Cogswell Interchange

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Imagine, after so many years of blaming the Cogswell Interchange for all of the woes of the north end to plunk down a big block busting arena on the site. Talk about cutting off the north end from downtown!

I'm a fan of the Forum/Post Office/ Bragg site as an entertainment district inclusive of a stadium, arena and performance venues. This location has decent roadways on/off the peninsula, Robie BRT route and perhaps eventually LRT, and it is walking distance to/from most anywhere on the peninsula (for those who like to walk). I see no other appropriate site on the peninsula. My second choice would be Woodside area.

I don't see it cutting off the north end at all if done right. I see as bringing it together even more with a large event complex in the middle. I mean what's there now, the Trade Mart building is worse than what a new arena would be there.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Imagine, after so many years of blaming the Cogswell Interchange for all of the woes of the north end to plunk down a big block busting arena on the site. Talk about cutting off the north end from downtown!

I'm a fan of the Forum/Post Office/ Bragg site as an entertainment district inclusive of a stadium, arena and performance venues. This location has decent roadways on/off the peninsula, Robie BRT route and perhaps eventually LRT, and it is walking distance to/from most anywhere on the peninsula (for those who like to walk). I see no other appropriate site on the peninsula. My second choice would be Woodside area.

Ha! That’s a great point for anyone who remembers the Cogswell discussion from back when it was decided to demolish the old interchange rather than spend more money to repair/maintain it. It actually reminds me to take note of whether the neighbourhood north of Cogswell does just become an extension of downtown, as was the main selling point for the project, IIRC.

I am also a proponent of the Canada Post site for such uses, for all the reasons that you state.

[someone123]

That "superblock" with Canada Post seems like a great spot for a stadium and related development. Lots of land without areas that would be disturbed by development, good transportation connections, downtown adjacent. I wonder if an (NHL-ready) arena could replace the Trade Mart.

[Phalanx]

Originally Posted by someone123

That "superblock" with Canada Post seems like a great spot for a stadium and related development. Lots of land without areas that would be disturbed by development, good transportation connections, downtown adjacent. I wonder if an (NHL-ready) arena could replace the Trade Mart.

Waye Mason recently posted an archive of old, publicly released reports that are no longer available on the city's site. Among them was the old (2007) "WTCC Expansion and Metro Centre II Feasibility Study".

The study included several potential sites starting on page 163. The Trade Mart site is on page 177. The conclusion there was that at 15k seat arena would fit, but be somewhat constrained so it would be difficult to provide additional amenities.

[IanWatson]

The Barrington transit mall and the connection to Cogswell Street both opened back up on Monday.

[Keith P.]

Work is still going on to give the bus shelters walls and roofs to let them actually provide some shelter. CBC says they are supposed to get heat at some point too which will make them popular among certain groups that are found downtown.

[MonctonDowntown]

I've been looking at the Cogswell District webcam on a regular basis. The images from the three webcams has been incredible. (See screenshot from webcam 1 below)

Can someone do me a favour as I don't live in Halifax and post some pics at street level. It would be very interesting to see what the area looks like looking north from Lower Water Street, Hollis Street and Granville Streets from approximately the far right side of the image below...

http://ibb.co/tPFVfjt6

[Wannabe Economist]

I took these pictures last night. The area bound by Cogswell, Barrington, and Lower Water looks ready to go. When are these lots being sold?

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Wannabe Economist

I took these pictures last night. The area bound by Cogswell, Barrington, and Lower Water looks ready to go. When are these lots being sold?

It's nice see the City investing in relatively mature trees.

[someone123]

It's a huge improvement over the interchange but still seems poorly integrated with the neighbours. It would make sense to overhaul Purdy's and Scotia Square and get rid of the pedway but I'm not sure we've heard anything about that. They could have put underground paths farther north.

The grassy areas don't really seem appropriate for a downtown highrise setting. It should be busy and if it is the grass will turn into a mud pit. Then again, that is minor in the end as they can always redo it.

I'm not sure about the parcels but it seems strange to add all the landscaping then look for developers. Isn't it more efficient to tailor aspects like the sidewalks and utilities to the actual developments?

Then another problem is the prescriptiveness of the height and density planning for this area. Nobody could have predicted the city's growth and it took many years to develop this so it's out of date. And there doesn't seem to be any sense of adding public buildings or landmarks here.

[Empire]

I think the grassy areas are misguided. It isn't really a usable space and will require constant maintenance, which HRM is poor at. This area should have been intergraded into Historic properties with a granite plaza if not reconstructed historic buildings. It would be nice to tender expressions of interest for some sites. HRM could choose the best proposal such as a signature hotel thereby having some input/guidance to the development.

Also, the sidewalk on the Barrington side of the triangular lot where International Place was proposed or the next block north, is now occupied by back-to-back small bus shelters. (as you can see in the first photo) Seems like this would be a barrier for a new development.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Empire

I think the grassy areas are misguided. It isn't really a usable space and will require constant maintenance, which HRM is poor at. This area should have been intergraded into Historic properties with a granite plaza if not reconstructed historic buildings. It would be nice to tender expressions of interest for some sites. HRM could choose the best proposal such as a signature hotel thereby having some input/guidance to the development.

Adding granite pavers would have been a way to bring back some of the history that was lost in this area. That is what used to cover many of these streets. It could have been thoughtfully designed as a plaza with accessible walking paths and bike routes.

That area around Historic Properties should be somehow expanded and enhanced. It could look like building some facades like Press Block at the base of new buildings. If the height limits were taller then there would be more money for high quality finishes. We know there's demand for 40 storey towers in this area. A signature mixed use tower could have been a major new landmark for the city.

The bus infrastructure probably should have gone underground. If the city's transit planning were farther along there would have been a plan for connecting this area, somehow, to a dedicated ROW running along Robie. A single line running from Cogswell out to Robie and eventually Lacewood (maybe looping around the city centre to cover the hospitals and universities) would be a great start for a system. It's possible there would have been cost savings from roughing in infrastructure while this area was torn up.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

It's nice see the City investing in relatively mature trees.

Just so they can be taken down if/when the lots are sold for development.

It looks quite unimpressive compared to the vision of a land of milk and honey sold to the public by Council and the planning dept.

[someone123]

I thought this was an interesting photo of the new road network:


Source

I'm a bit surprised by the roundabout on what seems like an intersection of a major artery with comparatively minor side streets.

The Trade Mart block and area below to Barrington seems quite large here.

[Empire]

Originally Posted by someone123

I thought this was an interesting photo of the new road network:


Source

I'm a bit surprised by the roundabout on what seems like an intersection of a major artery with comparatively minor side streets.

The Trade Mart block and area below to Barrington seems quite large here.

Fortunate that there are a handful of native maple trees to hide the hideous sewage treatment plant. Seems like the dedicated bus lane is overkill considering many people disregard it.

[gehrhardt]

Originally Posted by Empire

Seems like the dedicated bus lane is overkill considering many people disregard it.

A lot of people do still disregard the new bus lanes but it's been getting better since they repainted the lines. I guess the next step would be to paint it red. Then it's just the people who don't care that'll still do it. There are plenty of those though.

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by gehrhardt

A lot of people do still disregard the new bus lanes but it's been getting better since they repainted the lines. I guess the next step would be to paint it red. Then it's just the people who don't care that'll still do it. There are plenty of those though.

I'm hoping people will disregard it less when Nora Bernard St. is actually open. Although props to the bus driver yesterday who held his horn for three solid minutes when he was sitting in car traffic in the bus lane. Yes, it sucks sitting in traffic, but the whole point is to improve transit flow. As a driver I believe the 40+ people in the bus should move faster than us.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by someone123

I'm a bit surprised by the roundabout on what seems like an intersection of a major artery with comparatively minor side streets.

If it is anything like the double lane dog bone roundabout at the Harrisville Blvd/Dieppe Blvd interchange with Highway 15 here in Moncton, you will find that tractor trailers frequently require both traffic lanes when negotiating the roundabout.

It is enough of a problem here that they have erected signage to remind drivers to give the large trucks the right of way (in both lanes) in the roundabout.

Given this is the way that container trucks exit the downtown from Halterm, this could indeed be an issue.

[MonctonDowntown]

Deleted.

[MonctonDowntown]

In regards to Keith P's post above about the trees, I don't believe the new trees planted will be later removed by development. Look at the webcam in the link below. The trees are located in the grassy areas that are not going to be developed and curb side where developments will be going.

https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/reg...ojects/cogswell-district-redevelopment-6