Hi John,

I thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter. I really appreciate you addressing my questions and concerns.

If I could summarize your response it would be that the city is progressing well, were it can, on the other issues I raised such as homelessness, sewage upgrades and other earthquake assessments but regardless of that the bridge must be upgraded due to significant liability issues. You also bring up interesting topics such as climate change, oil dependency and the previous referendum on sewage treatment. I will address these other topics first then discuss the liability issue..

Hi Saren,

Thanks for your letter on the Blue Bridge.

With respect to the issue of the project being a vote determinant for any individual, I am sure you can appreciate that we must base our decisions on the information presented to council and our assessment of the best course of action to serve the broader public interest rather than the mere gauging of public sentiment alone.  Many people I have spoken to strongly support replacement and choosing between the two mutually exclusive perspectives is impossible.