Highway 107 - Burnside Expressway | U/C

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Almost nobody from Fall River/Waverley and beyond would use the Burnside Expressway because of the 118. It's hard to justify a long detour when you have a straight 100km/h expressway with easy access to both bridges and three exits to Burnside.

Your other points are good but this is non sequitur. I was not talking about people going to Waverly or Fall River but rather traffic heading from Halifax on the 102 going to Bedford. That no-merge exit onto the Bedford Highway is lethal.

I get off on Highway 101 take the Sackville Drive exit, left onto Old Sackville, right onto Twelve Mile, right onto Sackville and straight onto the Bypass to avoid the Sunnyside traffic congestion. In the evening rush if I'm going from Sackville or Hammonds Plains to a family member's house in East Bedford I'll do that loop, go down the Bypass to the ammunition depot and turn around and head up to Dartmouth Road. The merge onto Magazine Hill at rush hour is suicidal and often involves waiting until a heavy vehicle clogs up traffic (which leaves a gap in front of them). In rare cases a slow-moving vehicle will pass the heavy vehicle and you get both lanes free to get to the poorly designed Dartmouth Road interchange.

Such a convoluted route! Indicative of our poorly-designed road network that has been given zero attention over the years in this area. No wonder traffic is so bad.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Thanks DJ, I thought it strange to have not heard much about the active trail since the route was changed, as it was a fairly big news item when it was first announced. I guess we'll see what happens with it.

When I look at the proposal, the whole interchange around the Lower Sackville side seems like a bit of a mess. It kind of reminds me of what they did with the 118 around Dartmouth Crossing, with parallel lanes coming and going, but this one actually looks more complicated.



And yes, there are some pretty sketchy interchanges still remaining, that were probably out of date in the 1960s when they were built, but are on the verge of being dangerous now. They need to be changed.

[someone123]

Here's a satellite photo from April showing some clearing:

https://api.discover.digitalglobe.co...3001008FB6C300

[Dengler Avenue]

Once Burnside Connector is built, will the current Trunk 7 between 118 and 102 be downgraded from a RIRO expressway to just a normal four-lane arterial road?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by someone123

Here's a satellite photo from April showing some clearing:

https://api.discover.digitalglobe.co...3001008FB6C300

That is what you call "a long way to go".

[atbw]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Once Burnside Connector is built, will the current Trunk 7 between 118 and 102 be downgraded from a RIRO expressway to just a normal four-lane arterial road?

It might make sense to give it transit priority treatment.

[Jstaleness]

Originally Posted by atbw

It might make sense to give it transit priority treatment.

Yes. It does.

[Keith P.]

Oh my.

Halifax council puts Burnside walking, biking trail on back burner

Halifax regional council has decided now is not the time to build a walking and biking trail along the Burnside Expressway.

The province has recently moved the expressway, which will connect the Bedford and Sackville areas with the Burnside Industrial Park, to the top of its priority list.

When the province was first considering the work in 2011, the estimated cost of adding a trail was $1 million. Now that estimate has risen to between $5.5 million and $7 million, and provincial officials want a commitment by the end of August.

A new staff report presented to council Tuesday suggests either a multi-modal path or a dedicated bus lane along the Magazine Hill is a better idea.

"It's shorter, closer to more population centres and costs less," said Coun. Sam Austin.

The staff report estimates that adding an active transportation pathway to the Magazine Hill would cost a minimum of $3.5 to $4.1 million. Construction would not begin until after completion of the Burnside Expressway, currently expected to wrap up in 2023-24.

Some councillors said it would be short-sighted not to add the active transportation trail along the expressway.

"I would hate to see us lose an opportunity," said Coun. David Hendsbee. "This is going to become a very busy corridor and we need the connectivity."

Halifax planners will negotiate with provincial officials to determine whether the Burnside Expressway can be built in such a way to allow the construction of an active transportation route in the future.

Hold on to your wallets. The HCC/EAC cycling lobby will undoubtedly demand a tunnel to navigate this steep hill.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Oh my.

Hold on to your wallets. The HCC/EAC cycling lobby will undoubtedly demand a tunnel to navigate this steep hill.

A tunnel would keep the cyclists safe from the elements and perhaps could be heated in the wintertime too!

Yeah, that's the ticket............

Let's do it!!

[OldDartmouthMark]

Question for the avid cyclists on this forum: Would the $7 million be better spent on this active trail, or the Macdonald Bridge flyover. Same price, different projects.

In my opinion, the active trail would be better value for the money in that it spans a longer distance, creates a way to safely cycle from Sackville to Burnside (which doesn't exist currently), and the timing is right for it to be the cheapest and have the best result, being built in conjunction with the roadway.

But... I'm not an avid cyclist. What say you?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Question for the avid cyclists on this forum: Would the $7 million be better spent on this active trail, or the Macdonald Bridge flyover. Same price, different projects.

In my opinion, the active trail would be better value for the money in that it spans a longer distance, creates a way to safely cycle from Sackville to Burnside (which doesn't exist currently), and the timing is right for it to be the cheapest and have the best result, being built in conjunction with the roadway.

But... I'm not an avid cyclist. What say you?

Obviously I am not one either, but I agree with your view here. The Macdonald flyover is totally unnecessary, a gift from Mason and his buddies in the Planning Dept to Kelsey "Bike" Lane, ex-leader of the HCC, now promoted to a job at the EAC. The problem of the Barrington exit/hill is easily resolved at far less cost by a button-activated signal at the Halifax end of the bridge with an opening cut in the fence, or has also been suggested, utilizing both the pedestrian walkway and existing bike lane on either side as shared paths.

If this project went from a budget estimate of $1 million to $7 million I can only imagine what the estimate of $7 million for the Macdonald project will end up as. I have been using $10 million but perhaps I am too conservative there.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Question for the avid cyclists on this forum: Would the $7 million be better spent on this active trail, or the Macdonald Bridge flyover. Same price, different projects.

In my opinion, the active trail would be better value for the money in that it spans a longer distance, creates a way to safely cycle from Sackville to Burnside (which doesn't exist currently), and the timing is right for it to be the cheapest and have the best result, being built in conjunction with the roadway.

But... I'm not an avid cyclist. What say you?

MacDonald bridge by far, as it includes a bunch of work to Wyse and North to make it convenient to use, and serves the biggest population base. There's not a ton of cycling infrastructure in Sackville or Burnside, so this one doesn't really make sense. Like others have said, it makes the most sense to build the network from the core out, so the cyclists have somewhere to ride instead of getting dumped onto the streets.

The best solution for this would be for space to be set aside so it can be added when we have the money.

[Jstaleness]

There has been activity at the Akerley S turns for a while now as they put the equipment together. One excavator came on 3 different flat bed trailers. This am there are excavators breaking up some of the rocks. Work has begun!

[OldDartmouthMark]

It's about time! I might actually get to see this happen in my lifetime...

[Dengler Avenue]

I just looked at the map in #182 again. It’s about time to establish a collector-express system on the 102 because weaving will be bad...

[Jstaleness]

No photo updates or anything, but work is continuing at a good pace here. Just guessing but I'd say they have a disposal of about 7 large excavators, 4 large dump trucks (maybe more) and seem to be making good progress. As the locals know this part of Nova Scotia isn't friendly for earth movement. There is a lot of rock in there, but like I said they are getting it moved quickly.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Not sure if this has been posted here before:

https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default...90430rc172.pdf

[Dengler Avenue]

Good find, Mark! Thanks for sharing.

[Keith P.]

More roundabouts. Guaranteed to drive auto insurance rates even higher.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

More roundabouts. Guaranteed to drive auto insurance rates even higher.

I know, you got love traffic lights The more roundabouts the more drivers will know how to use them (:

Also, I don't think I have ever saw an accident at a roundabout. Seems to be a lot on the harbour bridges though, almost every day. Maybe we shouldn't have bridges. :wink: