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Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
I'll toss this one into the discussion. I think most people on this forum have seen this at one time or another, but in case you haven't there's some insight into how the leaders in Halifax were thinking ahead in 1945. Some of the ideas in this plan have been discussed in this thread, actually.
There is a lot of info to digest, but it's an interesting read if you have the time and the ambition to dive into it.
Halifax Master Plan of 1945
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It is a lot to digest, but it looks like it was a plan for the old city of Halifax, not the region that now makes up the city of Halifax. Wen it comes to cities, one must plan not just within the borders, but the area as a whole.
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Originally Posted by Acajack
I think one of the reasons our suburbs were built to be monolithic (and therefore so crappy in terms of complete living environments) is American influence. American planners were long obsessed with the segregation of uses and functions, and the "residential only" aspect of suburban areas was a strong selling point in terms of keeping so-called undesirables out. That's probably why so many suburban residential areas in the US and Canada don't even have corner stores or even transit. Corner stores offer places for undesirables to loiter, and without transit undesirables (not assumed to have cars, I guess) can't easily get to your pastoral suburban street.
There are even lots of places where the "neighbourhood" elementary school isn't in the middle of the neighbourhood, but has been deliberately placed on a suburban arterial road on the outskirts of it.
Thankfully we've been getting away from this type of development, but the roots of it are quite evident all over the continent.
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Yes, many of the things "wrong" in Canada was modeled after the USA. Part of that is that during the Cold War, not doing that would have been a reason for the USA to question our loyalty. Just imagine us following what was done in older parts of Europe or parts of the Eastern Bloc? We now seem to look everywhere for inspiration. That seems to be starting to make the difference..
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Originally Posted by Keith P.
But there are not enough cyclists to make that any sort of a real risk, and hoping there will be at some future point is hardly a reason to construct these things now at a cost of restricting movement for the 99% of existing traffic downtown. We might just as easily argue for protected horse-and-buggy lanes to protect thise noble steeds from the noise and scary image of vehicles passing them.
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I used to bike to work almost year round. I would nearly get hit about once a month because someone wasn't paying attention and tried to squeeze by me. I have been hit once in the shoulder by someone's mirror. Smashed theirs, but due to my winter jacket, I was unhurt.
I drive. I ride a motorcycle. I am a cyclist as well. Get out of your car and feel what it is like to be around idiot drivers. You know, the ones even you curse at.
I am not sure how a bike lane restricts 99% of the traffic, when taking the entire lane, which actually is the law, would do even worse to the traffic.
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Originally Posted by Keith P.
No. Property taxes are based on the assessed value of a property. Attempts at property tax reform over the years have always been scuttled by those whose ox is likely to be gored.
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So, someone in the sticks, on septic and a well are paying the same as you do if your properties are worth the same?