[someone123]

I wonder if this new council will finally be able to move the needle on transit and push for a transportation authority and regional transportation planning (maybe in conjunction with the provincial government)? This was an area of perennial failure for past councils which messed around for decades with fast ferry and commuter rail studies without ever truly grasping the big picture of regional growth, intermodal connections, and future transit-oriented development or neighbourhood revitalization.

I see that Lindell Smith's platform included transit for example but there aren't a lot of specifics. Watts struck me as a small-town councillor who seemed to operate as though she were in a much smaller city. McCluskey was like this too. Halifax is too big now for tweaks to bus routes and bike lanes to fix its transportation problems. Could this be an age thing? Or maybe it is just an issue of homeowner bias; people who already have houses may have shorter commutes and may care less about traffic. Younger people are stuck working more, paying more, and moving farther out.

I also wonder if this council will be willing, as a whole, to continue to invest extra money into the regional centre, with the understanding that spending there benefits everyone. 2012-2016 seemed better for this but in the past dollars were doled out by district, not spent to generate good value for dollar. In 2008 they could have renamed regional council to the "suburban recreation infrastructure board".

Given the size and development patterns in Halifax I think there will need to be different approaches to transportation infrastructure in different parts of the city. There will be no one-size-fits-all grand LRT or subway plan like you see in some big cities and cities with simpler geography and transportation networks. Maybe some areas will get ferries, others will get BRT, others commuter rail, and others LRT or streetcars. For that to work there has to be a sense of regional priorities and a willingness to cooperate.