General Updates and News

[Colin May]

Cyclists and how they threaten pedestrians every day : https://twitter.com/NFBUK/status/1642783101381222400

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Colin May

Cyclists and how they threaten pedestrians every day : https://twitter.com/NFBUK/status/1642783101381222400

Oh My, I believe the Brits would call the situation a bit of bollocks.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Looks like the old Holiday Inn (DoubleTree by Hilton) on Wyse Rd. in Dartmouth is transitioning to be 100% homeless shelter.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-hotel-temporary-housing-need-1.6818761

Nova Scotia's government says a Halifax-area hotel that's already been housing some homeless people will soon become a full-fledged shelter and health clinic.

The Progressive Conservative government announced Friday it's signed a deal worth $10 million to lease all 190 rooms inside the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Dartmouth, N.S., from May 1 until March 24, 2024.

Many homeless people had already been staying at the Hilton, in rooms rented by the government, but the hotel had continued to remain open to the public.

When the clinic opens, Health Minister Michelle Thompson says it will serve as a source of temporary support for people who need help with mental illnesses, divert people from crowded emergency departments, and help lessen the length of hospital stays for homeless people.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Looks like the old Holiday Inn (DoubleTree by Hilton) on Wyse Rd. in Dartmouth is transitioning to be 100% homeless shelter.
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It's gone. They need to take the Doubletree logos off the building to ensure that travelers coming upon it do not stop there in hopes of using it as a hotel. It needs large featureless blue PNS signage.

[Dmajackson]

Building permit;

3521 WINDSOR ST, HALIFAX - $21'000'000 - Dwelling - Multiple Units - Residential Use - 117 Units - 7 Floors - Construct 7 storey 117 unit Residential Building

This was applied for in 2021 but it now appears to be moving ahead. There is a demolition permit for the existing multi-units at the corner of Strawberry Hill Street.

Retail permit;

2405 AGRICOLA STREET (formerly Yasmine Grocery) will be home to a wine bar.

[bartekci]

Nice to see a right-sized development on that stretch of Windsor. Absolutely needs it.

Next up, get Kempt built up .. but I think getting the land from the O'Regan's will be difficult (and costly)

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by fatscat

Nice to see a right-sized development on that stretch of Windsor. Absolutely needs it.

The density is good, but they'll be tearing down the three-storey apartment buildings currently there (which probably rent fairly cheaply) for only a seven-storey building. Probably just a few dozen additional units, and some non-insignificant displacement of renters. Meanwhile, this stretch still has single-family houses. It's too bad we're seeing affordable rental stock getting cannibalized for only modestly denser and less affordable stock, especially given all the low-density stuff still around and ripe for replacement.

[someone123]

If the lot coverage is low and/or there is an opportunity for thoughtful adaptive reuse then adding a 7 storey building can be great. But for the clean slate teardown and rebuild style, 7 storeys is almost a pathologically bad height to allow that maximizes building costs and disruption.

I don't think the Centre Plan grappled with these trade-offs and the fine-grained nature of development very effectively. It looked a bit like a block-level or district-level plan for some kind of new city that happened to have a quirky street network and some parks in place.

[bartekci]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

The density is good, but they'll be tearing down the three-storey apartment buildings currently there (which probably rent fairly cheaply) for only a seven-storey building. Probably just a few dozen additional units, and some non-insignificant displacement of renters. Meanwhile, this stretch still has single-family houses. It's too bad we're seeing affordable rental stock getting cannibalized for only modestly denser and less affordable stock, especially given all the low-density stuff still around and ripe for replacement.

Great point. I had assumed it was an empty lot / previously existing SFH. Hard to see if this in particular is progress!

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

I found it interesting to hear in a video on CBC Halifax (April 24th) that the Port of Halifax is planning on building a cruise ship docking facility on George's Island. I listened to that portion of the video a few times as it seems to me a bit 'out there' in terms of how I view the island and also the logistlcs of moving passengers back and forth from the main terminal. As talked about before, a docking facility on the Dartmouth side of the harbour was mentioned too but it sounded to me like it would be further into the future than the George's Island facility.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

I found it interesting to hear in a video on CBC Halifax (April 24th) that the Port of Halifax is planning on building a cruise ship docking facility on George's Island.

Please tell us this is a joke. Georges is a national historic site. Also doesn't sound even remotely feasible anyway.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Eek! Sounds a bit 'out there' to me. Perhaps they were just talking about being an excursion destination for cruise ship visitors?

[mleblanc]

I couldn't believe it either so I went hunting for the video: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2197719107815

It says "They don't ever want to turn away a ship, and are planning to expand berths for cruise ships to George's Island and one day, Dartmouth" at the last few seconds. I'm willing to bet it was just a misinterpretation, I can't see how that would ever make sense.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

I couldn't believe it either so I went hunting for the video: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2197719107815

It says "They don't ever want to turn away a ship, and are planning to expand berths for cruise ships to George's Island and one day, Dartmouth" at the last few seconds. I'm willing to bet it was just a misinterpretation, I can't see how that would ever make sense.

Just watched the clip. That explains it, I think. I'm 100% certain that that snippet about Georges was just Marie Adsett's muddle-brained misinterpretation of something she was told. She is decidedly not a bright journalistic light.

The idea is utterly nonsensical - the nonsense product of a clueless reporter.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by mleblanc

I couldn't believe it either so I went hunting for the video: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2197719107815

It says "They don't ever want to turn away a ship, and are planning to expand berths for cruise ships to George's Island and one day, Dartmouth" at the last few seconds. I'm willing to bet it was just a misinterpretation, I can't see how that would ever make sense.

Pretty sure this is a misinterpretation or miswording by that reporter. I heard CBC radio yesterday morning talking to the port representative. He said they didn't ever want to turn away a ship, and were planning on tendering a berth OFF of George's Island, and passengers would be shuttled from ship to harbourfront by boat.

[Jstaleness]

Is it that time of year to discuss the quality of the paint HRM uses for street/crosswalk markings? Oh my gawd, why does it seem worse this year? In some places there are none left, and on night drives lanes don't exist. It's embarrassing to see comments from locals and tourists about this, year after year, and nothing changes.!!!

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Is it that time of year to discuss the quality of the paint HRM uses for street/crosswalk markings? Oh my gawd, why does it seem worse this year? In some places there are none left, and on night drives lanes don't exist. It's embarrassing to see comments from locals and tourists about this, year after year, and nothing changes.!!!

Too true. It's not just embarrassing; in certain circumstances, it's extremely dangerous. And not just HRM - the province too.

I had to drive to and from the airport at night, in a downpour, a while back. On lengthy stretches of the 102 between Miller Lake and YHZ I could see virtually nothing in the way of lane markings and it was nearly impossible to distinguish pavement from ditch. At points it was downright scary.

Other nearby provinces and states with similar climates don't seem to have nearly the difficulty we do in maintaining road markings. Are we really just that cheap that we can't do it right?

[OldDartmouthMark]

I heard several years ago that the quick deterioration of road paint was the result of the requirement for more 'environmentally friendly' paints. IIRC, this wasn't so much of an issue back when they could just use the best formulation for the job.

But yeah, I agree. What they have going on now is unacceptable.

Though I can see it being entirely possible that there are really good paints out there that meet environmental requirements, but the govt doesn't want to spend the money on it.

I've also noticed that a lot of bike lane paint has been worn off, which is a safety issue for cyclists.

[Keith P.]

The most quickly-deteriorated road paint I have ever seen is whatever was used to paint the large arrowheads on Sam Austin's anti-motorist but otherwise useless "speed tables" in his Dartmouth district. Those went in just prior to the start of winter in 2022 and now after about 6 months barely a single trace of paint remains. I guess 6 figures worth of HRM money doesn't buy what it once did.

[gehrhardt]

The worst place for line paint deterioration that I've seen is the lane shift at the Quinpool/Robie intersection, heading north on Robie. You could still make out some of the dots, but not well enough if you didn't expect it.

I have seen people ignore the shift so often that I just assume it will happen now. I went through there on Wednesday and it looks like they've finally repainted. Not sure how much of a difference it will make overall, though. Signs don't seem to help.