Bridge protest planned, drivers should prepare for lengthy commute

Published October 16, 2019 at 9:09 pm

Commuters in Hamilton will likely need to budget more time for their commute Thursday (Oct. 17) morning.

Commuters in Hamilton will likely need to budget more time for their commute Thursday (Oct. 17) morning.

A Reddit post shared by u/AScullionsDiary says an Extinction Rebellion Hamilton protest is planned for 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. when the climate action group will be blocking lanes in front of the Burlington Canal lift bridge.

Plan for extra travel time tomorrow – Extinction Rebellion Hamilton plan to blockade Burlington Canal Lift Bridge from r/Hamilton

The plan seems to be to hold up traffic throughout the day or until protestors are arrested.

On the Extinction Rebellion Hamilton website, there is an event titled #Bridgeout Action scheduled for Oct. 17 but specific details about time and place weren’t listed.

“Why #BridgeOut? Because the government is not acting fast enough to keep us from falling. Why block bridges? Because the government won’t listen until we disrupt business as usual. We don’t want to blame or shame motorists. We’re all part of the same broken system. We apologize for causing inconvenience,” Extinction Rebellion says on their website about the Bridge Out action planned for Thursday morning.

“Humanity is still racing towards societal breakdown and catastrophe. If your commute is delayed: take the time to pause (we implore you) -and reflect on what we stand to lose. If you are outraged: you are in good company. We are all in this together.”

Inthehammer reached out to Extinction Rebellion Hamilton to confirm whether or not the protest was taking place at the Burlington Canal lift bridge, but they had not responded by the time of publication.

Redditors are in a tizzy over the proposed protest, saying that “Protesting climate inaction by making traffic worse is like protesting obesity with a hot dog eating contest,” one user wrote.

“If they block the bridge, cars are going to idle unnecessarily. It’s a stupid protest. Also, I bet 90% of the protestors take their cars there,” wrote another.

Photo courtesy Martin Cathrae via Flickr.

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