General Updates and News

[Ziobrop]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Yeah, there are Halifax Gov documents that reference the Joint Public Lands Plan. And that doc you link to has excerpts from it, but the actual Plan document, if I recall, was 20+ pages, full color, with multiple renderings. It was a pretty impressive document.

I have the PDF plan. Will post when I figure out where it's filed

[Ziobrop]

Got it - this is the grand Parade/Birks/Dennis/Province House report:
http://halifaxbloggers.ca/builthalifax/w.../2015/09/GPPHfinalReportDecember2006.pdf

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Ziobrop

Got it - this is the grand Parade/Birks/Dennis/Province House report:
http://halifaxbloggers.ca/builthalifax/w.../2015/09/GPPHfinalReportDecember2006.pdf

Yes, that's the one! Thanks Zio!

Wow, it's like over a 100 pages. Lengthier and more impressive than I thought!

People should really check it out. It's a phenomenal plan with so many excellent proposals, from terraced seating in Grand Parade to a George Street Corridor.

It would be great to run a street car from the ferry terminal up George Street all the way to Citadel Hill, with a stop at Barrington. Tourists would love it, and it would help connect commuters from waterfront to Barrington shops and buses.

[Keith P.]

Not sure how you would get a streetcar through the Grand Parade. A loop involving Duke, Brunswick, Spring Garden and Water/Hollis might make more sense.

[stevencourchene]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Yes, that's the one! Thanks Zio!

Wow, it's like over a 100 pages. Lengthier and more impressive than I thought!

People should really check it out. It's a phenomenal plan with so many excellent proposals, from terraced seating in Grand Parade to a George Street Corridor.

It would be great to run a street car from the ferry terminal up George Street all the way to Citadel Hill, with a stop at Barrington. Tourists would love it, and it would help connect commuters from waterfront to Barrington shops and buses.

so my question is this all took place in 2006/2007 is not now just a thing of the past or is this project something the city is still thinking about? I think this could be a great use of the space and be worth it all in the end.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

Yes, that's the one! Thanks Zio!

Wow, it's like over a 100 pages. Lengthier and more impressive than I thought!

People should really check it out. It's a phenomenal plan with so many excellent proposals, from terraced seating in Grand Parade to a George Street Corridor.

It would be great to run a street car from the ferry terminal up George Street all the way to Citadel Hill, with a stop at Barrington. Tourists would love it, and it would help connect commuters from waterfront to Barrington shops and buses.

Kind of a short streetcar isn't it? If we're going thru all the bother and cost of electrifying a corridor and tearing up the streets and laying tracks, I'd expect something that played a far more substantial role in the transport network. At the risk of sounding like you know who, t'would be a waste of taxpayer's money.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Not sure how you would get a streetcar through the Grand Parade. A loop involving Duke, Brunswick, Spring Garden and Water/Hollis might make more sense.

I was actually thinking of Duke, not George, my bad.

But yeah, a loop makes even more sense.

To be clear, the street car idea is mine, and not in the plan!

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Kind of a short streetcar isn't it? If we're going thru all the bother and cost of electrifying a corridor and tearing up the streets and laying tracks, I'd expect something that played a far more substantial role in the transport network. At the risk of sounding like you know who, t'would be a waste of taxpayer's money.

I think you'd get pretty substantial ridership in mornings and evenings, year round, by commuters taking the ferry across the water. And then in summer, you'll get greater tourist use.

But as Keith suggests, a more substantial loop, to integrate the car into the broader grid, could work too.

[Nouvellecosse]

Does anyone know what this development is on the military base on Barrington just north of macD bridge? It's actually several floors taller than when this street view was captured.

[Wishblade]

^It's the new Jr. ranks mess and quarters. Here's a rendering:

[Nouvellecosse]

Hmm, bland but fairly inoffensive. And will make the city look denser when coming across the bridge.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

What it sounded like to me was that they wanted to see the actual building redeveloped (they mentioned a boutique hotel possibility) and for the empty land around the building as government parking. Would be nice to be pleasantly surprised, but I'd day the safest option with the provincial government is to err on the side of assuming the worst.

When I met with Labi Kousoulis last year, he discussed taking the building down, installing underground parking, then rebuilding on the site with the old facade reconstructed.

Which sounds like a thing that could work, but there are so many ifs and so much potential for screw-ups (they lose parts of the facade, the government changes and decides it's not worth the expense to rebuild, the new building isn't a reconstruction but some sort of new design incorporating parts of the facade, etc.) seems needlessly complex just to provide some parking.

[Keith P.]

The only thing this govt should be building for the foreseeable future is a replacement for the VG Hospital.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The only thing this govt should be building for the foreseeable future is a replacement for the VG Hospital.

Amen to that. The VG was a relic back when I was a med student, intern and resident there, and that was 25-35 years ago!!! I always compared the decor of the nurses residence to "World War Two Bomb Shelter". I'm sure it's no better now.

The damage from the recent flood in the Centennial Building is obscene. The VG has no place being a major teaching hospital in a city the stature of Halifax any more. The time for expanding the Infirmary and the demolition of the VG was about ten years ago. This is becoming a crisis.

I know this is going to cost closer to a billion dollars than a half billion, but the government can't ignore this issue any longer - patient welfare is at stake, let alone the reputation of the provincial health care system.........

[JET]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Amen to that. The VG was a relic back when I was a med student, intern and resident there, and that was 25-35 years ago!!! I always compared the decor of the nurses residence to "World War Two Bomb Shelter". I'm sure it's no better now.

The damage from the recent flood in the Centennial Building is obscene. The VG has no place being a major teaching hospital in a city the stature of Halifax any more. The time for expanding the Infirmary and the demolition of the VG was about ten years ago. This is becoming a crisis.

I know this is going to cost closer to a billion dollars than a half billion, but the government can't ignore this issue any longer - patient welfare is at stake, let alone the reputation of the provincial health care system.........

Interesting to hear the mention of a Billion dollars. There are only 10 units in the VG; most of the buildings are taken up by offices and clinics (and the surgeries). Building ten units on top of the Infirmary emergency Dept can't be all that much. The new hospital in Colchester was under 200 million. Many offices and clinics can use rental space in the community.
Time to get it done.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Amen to that. The VG was a relic back when I was a med student, intern and resident there, and that was 25-35 years ago!!! I always compared the decor of the nurses residence to "World War Two Bomb Shelter". I'm sure it's no better now.

The damage from the recent flood in the Centennial Building is obscene. The VG has no place being a major teaching hospital in a city the stature of Halifax any more. The time for expanding the Infirmary and the demolition of the VG was about ten years ago. This is becoming a crisis.

I know this is going to cost closer to a billion dollars than a half billion, but the government can't ignore this issue any longer - patient welfare is at stake, let alone the reputation of the provincial health care system.........

This flood is just the one that, understandably, grabbed real attention. That building has been leaking badly for ages. and REALLY badly many times over the past year. They actually lost a CT Simulator in the oncology department because of water damage, and one of the 1.5T MRIs had its shield damaged because of a water leak.

What surprises me the most is that there seems to be a real passing of the financial buck on this, where a way out of proportion amount is being put on the QEII Foundation. Funding the basics of providing healthcare should not be what the QEII Foundation is asked to do. Donors want to give to things that will truly provide advanced care etc, not to provide basic healthcare... that is government's role! Putting this on the foundation to come up with a huge proportion of the money, that the government should have been planning for for years, is crazy. The issue here is politicians of all stripes burying their heads on the issue for the past quarter of a century.

[Colin May]

[QUOTE=Wishblade;7180352]^It's the new Jr. ranks mess and quarters. Here's a rendering:

When the other mess opened the room rate was $8 a night, a gift from the retiring Admiral. Quite a drain of the DND budget,

[Jonovision]

A nice little renovation of an old garage on Cornwallis Street.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The only thing this govt should be building for the foreseeable future is a replacement for the VG Hospital.

This would have been done years ago, had someone told the Premier the VG Hospital was actually located on a ferry boat in Digby and replacing it would not only save lives, but prop up the south shore Bed and Breakfast industry.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

A nice little renovation of an old garage on Cornwallis Street.

That's actually.... not bad at all.