Halifax Active Transportation

[OldDartmouthMark]

Is the tender for anything more than curb and sidewalk?

[fatscat]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Is the tender for anything more than curb and sidewalk?

It's a lot

* Bike lanes on both sides of the road, which connect to the COLT
* Beautification of the strip with additional benches, trees
* Removal of illegal parking (see the parking in front of the unit off Rosedale) and introduction of parallel parking
* Shorter crossing distances for pedestrians as they leave the Fairview neighbourhood and cross onto Dutch Village
* Relocation of the "Fairview" sign
* Road maintains a single (proper) lane of traffic in each direction but likely tightens up enough that drivers can no longer sneak past those turning left into Fairview. This is an often hazardous practice drivers take.
* Possible removal of the ability to illegally turn left into Sunnybrae from Dutch Village (drivers were bypassing the existing median by doing a very sharp turn)
* Removal of two slip lanes (the only two in the stretch)
* Some land acquisition as part of the process
* And of course, yes, sidewalk on the former Halifax County side

[IanWatson]

It even has... bumpouts

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

It even has... bumpouts

God help us all.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

God help us all.

The war on the car continues (and accelerates).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by fatscat

It's a lot

* Bike lanes on both sides of the road, which connect to the COLT
* Beautification of the strip with additional benches, trees
* Removal of illegal parking (see the parking in front of the unit off Rosedale) and introduction of parallel parking
* Shorter crossing distances for pedestrians as they leave the Fairview neighbourhood and cross onto Dutch Village
* Relocation of the "Fairview" sign
* Road maintains a single (proper) lane of traffic in each direction but likely tightens up enough that drivers can no longer sneak past those turning left into Fairview. This is an often hazardous practice drivers take.
* Possible removal of the ability to illegally turn left into Sunnybrae from Dutch Village (drivers were bypassing the existing median by doing a very sharp turn)
* Removal of two slip lanes (the only two in the stretch)
* Some land acquisition as part of the process
* And of course, yes, sidewalk on the former Halifax County side

Thanks for the comprehensive list. I appreciate it!

Glad they are doing this, as the street is in desperate need of a makeover. I don’t think the bumpouts are a big deal here - it’s a way different situation than Maple St. Squeezing out drivers from getting around left turners will be frustrating for some, but humans are infinitely adaptable, so I suspect it will be business as usual a month or so after it’s done.

Look forward to seeing it done.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Glad they are doing this, as the street is in desperate need of a makeover. I don’t think the bumpouts are a big deal here - it’s a way different situation than Maple St. Squeezing out drivers from getting around left turners will be frustrating for some, but humans are infinitely adaptable, so I suspect it will be business as usual a month or so after it’s done.

I'm familiar with this stretch of road. My girlfriend (future wife) lived in an apartment building just a little bit up the hill. It's been needing serious upgrades for at least the last 35 years. It's finally happening.

I will reserve judgement on the road diet and bump outs. It may improve the pedestrian realm, but I fear congestion may worsen.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Yup, I lived in the area for a couple of years in the 1990s. This is long overdue.

[fatscat]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

It even has... bumpouts

There are no bump outs in the design similar to what we've seen on Maple. Vehicles have pretty consistent flow. The bump outs you may be seeing in the drawings are for parallel parking. Crossings are also bumped out a bit but not in a way that would impact traffic.

I imagine traffic will be net neutral after this is done. The removal of slip lanes will mean better control of vehicles in both those areas. Currently people jam up the slip lane to get onto Joe Howe (102 ramp) or the opposite side, trying to get off DVR and into the WSE/MacKay Bridge. This causes issues at the adjacent lights. In both scenarios if the lights are well calibrated I suspect this will have an improved performance for traffic low.

As I mentioned there may no longer be opportunity for vehicles to slip past those turning left into Fairview (as the lanes will be tightened). This is not a significant form of traffic in this stretch but it is there, and if vehicles can no longer slip past I can see potential for backlog.

However, in the majority of cases those turning left usually can manage once a pedestrian crosses, as this pauses vehicles in the opposite direction. So perhaps with improved pedestrian access we will see benefits from that control as well.

All just guessing but as there are no lanes removed and controls are improved, I suspect a neutral traffic result.

[IanWatson]

It may even improve. The uncontrolled and illegal parking at various places along DVR is a huge headache for driving.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by fatscat

As I mentioned there may no longer be opportunity for vehicles to slip past those turning left into Fairview (as the lanes will be tightened). This is not a significant form of traffic in this stretch but it is there, and if vehicles can no longer slip past I can see potential for backlog.

However, in the majority of cases those turning left usually can manage once a pedestrian crosses, as this pauses vehicles in the opposite direction. So perhaps with improved pedestrian access we will see benefits from that control as well.

Also, I find that if traffic is heavy, drivers moving in the opposite direction will sometimes stop and let the left-turner go on their way, relieving the backup. I think this might be one way in which drivers adapt to the new situation. We'll see what happens, I suppose, but either way I think it's an overall improvement.

[Keith P.]

What I find rather amazing is that the City of Halifax absorbed the part of DVR that used to be Halifax County a half-century ago. Yet it did nothing to improve the street. I'm surprised the property owners there were not breaking down the doors of City Hall to demand changes. Reflects very badly on all the council members over the years who supposedly represented them.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

I'm posting a few pics of a sidewalk and bus stop in Burnside. You can see how well used the sidewalk is and imagine how nasty it gets when in rain or snow. It's well known that Burnside is a huge contributor to our economy and is in fact the largest park of its kind in Atlantic Canada. How is it that the many workers who have trodden this pathway and bus stop don't deserve a decent sidewalk or bus stop? Is this not an obvious place to spend any available dollars?

20240620_110754 by AJ Forsythe, on Flickr


20240620_110832 by AJ Forsythe, on Flickr


20240620_110936 by AJ Forsythe, on Flickr

[Keith P.]

I don’t know exactly where that is but it reminds me of a similar bus stop I worked near to in BLIP. Every afternoon I’d see workers leaving their offices across the street and trying to get to the stop. They would have to walk across the lawn in front of their building, walk down into the ditch next to the street, and then climb up the bank to get to the bus stop on the shoulder. Absolutely ridiculous.

[Dmajackson]

That looks like it might be Windmill Road near Ralston Avenue (Harbour Isle). If so they are starting a functional plan for the street;

https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/windmill-road

[OldDartmouthMark]

That could be many locations in Burnside. It always amazed and frustrated me that sidewalks were left off many busy areas, especially those streets served by transit. Here you have a busy bus stop in a busy industrial park, and no easy way to get there. In winter it was even worse, yet we want to encourage people to get out of their cars and take the bus. Not to mention those who couldn't afford a car. I do know that they have added some sidewalks in Burnside in recent years, but the coverage still leaves something to be desired.

Bicycling has never been a good option there. I had an acquaintance who biked from north end Halifax to Burnside every day, but eventually he gave up on it as the routes weren't great, and thus it took a lot of time to get back and forth, and safety was sketchy. He also got tired of arriving to work sweaty and soaked (in bad weather), so eventually he gave in and bought a cheap car.

Transit frequency wasn't so great back then either. Not sure what it is like today, but if one worked late, buses were few and far between, and the feeling of waiting around a dark, remote bus stop in Burnside at night wasn't the best from a safety point of view. Not to mention you were tired and just wanted to get home to eat and spend time with family members. Waiting at a cold, dark bus stop wasn't on the list of places you'd like to be at that moment.