Mayor touts plan for $7M pedestrian bridge with a twist
By BRADLEY OLSON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Dec. 4, 2008, 1:06AM
It may look like a bridge that can go nowhere, but the walkway set to be built across Buffalo Bayou next year could become a Houston landmark, city officials insist.
Mayor Bill White on Wednesday unveiled plans for the “Tolerance Bridge,” a $7 million project built with public and private funds that will connect pedestrian and bike trails along Allen Parkway with those on Memorial Drive near Montrose Boulevard.
The bridge design features a visual sleight of hand: a twisted archway at its center that from afar, project officials told City Council members, will make it appear impossible to cross. However, when pedestrians or bikers are closer, they will see the bridge is easily passable. From one vantage point, the “twisted arc” will frame the Houston skyline.
“What we found with Discovery Green is that when we invest in these high-quality public places, that it improves the property values and the living environment and quality of life all around there,” White said. “So, I think great art is part of a real city.”
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The intersection near where the bridge will be built is surrounded by apartment complexes that have spurred new development, including a nearby Islamic community center funded by the Aga Khan Foundation that some civic leaders expect to be an architectural wonder.
Ismailimail 