General Updates and News

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by JET

Dartmouth Crossing area would have been a very central location for an airport.

Still is. Bull doze the place now, and put an airport there.

Finally, a version of Dartmouth Crossing I can support.

[hokus83]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Still is. Bull doze the place now, and put an airport there.

Finally, a version of Dartmouth Crossing I can support.

and move all the retail to downtown Dartmouth where it should have been put, for fu ck sake that would have made it a vibrant community and propelled residential development

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Still is. Bull doze the place now, and put an airport there.

Finally, a version of Dartmouth Crossing I can support.

Turn Hector Gate into a runway and the faux-olde-timey facades of the shops into terminal gates. That's adaptive re-use for you.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by hokus83

and move all the retail to downtown Dartmouth where it should have been put, for fu ck sake that would have made it a vibrant community and propelled residential development

You mean like it was before Mic Mac Mall opened?

[JET]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

You mean like it was before Mic Mac Mall opened?

"into the 'wayback machine' Sherman!" It would be interesting to see if the airport had been located where Dartmouth Crossing is, and Kings Wharf had been built at the same time, and all the shops at micmall mall had located downtown, and the raillines in Dartmouth were long gone. The one thing I know, I would never have been able to afford my house in Downtown Dartmouth.

[Keith P.]

You guys are more delusional than the Heritage Trust!

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

Turn Hector Gate into a runway and the faux-olde-timey facades of the shops into terminal gates. That's adaptive re-use for you.

Brilliant.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by JET

"into the 'wayback machine' Sherman!" It would be interesting to see if the airport had been located where Dartmouth Crossing is, and Kings Wharf had been built at the same time, and all the shops at micmall mall had located downtown, and the raillines in Dartmouth were long gone. The one thing I know, I would never have been able to afford my house in Downtown Dartmouth.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

You guys are more delusional than the Heritage Trust!

We can dream, can't we?

[JET]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

We can dream, can't we?

You gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream,
How you gonna have a dream come true?

[scooby074]

Originally Posted by JET

Dartmouth Crossing area would have been a very central location for an airport.

You think the NIMBYs around the airport considering the low population are bad now... Could you imagine if the airport was where DC is with its neighbouring population?

HIA's phones would absolutely melt down from the call volume a DC located airport would create.

While a bit inconvenient to get to, the airport is in a good place, for an airport. Actually encroachment is starting to be a concern.. There are already Nimby stirrings regarding noise, hours of operations and flight paths.

http://www.thelaker.ca/stories.asp?id=3100

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by scooby074

You think the NIMBYs around the airport considering the low population are bad now... Could you imagine if the airport was where DC is with its neighbouring population?

HIA's phones would absolutely melt down from the call volume a DC located airport would create.

While a bit inconvenient to get to, the airport is in a good place, for an airport. Actually encroachment is starting to be a concern.. There are already Nimby stirrings regarding noise, hours of operations and flight paths.

http://www.thelaker.ca/stories.asp?id=3100

If you don't like noise, then don't live in the middle of nowhere.... beside the airport. Morons.

[Ziobrop]

Originally Posted by scooby074

You think the NIMBYs around the airport considering the low population are bad now... Could you imagine if the airport was where DC is with its neighbouring population?

HIA's phones would absolutely melt down from the call volume a DC located airport would create.

While a bit inconvenient to get to, the airport is in a good place, for an airport. Actually encroachment is starting to be a concern.. There are already Nimby stirrings regarding noise, hours of operations and flight paths.

http://www.thelaker.ca/stories.asp?id=3100

i skim read the article - its quite the opposite of what you said - its not residents encroaching, its HRM getting pushback trying to prevent future noise complaints by restricting building. Land owners are naturally upset, since it limits what they can build, thus reduces the value of their land, and they don't care about noise in a future sub division.

<RANT> it also quotes the NS Home Builders Assoc. who in one breath tells us how good its members are at producing a quality product, not shoddy etc, but then goes on advocating for subdivisions within the noise envelope of an airport. Ugh </rant>

[OldDartmouthMark]

I think they should have kept it at the old Chebucto Field site...

http://www.halifaxhistory.ca/HalifaxMunicipalAirport.htm

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

DT Dartmouth has such a messed-up street network that I think it will require some significant work to make it viable should growth occur. In fact I think the street/traffic patterns are a real impediment to its growth. The Dartmouth Common blocks the main Wyse Rd entryway to the downtown from the MacD bridge. The other N-S main drag, Victoria Rd, ends just before it connects to the DT and you are forced to travel in a convoluted pattern to get DT. Victoria could be fixed more easily than the Wyse connection. But neither is easy.

If all we're talking about is increased traffic to DT Dartmouth, I don't think it's as messed up as it seems, really.

-The route from the bridge to Wyse Rd. and Alderney Dr. is all 4-lane. IMHO, it would just need a little tweaking around the Wyse/Windmill/Alderney intersection to make a 2-lane left turn with "smart" signals to make it more functional.

-Windmill is actually quite wide all the way to the Victoria Rd. extension and thus could be made multiple-lane if needed.

-The tricky routes would be Portland or Pleasant as the more-downtown areas of those run through older parts where it would be difficult to widen - however, 3-lane with reversing center lane might be possible in most of those sections with some creative reconfiguration.

However, as I mentioned in a previous post, combining office and residential, plus express transit to DT Halifax would alleviate a good chunk of the traffic. Ramped-up ferry service as required and potential LRT (if possible to run it over the bridge somehow) could really go a long way towards that. Ideally, a third crossing incorporating LRT would be the best method to my way of thinking. If the third crossing came at the end of Hwy 111, you could actually hook up the LRT to the existing rail lines that run from Eastern Passage right into the core of DT Dartmouth.

Of course, all this would require significant investment, and that would be the sticking point I'm sure as the current thinking in government is to just get through the next 4 years unscathed so that re-election is possible...

Not to mention that all levels of government would have to buy into the vision or it would likely end up as the scenario that someone123 alluded to.

[Keith P.]

Most N-S traffic in Dartmouth is on Victoria Rd. Imagine if, heading south, instead of having to turn down Boland or Nantucket and trying somehow to get onto Wyse; that you just went down a modified Victoria Rd all the way to Portland and Alderney. It really would not take all that much in the way of changes. A few expropriations and some proper street design would totally open up the downtown. Instead it is very hard to find your way around.

[mcmcclassic]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Most N-S traffic in Dartmouth is on Victoria Rd. Imagine if, heading south, instead of having to turn down Boland or Nantucket and trying somehow to get onto Wyse; that you just went down a modified Victoria Rd all the way to Portland and Alderney. It really would not take all that much in the way of changes. A few expropriations and some proper street design would totally open up the downtown. Instead it is very hard to find your way around.

Living downtown you are right about the Victoria Rd. problems as you head south towards downtown. Having to essentially back track a few blocks because of that tiny one way part needs to be changed to a two day flow for sure. My bigger issue though is with the northbound flow from Portland St. to where it becomes two ways again. At the intersection of Ochterloney and Victoria, you can't see around the corner - meaning you have to pray and gun it across (this could be fixed by banning parking so close to the intersection).

The intersection at Alderney/Portland/Prince Albert Rd needs tweaking too - I would honestly put a roundabout here (sorry Keith) as it wouldn't take too much re-configuration and traffic volumes would benefit from it.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by mcmcclassic

Living downtown you are right about the Victoria Rd. problems as you head south towards downtown. Having to essentially back track a few blocks because of that tiny one way part needs to be changed to a two day flow for sure. My bigger issue though is with the northbound flow from Portland St. to where it becomes two ways again. At the intersection of Ochterloney and Victoria, you can't see around the corner - meaning you have to pray and gun it across (this could be fixed by banning parking so close to the intersection).

The intersection at Alderney/Portland/Prince Albert Rd needs tweaking too - I would honestly put a roundabout here (sorry Keith) as it wouldn't take too much re-configuration and traffic volumes would benefit from it.

Probably be more practical to divert traffic from Victoria to Thistle towards the harbour, with priority signaling to facilitate. That whole section of Victoria from Portland to Thistle has never been a good choice for heavy traffic volumes. Not to mention the slope of the hill as it comes down by the park makes for a hell of a trip in a snow/ice storm - best to leave it to local traffic and divert the main flow around that area IMHO.

As much as I hate to admit it, a roundabout would probably work quite well in the area you described - might work well for five corners as well.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Probably be more practical to divert traffic from Victoria to Thistle towards the harbour, with priority signaling to facilitate. That whole section of Victoria from Portland to Thistle has never been a good choice for heavy traffic volumes. Not to mention the slope of the hill as it comes down by the park makes for a hell of a trip in a snow/ice storm - best to leave it to local traffic and divert the main flow around that area IMHO.

As much as I hate to admit it, a roundabout would probably work quite well in the area you described - might work well for five corners as well.

The slope from the top of Thistle to down to Alderney is even worse. Your suggested routing also takes people away from where they want to go and adds significant distance also. Fixing Victoria would be much easier. It should have been done in the '70s. It is difficult to understand how the city allowed the existing mess to carry on for so long. Dartmouth has never been a place that embraces change, and actually fights progress quite often. But this is really a no-brainer.

As much as I hate roundabouts, Downtown Dartmouth is a place where these abominations might make some sense - only because the street network is so bad they cannot actually impede flow, the way they normally do. Five Corners would be a logical spot but would require demolition of some historic homes so that is right out. The Portland/Alderney/Prince Albert intersection has the room and makes some sense as that is currently a disaster that even a roundabout cannot possibly make worse.

[Dmajackson]

Public Information Meeting - Case 19516
Mon, 20 October, 19:00 – 21:00
1841 Argyle Street, Halifax, NS, Canada (Halifax Hall) (map)

Case 19516 Application by 3278915 Nova Scotia Limited, on behalf of the Presbyterian Church of St. David, to amend the Downtown Halifax Land Use By-law for the western portion of the St. David's church property at 1537 Brunswick Street and 1544 Grafton Street to rezone from ICO (Institutional, Cultural & Open Space) Zone to the DH-1 (Downtown Halifax) Zone and to amend the streetwall setback on Brunswick Street, Halifax, to allow for the replacement of the church hall with a new mixed-use addition.

Google Streetview