Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
I wouldn't complain if Halifax got rid of its noisy, polluting diesel buses and adopted electric trolleybuses again. The wires wouldn't bother me one little bit...
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Getting super off-topic, butttt....
We're getting to the point where electric buses won't even need wires. HRM just approved a pilot project to get a fully electric bus. Hopefully it goes well and all new bus purchases can start being electric. I think this transition to electric is going to be huge for downtown areas around the world.
On the topic of underground wires: they're about 10 times as expensive as overhead wires. NSP will never put them in themselves, because as a regulated utility all customers are technically paying for them, and they don't really want to justify paying for underground wires in Halifax to their customers in Ecum Secum. So it's up to HRM or developers to pay for undergrounding (which is what happened in the areas of downtown where it's been done). Again, that costs $$$, so the HRM has a priority list of streets to do over time.
Even if someone pays for them, NSP doesn't like them. Underground wires obviously have a lot less go wrong with them, but when something does go wrong they're really expensive to fix. I've heard some rumblings that the underground systems in some of HRM's older suburbs (Cowie Hill and the like) are aging, and when it comes time to replace them NSP will put them above ground.
Personally, I'd like to see them done, especially in high-profile areas (Bishop St. next to Province House being one...). But at the same time, it's a pretty low priority in the grand scheme of things. I don't think the government and residents of this city "lack vision" if we don't run out and underground all the wires today.