On a fateful Saturday – March 24, 2012 – I spontaneously found myself at the Peace Bridge opening ceremony. Just west of Prince’s Island Park, hundreds of Calgarians gathered around the bridge, anticipating the bridge’s official opening. Though the skies were grey and the wind was bitter, smiles were abundant and the festivities were great with music, food trucks are more.
The atmosphere created by the people there was one of sheer awe and amazement. You could tell by looking around that even though many people were once worked up about the high costs of the bridge were all gathered together, sharing their pride of being Calgarian. Everyone there was there because they wanted to be, and because they knew that the bridge represented harmony in the city; I overheard people saying “sure, it was expensive, but I’m glad it’s done and here in Calgary”.
It’s great to see people drop their past beliefs and instead chose to celebrate what is rather than what once was. People were mingling with each other and strangers became friends as we all stood there in patience for Mayor Nenshi to arrive. At this point, I somehow managed to squeeze right into the very front of the crowd. Quite honestly, I don’t know how I did it, but I took a photo to prove it!
I could not have hoped for a better vantage point; it really was one of a kind. And I got it in the nick of time too; within seconds after taking the photo, security made everyone make room for the Mayor and the VIPs. Being on a cramped pathway with hundreds of people was not an easy feat, but the next thing I knew, Nenshi was within a couple of metres away. Finally, the bagpipers were let through and following were all the VIPs. Then, as soon as the security motioned that the media were allowed through, the floodgates opened and everybody was rushing in. I was caught up amidst it all and I found myself running as fast as I could just to get a picture or two. A realisation dawned on me then: I was one of the first Calgarians ever to cross the Peace Bridge. Impromptu history in the making!
Turning around to head back, the bridge already filled up with hundreds if not thousands of people. Truly a once in a lifetime spectacle! It was practically a parade on a bridge with everyone moving across trying to get to the other side to make history for themselves (I didn’t dare tell them that I beat most of them to it). As I made my upstream walk back, the spirit of Calgary was eminent on the bridge.
All in all, the opening of the Peace Bridge was a great event for Calgary, and as shown by everyone there, it was also a great day to be Calgarian.
Hi Bill,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and images on the Peace Bridge. Apologies for shuffling you out of the way as I was one of the “VIPs”. Not that I feel like I’m important. What I did feel (as the head of Transportation) was weary of the struggles to bring this project to life but eager to share the bridge with everyone. As a Calgarian like you, I too was very excited to be one of the first to stroll across.
This is an excellent bridge structurally. It looks fantastic and as time goes on we will see that it was money very well spent. I cannot think of another $25M transportation project that changed things as much as the Peace Bridge has. On a final thought, Santiago Calatrava and his team were some of the finest and most professional I have ever work with. A true pleasure.
Again, thanks for the photos and blog.
Mac
GM Transportation
The City of Calgary