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Originally Posted by Summerville
It would seem that a lot of the griping is about what is going on now. But in reality is the city spending more on new roads and rebuilding roads than bike lanes? Per capita? Most definitely. Think of the cost of the new burnside connector.
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The Burnside connector is a provincial project, made necessary by the suburban growth that has taken place over the last couple of decades and the lack of prior investment in highways. The same needs to be done with the proposed but long-delayed connection between the 103 and 102 to replace the antiquated Hammonds Plains Rd., for the same reason. We also need a third bridge across the harbor for similar reasons. Bike lanes on those routes are going to do nothing to improve the lot of suburbanites.
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The AT plan is designed to get people out of their cars. The suburbs are growing and the arteries into the peninsula are already getting overwhelmed with cars.
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Growth is growth. HRM can try to discourage it or guide it but to date have been unable to stem it, and their thirst for revenue will mean it is going to keep happening. Not everyone can or wants to live on the peninsula. But many of them are forced to work there, so they need to get there. Few are going to cycle there. So you need other ways. This is where HRM has fallen on its face. Narrowing streets for bike lanes negatively impacts not only cars but also commercial vehicles and buses. We are already seeing people avoid the peninsula because of these changes and it will only get worse with time.
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The city is monitoring traffic flow where bike lanes have been built and nothing has changed for the worse.
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That is clearly not so. Look at spots like Robie and Young, where movement on Young St is essentially halted much of the time thanks to elimination of turning lanes. While there have been a few instances where a street had been overbuilt in the 1960s/70s in anticipation of widening of connecting sections that never happened, those instances are rare. Expropriation may be required in spots if HRM is determined for this to continue - places like the intersection of Robie and North, and much of North St itself for starters.
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