General Updates and News

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by someone123

Increasingly there is development on the peninsula and there will be growing trip demand within that area. I'm not sure the city has an answer that is a fit for the scale of development and planning density increase over the longer term. Active transportation can be a part of it but not 100% modal share for the new trips.

Again I don't understand the objection that ferries are not going to by themselves solve the transportation problems of the metro area. This kind of thinking always seemed emblematic of how little regional transportation planning happens in Halifax. There will have to be many projects that suit different areas and different kinds of trips. The framework should be cost-benefit and alternatives, not "does this project solve transportation".

My posts on this subject are about the electric ferry, not other possible ferry routes. HRM has not studied the Bedford to Halifax electric ferry proposal. Once you get into the data you realise what a waste of time and money the electric ferry would be. HRM doesn't want to publish data because the public would see that this notion is a waste of money. If you support the electric ferry ask your councillor for all the details.
Herring Cove location is at Eastern Head on this electronic chart ...http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com...s-navigation.html#13.16/44.5754/-63.5464 and south of the DND or SW of Mars Rock

[someone123]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

As far as funding from the federal government goes... isn't that a good thing for Halifax? I mean, won't those funds just go to another municipality in another province if Halifax doesn't use them?

In many countries there are showcase projects that are meant to evaluate new technologies in practice or are simply viewed as nice amenities where they are built. A lot of high speed rail, streetcars, and so on fall somewhere in these categories. Sounds like this project in Halifax would tick both boxes. While there are studies of these projects ahead of time their level of success is not possible to predict and many of them are not net cash generators. Usually only a small percentage of the overall budget is spent on these projects and they don't affect overall finances much.

People in Halifax can fight against any non purely utilitarian federally funded project if they want but as you suggest they'll just be built somewhere else. The federal government won't be cutting taxes just for Halifax. My impression is that there is an appetite for better and nicer transit and a nicer public realm with more urbanity in Halifax, particularly in younger demographics, while naysayers have a disproportionate voice. An example of this is how the media in Halifax for years made it sound like everybody hated highrises and there was even something a little suspicious or corrupt about the city letting developers build on land they bought, while the average local consulted was a prof and future defined benefit pensioner living in a million dollar Victorian in the South End (not that I'm condemning this group, but they ain't the typical resident of the city).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversa...table-asset-and-thats-the-problem-172846

Housing is both a human right and a profitable asset, and that's the problem

Brian Doucet, University of Waterloo

It seems like everyone is talking about housing these days. For many, it is in a state of crisis. But for others, it is a market doing exactly what it should be doing: making money. The crux of the housing problem is that it is both a basic human right and a commodity from which to extract wealth.

Most housing debates largely ignore this contradiction. Those who oppose new developments and those who believe we need more housing both focus on numbers, design, zoning and density. These perspectives miss key questions about housing for whom, against whom, who profits and who is excluded.

Point well taken, but I think everybody understands what the commodification of housing has done to our housing situation (not only Canada's either)... but we still need to have places for people to live.

So, while government (mostly the feds?) needs to dig into the causes and solutions to the commodification/investment/laundering problem, there still needs to be places for people to live.

Therefore, increasing housing supply has to help to improve the situation... which makes me wonder what folks would consider a better alternative.

On that note, as long as it took to put together, I'm thinking that perhaps the Centre Plan needs some major changes to increase height limitations everywhere, but especially on the peninsula. IMHO it could be the quickest, easiest way to add housing units that are needed... yet we still seem to be stuck in some idea that increasing density through building height will ruin the city. I really don't get it... All those years to create a plan that basically cripples growth in the part of the city that needs it the most...

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Oh I'm all for taking as much cash as the Feds want to give. But why shouldn't the city benefit? Why should federal cash be wasted when it could be put to good use? We could retire the disel ferries and electrify the whole ferry fleet. That'd be a better use of the $ and perhaps lesson air pollution. We could put a ferry terminal near Herring Cove and another at Shannon Park both of which would actually be used. It just doesn't make much sense to run a ferry route parallel to the Bedford Highway and parallel to the 102 and parallel to a rail corridor that may someday be a rail transit corridor.

[Colin May]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Oh I'm all for taking as much cash as the Feds want to give. But why shouldn't the city benefit? Why should federal cash be wasted when it could be put to good use? We could retire the disel ferries and electrify the whole ferry fleet. That'd be a better use of the $ and perhaps lesson air pollution. We could put a ferry terminal near Herring Cove and another at Shannon Park both of which would actually be used. It just doesn't make much sense to run a ferry route parallel to the Bedford Highway and parallel to the 102 and parallel to a rail corridor that may someday be a rail transit corridor.

Go down to Herring Cove and observe the sea state - wide open to weather systems and guaranteed to induce vomiting. The Halifax ferry terminal ramp has problems after several years because of the sea state....the Dartmouth ferry terminals do not have the same problems because they are more protected. And underground transit is not feasible...removing rock is very expensive. The future lies off peninsula,the rest of HRM where 80% of residents live, not to mention those who commute from outside HRM. A couple with 2 kids don't want a condo/apartment on the peninsula and they cannot afford such a place.
Herring Cove is on this chart..at Eastern Head south of the green circles of DND ... http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com...s-navigation.html#12.62/44.5863/-63.5410

[IanWatson]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

We could put a ferry terminal near Herring Cove and another at Shannon Park both of which would actually be used. It just doesn't make much sense to run a ferry route parallel to the Bedford Highway and parallel to the 102 and parallel to a rail corridor that may someday be a rail transit corridor.

Shannon Park has been on every map of the proposed fast ferry system that I've ever seen. Seems like Mill Cove will be first because it's needed now and will lay the groundwork for the overall system, and then Shannon Park will be added as development occurs there.

[Keith P.]

I recall a conversation with the Deputy to the Premier many years ago where he decried the billion or so dollars put on the NS debt chasing what he called 33-cent federal dollars. The problem was (as he saw it) that those projects represented fed priorities, not our most pressing needs. But it was a difficult thing to argue against and saying "Well, if we don't do it here, the money will just go somewhere else" was usually the fallback position. So we ended up with roads to nowhere (or likely troublesome and unreliable electric ferries) and the like, plus all the long-term costs of maintaining whatever it was we bought.

To me the only sensible thing would be to have a credible group identify those transportation options offering the best bang for the buck, be it BRT, LRT, monorails, gondolas, whatever, and then stick to whatever mix is deemed best. Going for every bright shiny object dangled in front of us or succumbing to the power of special-interest lobby groups be they entrenched interests, activists, or whomever, is the best way to get on the road to ruin. Get a plan, stick to it long-term, and don't be swayed.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

To me the only sensible thing would be to have a credible group identify those transportation options offering the best bang for the buck, be it BRT, LRT, monorails, gondolas, whatever, and then stick to whatever mix is deemed best. Going for every bright shiny object dangled in front of us or succumbing to the power of special-interest lobby groups be they entrenched interests, activists, or whomever, is the best way to get on the road to ruin. Get a plan, stick to it long-term, and don't be swayed.

Well said.

I imagine the solution will be multifactorial:

- Ferries for the Halifax/Dartmouth route, and as a niche solution for those living near Mill Cove.
- LRT/Trolleys for the peninsula
- Commuter rail for the main transit corridor along Bedford Basin, Sackville, Windsor Junction and Enfield
- BRT for the inner suburbs

No one solution will please everyone, but together, we may be able to prevent Halifax from suffocating itself. I predict that commuter rail will end up being the heavy hitter in this solution however.

[teddifax]

The overhaul has to be done from outside interests. This will be truly the only way to be objective in an effective transit system upgrade. Also, this group has to have the power to have their suggestions actually completed. Consider it like binding arbitration in a labour dispute.... the outcome has to be accepted by all sides, city and labour, as well as the citizens.

[TheNovaScotian]

Originally Posted by Colin May

The future lies off peninsula,the rest of HRM where 80% of residents live, not to mention those who commute from outside HRM. A couple with 2 kids don't want a condo/apartment on the peninsula and they cannot afford such a place.

“Statistics Canada recently ranked growth in downtown Halifax as number one in the entire country between 2016 and the end of last year. The overall population grew by 9.1 per cent and downtown Halifax grew by 26.1 per cent,” Mr. Sullivan says."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...s-strive-to-keep-up-with-halifaxs-rapid/

[someone123]

Originally Posted by TheNovaScotian

“Statistics Canada recently ranked growth in downtown Halifax as number one in the entire country between 2016 and the end of last year. The overall population grew by 9.1 per cent and downtown Halifax grew by 26.1 per cent,” Mr. Sullivan says."

Impossible to know what will happen in the future but I think it's pretty clear the growth is continuing beyond 2021 and there was probably less growth toward the beginning of the census period. It's plausible that there will be 10,000 more people living on the peninsula in the next 5-10 years and they will be disproportionately likely to get around on transit or via active transportation.

It looks like development in Dartmouth is picking up too.

[Querce]

wow, imagine the population of the peninsula growing by 10 000 people in just 5 or 10 years. Wow, how crazy that would be.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Point well taken, but I think everybody understands what the commodification of housing has done to our housing situation (not only Canada's either)... but we still need to have places for people to live.

So, while government (mostly the feds?) needs to dig into the causes and solutions to the commodification/investment/laundering problem, there still needs to be places for people to live.

Therefore, increasing housing supply has to help to improve the situation... which makes me wonder what folks would consider a better alternative.

On that note, as long as it took to put together, I'm thinking that perhaps the Centre Plan needs some major changes to increase height limitations everywhere, but especially on the peninsula. IMHO it could be the quickest, easiest way to add housing units that are needed... yet we still seem to be stuck in some idea that increasing density through building height will ruin the city. I really don't get it... All those years to create a plan that basically cripples growth in the part of the city that needs it the most...

One key point of the article is that investor demand is not the same as those who need to live in the units, causing the wrong types of units to be built. A tentative strategy has been to mandate X amount of family sized units, which I know Montréal has done for some time.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by Querce

wow, imagine the population of the peninsula growing by 10 000 people in just 5 or 10 years. Wow, how crazy that would be.

Last time we got swaths of CMHC housing too, a ton of which is still around...and a lot of which now sells for $400,000+.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

One key point of the article is that investor demand is not the same as those who need to live in the units, causing the wrong types of units to be built. A tentative strategy has been to mandate X amount of family sized units, which I know Montréal has done for some time.

In China there is allegedly an extreme version of this where builders sell condos on paper which may never be built to habitable standards at all. In Vancouver we saw shades of this with condo towers with very shiny marketing and weren't all that desirable but were very pricey and sold out instantly in pre-sales. Supposedly some would be marketed first in places like Hong Kong and would be bought sight unseen. This seems to have peaked maybe around 2016 or so. Since then many regulations have come in.

(A Hong Kong resident often wasn't a "foreign buyer" according to the definition used. Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei CFO who is now back in China, was a "local buyer" at one time in Vancouver, and owned a real estate portfolio in the tens of millions. Not sure how much this happens these days or how much it affected NS.)

There are many people out there who literally buy as many condos as they can get financing for, then they rent them out. They do not pick them according to what they want to live in, they pick them according to the projected financial payoff. In fairness this usually includes renting but the tenants have extremely limited options in many cases and just put up with what housing they can afford. In Vancouver the fit between the type of housing unit, services, and tenant is often poor. I could see this happening in Halifax since it's now a "get rich quick" market.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by someone123

There are many people out there who literally buy as many condos as they can get financing for, then they rent them out. They do not pick them according to what they want to live in, they pick them according to the projected financial payoff. In fairness this usually includes renting but the tenants have extremely limited options in many cases and just put up with what housing they can afford. In Vancouver the fit between the type of housing unit, services, and tenant is often poor. I could see this happening in Halifax since it's now a "get rich quick" market.

Wow, we agree for once! While this has become the norm in the GTHA and Vancouver I can definitely picture it creeping into Halifax..

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

One key point of the article is that investor demand is not the same as those who need to live in the units, causing the wrong types of units to be built. A tentative strategy has been to mandate X amount of family sized units, which I know Montréal has done for some time.

Even if investors prefer 1 bedroom or studio-sized condos, I'm wondering if requiring more family-sized units would really make a difference, as prices are increasing across the board. I mean, larger investment, but also larger profit? Maybe some investors would be out, but then again the housing being sped up by the NS government (the topic that prompted my original comment which led to this discussion) isn't small condos for the most part.

One does have to wonder what the tipping point will be. I don't have an answer, though I'm sure there is tons of speculation out there.

A very sad state of affairs. Sometimes (often, like every day) it disturbs me, how much the world can suck...

[someone123]

There was another great Noticed In Nova Scotia post and it included a shot of the new parkade with some art installed. There is some discussion of the secrecy around the parkade development.

It's interesting to me that there was an expectation that this structure would be ugly and was a kind of "necessary evil", yet this screen seems to add a lot of visual interest. One could imagine more art like this, more colour, and maybe some lighting. Parkades do not have to be ugly.

I wonder if anybody will talk about a do over for the MetroPark? What could happen there if you gave some artists a budget to use it as a canvas?


https://halifaxbloggers.ca/noticedinnovascotia/2022/04/noticed-good-news-triggers/

[atbw]

Originally Posted by someone123

There was another great Noticed In Nova Scotia post and it included a shot of the new parkade with some art installed. There is some discussion of the secrecy around the parkade development.

It's interesting to me that there was an expectation that this structure would be ugly and was a kind of "necessary evil", yet this screen seems to add a lot of visual interest. One could imagine more art like this, more colour, and maybe some lighting. Parkades do not have to be ugly.

I wonder if anybody will talk about a do over for the MetroPark? What could happen there if you gave some artists a budget to use it as a canvas?


https://halifaxbloggers.ca/noticedinnovascotia/2022/04/noticed-good-news-triggers/

This is quite interesting. I think it'll really matter when viewed at street level, but I think there is a way to make a parking garage not awful. Some greenery wouldn't hurt, either, but this is worlds better than the faux-parthenon of MetroPark.

[hfxsky]

Originally Posted by Corker

This was discussed here back in February though I'm not sure what came of the appeal. The existing house on the property was demolished but the lot was only graded and no activity on site since then.

This lot, along with five neighbouring properties on Bayer's Road are now listed for $5.5m: https://www.remaxnova.com/multi-family/h...1-6445-bayers-road-halifax-mls-202125690

The listing notes the Corridor zoning and that there are initial plans for a 108 unit building with five commercial spaces.

Update on this one, looks like they've firmed up on the assembly for $4.5m: https://www.viewpoint.ca/cutsheet/202126501/1

Sold to Oliver Andrew Gorski of Connect East Development. It looks like this will be their first project ever, and that the two owners (and really the only two employees) of the company are pretty "green" – certainly ambitious.

Will be curious to see how they navigate the Bayers widening plus dealing with a transition line with the Roslyn R-2 homes on the other side – will be an interesting one to watch!