Halifax Active Transportation

[Nouvellecosse]

That actually looks pretty good. it fixed the main thing that hampered the effectiveness of the previous set up by adding physical separation. Before there was always at least one or two vehicles stopped in the lane any time I drove down it which kind of negated the purpose of even having it.

[alps]

This looks amazing. I can't wait to try it. Glad to see the network gradually coming together.

[Keith P.]

And just look at all the cyclists using it.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

And just look at all the cyclists using it.

If you build it, they will come (maybe)..........

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

And just look at all the cyclists using it.

1. Ridership follows infrastructure. Give it a bit of time.

2. We're in a pandemic and there's a lot less traffic in general.

2. The middle photo depicts like four blocks of Hollis, and there's only one car in the shot. So by the "no one is using it" logic, we may as well tear up the roadway as well.

[Summerville]

You probably won't see significant use until the Cogswell interchange is completed. But you have to start somewhere.

An interesting discussion which we haven't had is the movement of parking spaces on the street to private parking garages. I don't believe that Halifax has advanced to the point where the public have accepted the requirement that they will have to pay to park.

[Haliguy]

I think when the Cogswell comes down, the Fairview overpass area is redone and there is a continuous bike network from the Bedford Hwy is when you will really see this being used.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Summerville

An interesting discussion which we haven't had is the movement of parking spaces on the street to private parking garages. I don't believe that Halifax has advanced to the point where the public have accepted the requirement that they will have to pay to park.

This is one of those areas where I get confused. One common argument is that Halifax's brutal weather makes walking or biking difficult and pushes people to drive. But then people also prefer on-street parking to covered parking?

(I maintain that the environment in Halifax is not particularly extreme or unusual compared to large parts of North America, Europe, or Asia, and that a lot of preferences are based around historical planning and infrastructure decisions plus resistance to change. Although I think a lot of locals in NS/Halifax argue the area is more "behind" than it is with respect to other cities.)

I should point out that lots of large cities have on-street parking. But not necessarily on every street. And invariably as density goes up, if a significant number still drive, there needs to be structured parking, because there is simply not enough space for cars. If you have a 20-storey building and 50% of people drive to it they can't all find on-street parking close by. So either people park in structured parking or they find some other mode of transportation.

[Keith P.]

The problem with every iteration of the Hollis St bike lanes so far is that they remove not just on-street parking but also on-street stopping for loading and drop-off. Deliveries, couriers, and people not parking for hours at a time but just needing a few minutes to pop in and out of a business or govt office to do business themselves are penalized. Even passenger pick-up and drop-off is a problem because if you can't get to the curb you have to block traffic. It just seems an ill-advised place for such lanes.

I don't think I'm imagining this but I seem to recall that back in the '80s or '90s, Barrington St northbound from SGR was 1-way north. If that was repeated you could take 1 lane of Barrington on the west side from SGR to Cogswell for a 2-way bike lane. South of SGR that could continue at the cost of on-street parking on the west side but that far south it brings less of a punishment for those who park there since there are fewer businesses and it wouldn't need to be more than a few blocks.

[IanWatson]

Loading can definitely be an issue on Hollis. Realistically they should eliminate all on-street parking in the left lane and switch it to stopping only. There are plenty areas within a short walk for parking, but deliveries and drop-offs really need to be close to the building they serve.

Haven't spent enough time down on Hollis recently to see the level of use from cyclists, but I was using the Vernon Street local bikeway the other day and there were tons of other cyclists using it.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

Had to drive downtown at lunch today. Saw that there's good progress on the Hollis Street bike lane. Looking forward to trying it as a cyclist. As a driver, I really like the change; realignment of the lanes means you no longer need to jog back and forth to be in the correct lane to go through intersections.

It's been a while since I drove down Hollis but that's an excellent change. It was a pain for the many months of the year that there's no paint. I rode through the new bike lane the other day and it was awesome - especially coming into the lane from Cogswell St.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

Loading can definitely be an issue on Hollis. Realistically they should eliminate all on-street parking in the left lane and switch it to stopping only. There are plenty areas within a short walk for parking, but deliveries and drop-offs really need to be close to the building they serve.

Haven't spent enough time down on Hollis recently to see the level of use from cyclists, but I was using the Vernon Street local bikeway the other day and there were tons of other cyclists using it.

What exactly do you mean by "Tons of other cyclists using it"? Any more than three is not Tons BTW.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax has announced phase 2 of the slow streets program. In Halifax this means a stretch of closed streets from Cogswell to Leeds (~3.5km). In Dartmouth this means a stretch of closed streets from Alderney Landing to Pinehill Road (~3-4km).

Halifax Mobility Response: Streets and Spaces

Beginning Friday, June 19, 2020, the following streets will be added to the list of slow streets.

Halifax:
• Maynard Street from North to Cogswell streets
• Creighton Street from North to Cogswell streets
• Fuller Terrace from Bloomfield to North streets
• Northwood Terrace from Bloomfield to North streets
• Charles Street from Windsor to Gottingen streets

Dartmouth
• Pine Street from Thistle to Ochterloney streets
• Irishtown Road from Ochterloney to Queen streets
• Queen Street from Alderney Drive to Irishtown Road

On another note the Dutch Village Road Complete Streets Report has been unveiled. It is suggesting a protected bike lane, new sidewalk, and intersection improvements for the section from Alma Crescent to Joseph Howe Drive (southern part of the street).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Cycling on Pine Street from Myrtle to Rose will build up some good quad muscles if you do it every day. Make sure your brakes are good for the way down, though...

[alps]

The plan for Dutch Village Road looks good. If I am interpreting the document correctly, the original design by WSP had the proposed cycle tracks ending well short of Joe Howe and Alma Crescent, with cyclists suddenly being ejected into mixed traffic. But the newer drawings by the city show the protected lanes linking up nicely with the Chain of Lakes Trail (which in turn is supposed to be connected to the future multi-use trail along Bayers Road).

Side note, I just came across this study that identified the South End as the neighbourhood with Halifax's highest rate of cycling (9.4%) in 2016. And that's more or less without any cycling infrastructure in place (aside from the South Park St. bike lane). The cycling rate should increase substantially once the all-ages-and-abilities bikeway network is established.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Halifax has announced phase 2 of the slow streets program. In Halifax this means a stretch of closed streets from Cogswell to Leeds (~3.5km). In Dartmouth this means a stretch of closed streets from Alderney Landing to Pinehill Road (~3-4km).

Halifax Mobility Response: Streets and Spaces

These are quite ridiculous, and should not be referred to as closed streets. Nor should they be referred to as "safe" or "slow" streets because they are not offering any additional safety nor are speeds reduced. I'm not sure anyone within HRM planning knows WTH they are trying to accomplish with these other than to continue the campaign of punishment of motorists. There is no speed limit reduction and no apparent enforcement. Of course most of these streets have minimal traffic in the first place so it is difficult to understand what purpose this serves.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by alps

Side note, I just came across this study that identified the South End as the neighbourhood with Halifax's highest rate of cycling (9.4%) in 2016. And that's more or less without any cycling infrastructure in place (aside from the South Park St. bike lane). The cycling rate should increase substantially once the all-ages-and-abilities bikeway network is established.

I would be interested to see what more current numbers are, Vernon St, Barrington North Greenway, and S. Park are all new since then. I seem to recall a map that showed the area around Quinpool being a particular hotspot.

[Summerville]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

These are quite ridiculous, and should not be referred to as closed streets. Nor should they be referred to as "safe" or "slow" streets because they are not offering any additional safety nor are speeds reduced. I'm not sure anyone within HRM planning knows WTH they are trying to accomplish with these other than to continue the campaign of punishment of motorists. There is no speed limit reduction and no apparent enforcement. Of course most of these streets have minimal traffic in the first place so it is difficult to understand what purpose this serves.

I am willing to bet that they are for the most part, experiments. The narrowing of Spring Garden Road and Quinpool Road were actually planned, but to be honest, the plans are based on theory. Which I admit dovetails into your feelings about planning dogma, whether correct or not.

The reconstruction of Barrington Street near the MacDonald bridge only came to fruition after the city analyzed the traffic data during the period in which hoarding had been put in place for DND's wall reconstruction project. When they looked at the numbers, they realized that the bus lane and multi-use path were do-able.

What better time to experiment than now....but of course, traffic on the peninsula is lower the average right now.

[atbw]

Some infrastructure updates around Spring Garden:

Intersection of Dresden and Sackville is getting signals, making it possible to turn left from Dresden and for pedestrians to cross.

Further up, the South Park bike lane is going to be continued up to Sackville, along with upgrades to that intersection to make it safer.

[alps]

I posted on Twitter that I hoped to see a connection built between COLT and Long Lake Provincial Park:



If another link was eventually built across the 102 to the linear trail in Clayton Park, it would create a pretty impressive cycling network linking up Spryfield, Bayers Lake, Clayton Park, Fairview, etc.

Shawn Cleary replied with a project I hadn't heard of before, the Dunbrack Greenway – a new multi-use path running along Dunbrack from COLT to Walter Havill Drive. He said construction will take place this summer. It will allow access to COLT from the Stoneridge subdivision, but unfortunately will not connect to Long Lake Provincial Park (there is no park entrance at the junction of Walter Havill Dr./Dunbrack/Albert Walker Dr.):



(twitter thread)
(tender documents)