRC.

fwiw the Atlanta walking bridge I posted about was built specifically for pedestrians. The bridge is (at most) a car lane wide.

Edit: As to whether or not this is "major", I don't know. The bridge is a concrete bridge that goes over eight lanes of traffic on a controlled access highway.

I think it's pretty major. I think that having convenient bridges for cyclists is important--and even more so for pedestrians. Bridges are often a mile or more apart from each other. That isn't a problem for motorists or even cyclists. But for a pedestrian, it's a major hassle to walk a mile out of their way to cross a bridge, then walk a mile back again. On a round trip, that's four extra miles--more than n hour of additional time. I'm glad that urban planners are starting to recognize this probleem.

There ought to be a law against building bridges for car traffic only. I frequently need to cross the Guadiana River, but it's against the law for cyclists or pedestrians to use the international bridge that crosses it :(. We car-free types have to rely on the ferry, and if you miss the last one, you're sh*t out of luck. I've cycled across it at night a couple times, risking a hefty fine.

There are at least 3 pedestrian bridges in Des Moines. Two that I have been on merely cross a freeway. However, this one is downtown and crosses a river.

Is there a point somewhere?

Huh? I'm not sure that the Wards Island Bridge would qualify as a first, but 1951 puts it well before most others. BTW- this wasn't a cheap bridge to build, and as a lift span isn't cheap to maintain.

Of course, as others have pointed out, many older bridges have been decomisioned and now are exclusively for pedestrian or bicycle traffic. Around here it's not all that rare to build new bridges parallel to older, now inadequate spans, and leave the original in place for pedestrians or bicycles.