John,

Thanks again for your responses. Your comments on cycling integration are very informative. I appreciate your enthusiasm.

You mention Point Hope Shipyards as an example of a business being affected should the Johnson Street Bridge fail. I believe there are a number of questions to be addressed for this to be a valid point. Is the proposed bridge guaranteed to fully function after a large magnitude earthquake? Does the city have a contract with Point Hope Shipyards guaranteeing an earthquake-proof bridge? I could see the shipyards having a case against the city if the current bridge failed to rise again due to lack of mechanical maintenance but it’s not clear an earthquake would result in the same liability.

[John Luton’s response to my letter to the Times Colonist. Can’t wait to reply been really busy]

Hi again Saren,

Just wanted to follow up on your letter to the editor.  I did some further checking into city hall and much of it has seismic reinforcement, including the newer section (the western, modernist piece), and around doorways.  Some more work is ongoing and as I noted, planning for further work is also in progress.  The third floor of the old city hall has been emptied (it used to house lots of heavy archival material) and can’t be occupied until it is seismically upgraded.

[I received this lengthy reply from John Luton a while ago now. Many interesting points.]

Hi again Saren,

Although the issues may be moot after the counter petition submissions are counted, here are some additional responses to your points.

[Recent letter to the TC Update: Printed!]

After the success of the recent counter petition process I hope there is now time to do a proper analysis of the seismic liabilities of the Johnson St Bridge compared to the cost of a seismic upgrade. I wonder if the referendum would reduce this liability by constituting the city’s due diligence.  According to The Law of Canadian Municipal Corporations (Rogers 1971), the standard of care for municipal roads is dependent on the economic means of the municipality and the requirements of the public (see http://waterfronttrail.org/pdfs/books/design/Section%204.pdf page 5).

Dear Lynn,

Thank you very much for the response to my letter. I appreciate you taking the time to address my concerns.

Dear Saren,
Thank you for your letter on the topic of my decision in favour of the replacement of the Johnson Street Bridge.