[Halifax] Nova Centre | 65-58-58 m | 16-15-14 fl | Completed

[Jonovision]

Construction has been going full tilt to get it Argyle ready for its opening on the 4th.

20171027_132811 by Jonovision23, on Flickr

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Duff

Insane!

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by miesh111

There's actually a lot of parking downtown. Just not a lot of "free" parking downtown. Also, Nova Centre actually will add a couple hundred parking stalls here that were not here before.

People need to stop complaining that there's no parking, when what they mean is, "I don't want to pay for parking".

The streets are not just for cars, they're for people too, and, quite frankly, I'll gladly hide my car underground so that I can have a more dynamic experience streetside.

Look at that picture of Grafton. Last time I checked it was a 2-way street. How are 2 lanes of traffic supposed to pass on it now?

As for parking, the reality is that the spots that used to be on Argyle and Grafton were always very well-used. By people patronizing those businesses for the most part. Those people now will likely go elsewhere. That is reality in this town.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Look at that picture of Grafton. Last time I checked it was a 2-way street. How are 2 lanes of traffic supposed to pass on it now?

In the photo right above your post there are cars in there that show the scale. It doesn't look at all hard for two-way traffic to happen. They'll have to go slow, but that's specifically the purpose.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

In the photo right above your post there are cars in there that show the scale. It doesn't look at all hard for two-way traffic to happen. They'll have to go slow, but that's specifically the purpose.

They will either be driving on the sidewalk or, when one of the large food delivery trucks stops to do its job, make it a one-way street. Not to mention the issue of snowbanks during the winter. Ridiculous.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

They will either be driving on the sidewalk or, when one of the large food delivery trucks stops to do its job, make it a one-way street. Not to mention the issue of snowbanks during the winter. Ridiculous.

It's all part of the modern urban "War on the Car" Keith, get used to it. Similar things are happening in Moncton.

[Phalanx]

It's not a 'war on the car', as much as some people would like to frame it that way. It's hyperbolic nonsense. It's a rebalancing and acknowledgement that pedestrians (and cyclist, and mass transit) are important to the vitality of a city, too, and not everything needs to revolve around car convenience.

The vast majority of transit infrastructure is still built around the car, and that's not going to change.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Phalanx

It's not a 'war on the car', as much as some people would like to frame it that way. It's hyperbolic nonsense. It's a rebalancing and acknowledgement that pedestrians (and cyclist, and mass transit) are important to the vitality of a city, too, and not everything needs to revolve around car convenience.

The vast majority of transit infrastructure is still built around the car, and that's not going to change.

Clearly it is a war on the car and not just this instance. The north side of this street is hardly a pedestrian-centric place yet it has a wider sidewalk than much of SGR. You also have the only entrance to the Prince George parking garage there which may become inaccessible in the instances I noted above. Lovely.

It is simply foolish pandering to a certain agenda.

That aside, why not just make it one lane, one way and be done with it?

[q12]

Source Twitter:
https://twitter.com/tjhfx/status/924781750806630400


Source Twitter:
https://twitter.com/tjhfx/status/924769415174017024

^I really like this and I also think a one way street is the way to go.

[Franco401]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Clearly it is a war on the car and not just this instance. The north side of this street is hardly a pedestrian-centric place yet it has a wider sidewalk than much of SGR. You also have the only entrance to the Prince George parking garage there which may become inaccessible in the instances I noted above. Lovely.

It is simply foolish pandering to a certain agenda.

That aside, why not just make it one lane, one way and be done with it?

What agenda? What pedestrian-friendly boogeyman are people so afraid of?

[q12]

• Video Link

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Insane!

Looks great! What an improvement to what was there before.

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The north side of this street is hardly a pedestrian-centric place yet it has a wider sidewalk than much of SGR.

There will be patios. You can see the line in the brick that defines the patio space.

[miesh111]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Clearly it is a war on the car and not just this instance. The north side of this street is hardly a pedestrian-centric place yet it has a wider sidewalk than much of SGR. You also have the only entrance to the Prince George parking garage there which may become inaccessible in the instances I noted above. Lovely.

It is simply foolish pandering to a certain agenda.

That aside, why not just make it one lane, one way and be done with it?

There's no pandering to any agenda. I'm as pro-development as it gets, never take transit or use the bike lanes. But giving priority to pedestrians, bicycles, buses, and such just makes plain sense. And, you can't really go that fast down these streets right now anyway. This is not a Halifax pandering solution. This is Halifax catching up to cities that have done similar things 20-30 years ago. Quebec city recognized their central area and actually closes the streets off after peek delivery time. Old Montreal does the same. All over Europe this is happening. We have recognized that business does better when people can walk around and access them in large numbers, not when one person can park right outside, run in, and leave. Most of the businesses in this area are experiential, meaning you don't stop in front for 15 minutes and pick something up, you go in, have a drink, watch a show, eat a meal, etc. and this type of streetscape caters to thousands every summer that do that. Not the few of you driving by in your cars complaining about delivery trucks and parking.

[mleblanc]

Originally Posted by miesh111

There's no pandering to any agenda. I'm as pro-development as it gets, never take transit or use the bike lanes. But giving priority to pedestrians, bicycles, buses, and such just makes plain sense. And, you can't really go that fast down these streets right now anyway. This is not a Halifax pandering solution. This is Halifax catching up to cities that have done similar things 20-30 years ago. Quebec city recognized their central area and actually closes the streets off after peek delivery time. Old Montreal does the same. All over Europe this is happening. We have recognized that business does better when people can walk around and access them in large numbers, not when one person can park right outside, run in, and leave. Most of the businesses in this area are experiential, meaning you don't stop in front for 15 minutes and pick something up, you go in, have a drink, watch a show, eat a meal, etc. and this type of streetscape caters to thousands every summer that do that. Not the few of you driving by in your cars complaining about delivery trucks and parking.

Summed up perfectly. Most modern cities have lost the art of the plaza, and it's great they are attempting to go in the right direction. This is a great addition to the downtown core. That Planifax episode does a good job explaining the new traffic rules for the street, but I hope some better signage will pop up soon.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

Summed up perfectly. Most modern cities have lost the art of the plaza, and it's great they are attempting to go in the right direction. This is a great addition to the downtown core. That Planifax episode does a good job explaining the new traffic rules for the street, but I hope some better signage will pop up soon.

It would be nice to expand this area to encompass the Grand Parade and tie it in with Province House, the waterfront, and Granville Mall.

Another change that could be good would be to add more scramble intersections. The idea with them is to close the whole intersection down to pedestrians every so often instead of having pedestrians cross with vehicle traffic. I have noticed this works well even on smaller streets, and it's convenient to be able to cross diagonally. The important thing I guess is that there needs to be a significant flow of pedestrian traffic along both axes. Scrambles don't seem to have much of a net impact on vehicle traffic, perhaps partly because you can eliminate problems with turning. A lot of accidents seem to happen when cars are turning and cross pedestrian traffic.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Looks great! What an improvement to what was there before.

Its great! The Cogswell redevelopment should take some notes.

I didn't think they'd pull off the convention space as well as they have!

[OldDartmouthMark]

I see it as only increasing the functionality of the streets. There were relatively few functional parking spaces anyhow and the parked cars just used up valuable space and made it a pain to drop off or pick up passengers. Not to mention a real pain for the delivery truck drivers. Watched in amazement one day as a Sysco driver had to pull off an amazing feat to get his truck into the Prince George while avoiding the parked cars.

Not to mention the expense that business owners had to go through installing and tearing down their patios each year.

Honestly, this is probably the greatest improvement to the downtown in a long long time.

[MonctonRad]

I really have very little problem with "shared space" roadways, as long as they are located on side streets where there is relatively little vehicular traffic.

There is a similar project (occurring in three phases) in Moncton - Downing Street. This will extend from city hall on Main Street, past the Blue Cross Centre, down to Assumption Blvd and will connect directly to the riverfront park. The first phase is complete, and is similar to the project in Halifax with high quality pavers, no curbs, and a shared roadway concept. The street will be open to vehicular traffic most of the time, but can be closed easily to make a completely pedestrian space when downtown festivals occur.

[Keith P.]

I loved the shot in the propaganda video where the clueless pedestrians stepped in front of a moving Jeep and forced the driver to slam on the brakes.