nova scotia's long-awaited transportation plan for halifax area 'a study of studies,' opposition say
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traffic backed up on the macdonald bridge in halifax.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
the nova scotia public works minister is touting the long-awaited regional transportation plan as a “blueprint for the future” of transportation in halifax regional municipality.
“halifax and surrounding communities are growing and they need a transportation system that reflects that,” fred tilley said.
tilley said that in response to the province’s growth, the government created the joint regional transportation agency with a mandate to develop a plan for all modes of transportation, “ensuring the safe, efficient and co-ordinated movement of people and goods.”
he said the result is a plan that represents long-term, forward-thinking recommendations to transform the transportation system.
public works minister fred tilley, accompanied by link nova scotia deputy minister peter hackett, announces the government’s response to the transportation plan report from the joint regional transportation agency in halifax on wednesday.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
“our government has reviewed the recommendations and we understand the need to take immediate action today,” tilley said.
he said the government has identified several projects as short-term solutions that can be implemented in the next 18 to 24 months to maximize existing transportation infrastructure, including:
- adaptive signal technology to identify bottlenecks on key corridors where intelligent systems can be installed to detect when signals need to change,
- high-occupancy vehicle lanes and a pilot program to encourage more people to ride share and use fewer vehicles,
- a macdonald bridge corridor review between north and oxford streets in halifax and nantucket street and victoria road in dartmouth,
- a young street corridor review, and
- a review of active transportation projects to preserve existing road capacity.
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over the long term, the government plans include a halifax peninsula core street review, highway 102 capacity enhancements and interchange improvements, a new strategic link between hammonds plains and highway 101, exploring options for harbour crossings and inter-municipal bus service, rapid transit upgrades, a passenger rail feasibility study and a regional transportation management centre.
the opposition parties were not impressed with the government plan.
“traffic in this city has become almost unbearable by any measure,” said claudia chender, leader of the ndp, the official opposition.
ndp leader claudia chender speaks to reporters about the nova scotia government’s transportation plan on wednesday in halifax.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
“it’s terrible and it really impacts people’s lives, it impacts being able to get to work on time, it impacts your ability to get to your job and if you need to move around.”
chender said the opposition and residents were ready for a report that was going to help deal with the stifling congestion.
“meanwhile, this government has sat on this report and now that we see it, i have very little faith in any of the short-term identified priorities of this government that they will make a difference.”
work on the regional transportation plan began in 2023, when the joint regional transportation agency, now link nova scotia, engaged consulting partner hdr corporation for a study of transportation in the halifax area, encompassing 63 per cent of nova scotia’s population, 15 municipalities, five first nations communities and 19 historic african nova scotian communities.
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chender said people are not concerned with adaptive traffic light technology.
“people are concerned with the endless tales of congestion getting in and out of this city and we need major investment in bus rapid transit,” chender said. “we have known this for over a decade. the government’s response reads like a someday wish list of things that we might do that will actually help us move people around.”
tilley said the plan is all about making it easier for people to get to work, to move about the city, to drop their kids off at school and to get to medical appointments.
he addressed criticisms about the lack of a sense of urgency in the government’s plan.
“of course, these things when you announce them require further analysis, they require design work,” he said.
interim liberal leader derek mombourquette speaks to reporters in downtown halifax on wednesday about the newly released regional transportation plan.
francis campbell
/
the chronicle herald
interim liberal leader derek mombourquette said he didn’t understand why it took so long for the government to release the report, leading to expectations of something more substantive.
“it’s really a study of studies,” mombourquette said. “now we’re into the process of we have this report, we heard today that there are a number of studies that are going to have to take place, we’ve lost a year already.
“one of the key points with this is that government is going to have to sit down with hrm council and look at a lot of the aspects of the study, and that started with a fight over (morris) street,” he said.
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“there are some concerns around the mackay bridge. i thought the comments from the minister were shameful today that he couldn’t provide a timeline on what the government is going to do around the mackay bridge (replacement) and when they are going to make a decision. government is going to have a strong relationship with hrm council.”
mombourquette said the short-term solutions are two years away and congestion is getting worse.
chender said inter-city transportation and light rail transit would be good initiatives.
“once we get people here, we need to move people around the peninsula and right now we cannot do that, we can’t do it effectively and efficiently and in a timely way with buses, we’re apparently going to pause bike lanes, i didn’t see that in the jrta report, to what end. we’re going to bring more cars onto the peninsula and they are going to get stuck.”
chender said the ndp is looking for better short-term solutions.
“this premier says the word bus like it’s a bad word. this is not a government that is interested in rapid transit, it’s not a government that’s interested in active transportation. we see that from the report. at the end of the day what people want is to move quickly and efficiently to do the things they want to do.”
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chender said the government’s priority is to improve highways and interchanges, which she concedes are important things to do.
“we can bring as many people onto the peninsula as possible . . . but then what are they going to do? how are they going to move, how are they going to get to where they need to go and how are we going to fill jobs? we are hearing from health care, we are hearing from construction that they cannot fill jobs in hrm because people can’t get here, they can’t park here, they can’t afford to live here.”
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