Pavement is actually very good for all except the north end, north of Grassie Blvd. A lot of debris on the road, and sections have a gravel elevated shoulder which is useless to cyclists. St. James Street. Inattentive shoppers by the thousands near the many stores. Some of these people shouldn't be licensed to drive a shopping cart, never mind a car.
Weekends are the worst.
There are alternative routes to this street. Watch out for Empress St. too. With new stores everywhere and very heavy traffic it can be dangerous, try a parallel side street instead. Some riders like to use these two bridges as hill training, but for the average rider they can be very dangerous especially at rush hours. Narrow lanes, no shoulders, and long climbs.