Planning underway for new commuter ferry between Bedford and Halifax

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The Province is about to dismantle the parking garage at the QEII. One would think HRM would be interested in acquiring those components for this, even if they just store them on the nearby St Pats lands for a few years since it seems that will never get developed in our lifetimes.

How much of that is reusable, though? Other than some well-used entrance and exit equipment, it's just a concrete structure, no?

[Norton97]

The Robie Street Parkade at the Halifax Infirmary is a pre-cast structure. Like lego blocks, the panels were assembled onsite. Theoretically, they could be disassembled and reassembled in another location, but it is not practically to do so.

[OldDartmouthMark]

That's interesting. My impression of pre-cast is that it is usually custom-cast (often poured on-site in the case of tilt-ups) for a particular application. Did not know you could disassemble, take to another site, and reassemble. Good to know.

[Norton97]

No, pre-cast is just that. In this area, they are made in the Strescon factory in Bedford and trucked to site, whether it be parkade or building sections or bridge components, etc.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Indeed, this is true. But, and I ask this genuine interest, does anyone think that there is appeal in parking on the far side of a surface lot on a slushy day, bitter cold day, hot sunny day, etc., enough that would convince them to pay $5.00 on a ferry ride rather than put that $ towards parking underground at or very near their work location? Being too frugal can be a recipe for failure.

HRM and the Transit division have never been concerned with customer appeal or client satisfaction. As an example see the uncomfortable wooden park bench seating on the current ferries or for that matter the even more uncomfortable upright plastic seating on the previous barges. Or the outdoor "terminals" that are often nothing more than paved areas with no shelter and no conveniences whatsoever. It is a service of last resort.

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

As an example see the uncomfortable wooden park bench seating on the current ferries or for that matter the even more uncomfortable upright plastic seating on the previous barges.

Interesting observation. I commuted on the ferries every working day for over a decade and never had a problem with the seating.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Norton97

No, pre-cast is just that. In this area, they are made in the Strescon factory in Bedford and trucked to site, whether it be parkade or building sections or bridge components, etc.

Thanks!

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Saul Goode

Interesting observation. I commuted on the ferries every working day for over a decade and never had a problem with the seating.

Same here. They seemed perfectly adequate for a 10 minute crossing, and would require zero maintenance (i.e. the city wouldn't have to spend extra money cleaning and/or replacing upholstery, etc).

For that matter, even the previous ferries (the white and orange ones) built at Smith and Rhuland had wooded seats that I recall were reasonably comfortable (again, for a short trip).


Source

[Saul Goode]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

For that matter, even the previous ferries (the white and orange ones) built at Smith and Rhuland had wooded seats that I recall were reasonably comfortable (again, for a short trip).

I remember those old ferries with great fondness - a nickel a trip when I was a kid. And browsing the large magazine rack at Granfield's concessions in the old terminals. They even sold passable soft ice cream for a dime.

[OldDartmouthMark]

I liked them quite a bit as well and was somewhat sad to see them go. The 'new' ones performed better in all categories, but felt a little stark and cold in comparison, even though they have been doing the job quite adequately for the past 40 years.

The old ferry terminal definitely had a lot more character than the 'new' one as well. Again, the newer one is capable of handling higher volumes of passengers, etc, but the old wooden one was a better experience, IMHO.

Might just be a little bit of nostalgia creeping in there, though...

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

So there you have it. The basis of the future advertising blitz to generate ridership. ...perfectly adequate and reasonably comfortable! seating. I'm just poking fun. Still, I do think much could be done to make public transit more attractive to potential riders.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

So there you have it. The basis of the future advertising blitz to generate ridership. ...perfectly adequate and reasonably comfortable! seating. I'm just poking fun. Still, I do think much could be done to make public transit more attractive to potential riders.

The stuff that mediocre is made of!

That said, the first of the current ferries started running around 1979 or 80, and I think 2022 expectations would be higher for the new ferries. I guess we'll have to see how the new vessels will be equipped as more details trickle out.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

I don't believe either statement is true. When council killed the commuter rail concept in 2019, after toying with it for several years, they cited failure to come to terms with CN as the stumbling block.

It's interesting in that the now-proposed ferry project's budget is much larger in real terms than what was proposed before for commuter rail. The old budgets given were in the sub-$100M range in 2022 dollars.

I don't think the rail ROW is ideal either although it ties in with other aspects like land use. As it is now the rail line runs along the water and near steep hills so there is population within walking distance. This could change with more construction but there has barely been any waterfront development along the basin or around Mill Cove.

At a high level I think the politics around this and planning are lagging the size of city and pace of growth and there are a few related points:

- There's a high cost now to waiting, so there may be a larger benefit to building something like a ferry now rather than getting no rail for 10 more years. It is not like the debate in 2002.
- The city is growing a lot and multiple services on this scale can be built in the long run anyway. None of them are make-or-break projects budget-wise or regional transportation "solutions" (e.g. on part with building a large light rail system).
- The city's transportation planning horizons in general seem limited. What about streetcars or LRT built along ideal ROWs (instead of always being in the "low hanging fruit" mindset of using existing rail lines or waterways)? Tunnels in some key areas? What about gondolas? Given the city's geography I think a mix of different types of transit would be best.

[q12]

Coming 2027









https://haligonia.ca/bedford-termina...-space-292957/

[Nouvellecosse]

If it's going to be full electric that would be quite interesting even though I've been mainly skeptical of the whole fast commuter ferry scheme.

[LikesBikes]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

If it's going to be full electric that would be quite interesting even though I've been mainly skeptical of the whole fast commuter ferry scheme.

Do we have an idea for how long the trip would be? Also, I hope there would be trips from Beford to both Halifax and Dartmouth.

[terrynorthend]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

Do we have an idea for how long the trip would be? Also, I hope there would be trips from Beford to both Halifax and Dartmouth.

20 minutes. Think just to Halifax (transfer to Dartmouth or Woodside) because they need extensive renovation at the existing facility to accommodate these.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by LikesBikes

Do we have an idea for how long the trip would be? Also, I hope there would be trips from Beford to both Halifax and Dartmouth.

There's supposed to be a station at Shannon Park based on previous system maps I've seen but it's shown as only having a connection to downtown rather than to Bedford. I'm pretty sure Dartmouth's largest employment area is Burnside which is quite decentralized compared to downtown and much shorter in distance. There's congestion on Magazine hill and Windmill Rd but compared to going from Bedford to downtown it's probably not as bad. In fact, the 84 express bus between Sackville and downtown actually uses that route before going over the MacKay which I assume is because traffic moves more quickly in that side.

[someone123]

I still wonder what the TOD possibilities are around that area. Bus connections will be important around there but TOD could be too. Bedford has developed a bit of a "donut" shape as the old town sees small scale and limited development while towers are standard in newer suburban areas.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by someone123

I still wonder what the TOD possibilities are around that area. Bus connections will be important around there but TOD could be too. Bedford has developed a bit of a "donut" shape as the old town sees small scale and limited development while towers are standard in newer suburban areas.

I have to think that a BRT right of way along the 102 corridor would make far more sense and a move a lot more people to a lot more destinations.