A little less than a year ago, we all saw the final result of some incredible and tireless dedication come to light when a new swimming pool facility opened its doors in Outlook. The challenge was for this community and the surrounding area to raise more than $1 million to aid in its completion. That challenge was accepted, and after a few years, it was overcome.
I believe it’s now time for a new challenge.
The SkyTrail walking bridge opened its 3000-ft span of trail to the public in 2004 and it wasn’t long before it became a popular attraction, soon recognized as the longest pedestrian walking bridge in all of Canada. It was common to see a bustling horde of activity on the bridge during those perfect summer nights; seniors, kids, families, all of them enjoying the peace and tranquility that the SkyTrail provided.
Then, after just under a decade, the gates were locked shut and the bridge was permanently closed in late 2013 when it was determined that the bridge was no longer safe for use by the public. A laundry list of problems and deficiencies related to the structural integrity were said to be the cause, and so for the last six and a half years, the SkyTrail has been all but abandoned and left to the elements.
I loved the SkyTrail. I loved what it offered. As a photographer, I enjoyed taking my gear out to the bridge and having a bird’s eye view of some amazing scenery, and as a guy who likes to be alone with his thoughts, it was a great spot to do some thinking and theorizing. Today, I enjoy going down into the Outlook Regional Park just before sunset and snapping photos, and inevitably, I still find myself drawn to the bridge, shooting pics of the receding sun and using the structure as a dark, contrasting figure in the forefront. Heck, one of those photos now adorns the walls of several Outlook homes in a frame behind glass. ‘Once Iconic’, indeed.
For these sentimental reasons and more, I’m challenging the community of Outlook and beyond to join me in helping to bring the SkyTrail back to prominence and reopen the bridge one day.
It goes without saying that this task won’t be easy, especially considering the gigantic dollar figures that have been revealed in years past. An April 2014 report by Associated Engineering revealed that, based on the firm’s analysis, the costs associated with the bridge’s repairs amounted to $3.55 million for Emergency Repairs, followed by an additional $2 million for Comprehensive Repairs.
It was also recommended that following the repairs, there were to be annual inspections and maintenance required to provide continued safety of the bridge. Personally, I’ve always been curious as to whether such safety inspections were carried out in the first place before the bridge closure and whether certain problems could have been solved before the list simply grew too long to tackle.
For over six years, something that was once Outlook’s biggest claim to fame has sat dormant and left behind. It’s now become one of those things that we consider to be in our past. We sort of talk about it here and there, but then move our conversations onto other matters. We look at the dollar figures that may be involved, consider it to be deader than disco, and forget about it.
Enough is enough. It is high time that we talk about the SkyTrail. It’s time to address the 3000-ft long elephant in the room, or more specifically, in the town of Outlook.
It’s time we talked about bringing something amazing back from the dead.
I know it won’t be tomorrow, and it won’t even be anytime all that soon. With the COVID pandemic still gripping us, there’s simply too much going on in the world right now, which means this subject will have to wait.
However, when life reaches a state of normal, I will be calling a meeting. It’ll be very informal, and I won’t have a clear-cut agenda. I’d just like to get together, share memories of the bridge, talk about the closure, discuss the dollar figures involved, and then bounce some ideas around as far as what could be done to save it.
Let me be clear – I’m not saying we’ll form a group or a committee that night. If all the meeting turns out to be is getting together to talk about the bridge and toss around some hopes and dreams, that’s okay. Hey, thanks for coming, coffee and donuts are on me. But if there’s enough passion and dedication toward the cause, I’m happy to help spearhead the effort.
If you’re interested, I hope you’ll reach out to me after reading this editorial.
I’ve covered the events of this entire regional area for well over a decade, and I know more than most that nothing in our respective communities ever gets done without ideas being planted and discussed. The idea of one day saving the SkyTrail walking bridge is, admittedly, basically a pipedream on paper. But then again, so was a massive swimming pool facility.
Outlook deserves to have the SkyTrail return one day. More importantly, I would think that as it relates to community growth and adding to this town’s identity in the hopes of prosperity for years to come, then Outlook NEEDS the SkyTrail to return one day.
So then, people of Outlook and surrounding area, when this pandemic nightmare is in our rear-view mirror, I hope you’ll accept my invitation.
Let’s talk.
