An AI rendering of what the decommissioned Pattullo Bridge would look like as a pedestrian walkway has attracted plenty of social media attention and even some support from local politicians — but the provincial government says it’s a non-starter.

“There’s no point in keeping a door open and creating false hope on something that isn’t going to happen,” said Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth.

The proposal would see the bridge between New Westminster and Surrey preserved and refurbished, upgraded with greenery and benches, with the idea of it becoming a public space and attraction similar to New York City’s High Line, or the types of pedestrian walkways common in the centre of cities in South America, Europe and Asia.

It comes after a weekend where people were allowed to take a walk on the bridge before it was fully shut down, bringing out thousands of people and sparking plenty of nostalgia and hopes that the bridge could be preserved.

“The Pattullo Bridge could become our regional version of The High Line. Taking a look at how to keep it and turn it into something everyone could enjoy is definitely worth looking at,” said Surrey councillor Linda Annis, who is running for mayor with her Surrey First party.

“There’s definitely lots of questions, but if there’s a chance to create a major attraction that would have a positive impact on both sides of the Fraser River, it’s definitely worth considering,” added Annis.

New Westminster councillor Paul Minhas also voiced his support for refurbishing the Pattullo.

“Reusing existing infrastructure is not radical — it is responsive,” he wrote. “And most importantly, it respects the people who paid for this bridge in the first place.”

But there are plenty of reasons why the government is reticent.

WATCH | Justin McElroy explains the reasons the government is against the idea:

Why viral proposal to save Pattullo Bridge won’t happen

An AI rendering of what the Pattullo Bridge could look like if it was saved and converted to a pedestrian walkway is getting lots of talk. But the CBC’s Justin McElroy explains why there’s virtually no chance of it happening.

Old, unsafe, unsuitable, says minister

Farnworth outlined three major issues with keeping the Pattullo and turning it into a public space: its age, its seismic instability, and the need to get rid of the off-ramps for the Pattullo so the new Stal̕əw̓asəm bridge can integrate with Surrey and New Westminster as intended

“There’s a whole range of reasons why the bridge has to come down, and that’s unfortunate,” he said.

Farnworth said the amount of money the province would have to spend to make it safe wasn’t worth the investments it could make for transportation and public spaces elsewhere in the region, including areas closer to where there are higher concentrations of people than the end points of the Pattullo.

The government has long said the Pattullo bridge is seismically unsafe, and while many proponents of the AI rendering have argued it would be mitigated without cars on it, Farnworth disagreed.

“It’s nice to see people being creative, but at the end of the day, safety comes first.”

New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone has long championed pedestrian walkways, but he also felt resigned to the difficulties of the proposal — though hoped people would stay enthusiastic about the concept of people-first public spaces.

“I’m all for spending money on good urbanism and good spaces, I just don’t think that’s the best investment,” he said.

“I think the new bridge is going to have nice pedestrian and cycling access on either side of it … but there are other places to put priorities right now other than upgrading a really, really old bridge that has some serious structural challenges for the long term.”