THE G LO BE AND M A I I
S A TU R D A Y ]A , N U A R Y 29, 2071
A safepassage
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LISAROCHON CITY SPAGE lrochon@globeandma il.com esignersusually designfor humans. Designingfor the sakeof animals - whether ferrets, elk or deer - and allowing them safeand poetic accessto their habitats may sound unusual,but it is an urgent, lifesaving enterpflse. The challengeof keepingwild-life awayfrom deadly collisions with carsinspired the ARC(for Animal RoadCrossing)international designcompetition, which last year invited dozensoflandscapearchitectsto imagine animal-friendly, and eye-catching, bridgesto crossover highways. The competition's winner was announcedin Washinstonearlier this week: A New York-Citvpartnership of designersMWA;led by acclaimedlandscapearchitectMichael Van Valkenburgh, and architectural builders HNTBhas envisioneda crossingthat merges seamlesslywith the surrounding landscape,offering safepassage over the heavily travelled Interstate70 at a high elevation near Vail, Colo.Shroudedin heaw landscape,the ultrawide croesing appearsto be more natural land than man-madeinfrastructure. Besidesbeing visually alluring, esflmates suggestit can be built-for roughly half the current cost of the wildlife overpasses.that dominate in BanffNational Park. ' It's a pleasureto notice wildlife in our rear-viewmirror whenwe travel into the country. There's something picturesqueand romantic about watchin g deergr aze or elk lift their massiveheadsas we speedpast.But when anirnals wander blindly onto highway5, the resultscan be devastating. There'sthe sad,ugly loss of life, of course.But there'salso a more literal price tag.In the United States,the cost is estimatedat g8billion (U.S.)a year in insurance claims and car repairs.In Canada, damagesare peggedat about
$259-millionannually,according to the WesternTransportationInstitute at Montana StateUniversity. Wildlife crossingsfirst appeared in Europein the rg5os.Sincethe late seventies,Banff National Parkhas been at the vaneuardof shepherdinganimals safEly acrossvast territories. Scientist Tony Clevenger,one ofthe ARC competition jurors, has reported that the purpose-builtcroisings common in Banffhave, over the past z5years,allowed safepassageto some 24o,ooolarge mammals, including elk, black and grizzly bears,deer,mountain lion, moose and coyote.Entire families of wild animals travel along the protective fencing and over the man-madestructures;young animals learn howto reseftheiimigratory patterns accordingly within three yearsof birth. The problem in Banff - both in terms of cost and aesthetics- is that the crossingsare overengineeredand overbuilt. "They're strong enough to carry the load of five super dumpsters,not three elk and a moose,"saysToronto ecologistand planner Nina-Marie Lister,the ARCcompetition's professionaladviserani an associate professorat RyersonUniversity. Elsewhereat Banff,there are rudimentary metal culvertsor prefabricated concreteboxesinserted underneath roads.They are narrow and dark; eleganceand lightnessof designnever played a role. The ARCfinalists,short-listed from 36 submissionsfrom nine countries,are invitations for animals to weavetheirwav over a landscapelocatedr5o kilometres west of Denverand next to massive ski chaletsand high-profile resorts.Why similarly inventive bridgeshaven't been built in Canada "is a mystery" saysLister."We knowthat theywork, we know that there's a need for them. We also knowthat the cost of not having them is incredibly high, and it's compoundedyear after year." Oneof the most compelling of the finalists was a bright red bridge made of sustainable,lightweight,wood-corefibreglass,proposedby Toronto-basedIanet Rosenberg+ Associateswith. BlackwellBowick Partnership.