Halifax Active Transportation

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

If the city grows, an option would have been to use this for BRT or LRT. I can understand people wanting a trail, but I wonder if this was considered? It would be a rapid route into the city.

Yep, this is a total waste. I fail to understand this fixation some have with trails. Maybe in 100 years these cartpaths will end up being paved and used for something actually useful.

My favorite comment on the Ellen Page piece wasn't my own, but this, which I wish I had written:

wayne moores wrote:
Ellen is a national treasure and I for one am proud she is from Halifax. However she and so many others(even the Rolling Stones), seem to have been co-opted by publicity hound and endless self promoter Lil Macpherson. No doubt I will be pilloried by the granola crunching crowd but really, this woman has had her 15 minutes, let's move on. If it's not signing ridiculous power agreements with make believe power companies its jet setting off to Copenfraud to "save the planet". Now she's gonna save the world with bike racks, soon to become an unused rusting eyesores, frozen in the ice and snow next winter when the percentage of bike drivers goes from .00001% to .0000001% of the Halifax population.

That sounds more like me than mine.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Yep, this is a total waste. I fail to understand this fixation some have with trails. Maybe in 100 years these cartpaths will end up being paved and used for something actually useful.

If the Timberlea and Bayers Lake areas continue to grow then it 20 years time these trails can be dug up and cheaply converted to subway lines (since they won't be in the middle of a roadway). Then the top of the subway lines can continue to be paved trails and the subway lines will be sheltered from snow during the winter (something similar was done 50 years ago in Toronto, except the top of the subway lines are busy streets).

Now that I have thought about this more, keeping these as trails for now might be a good way to preserve them as future ROW (Right of Way) subway lines. (Note to conservationists - electric subways lines are a good alternative to car clogged roadways.) This isn't far-fetched since I don't think it would be that costly to build the infrastructure for subway lines along a lightly used pedestrian trail. Does anyone know of an instance where this has been done?

I am really starting to think that the municipality and province are going in the wrong direction by thinking of a third harbour crossing for cars. A single track LRT tunnel could cross under the harbour in about 2 minutes. If a large parking lot were built near the end of the circumferential highway in Dartmouth (at the harbour) people could get on the LRT and be across the harbour without having to park in downtown Halifax. In conjunction with a few short LRT subway routes on the peninsula, the peninsula could be a bus free area. Eliminating the buses would save an enormous amount of money on the buses themselves and for all the city streets and infrastructure required to service them.

I really think that the municipality should be thinking of increasing tolls on the two existing bridges and put the money towards the harbour LRT crossing (just one tunnel as opposed to a tunnel or bridge for 4 lanes of traffic). Increasing the tolls on the existing bridges would discourage people from taking their cars. This is basically how the 407 in Toronto operates - they don't increase capacity on the highway as the number of cars increases, they just keep increasing tolls (it irritates me and others but I think it makes a lot of sense). In this way they can keep increasing revenue without a lot of capital expense. They can also justify it by saying that they are helping the environment by discouraging increased car use (although I haven't heard anyone publicly state this).

On top of these points, the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth have to think seriously about increasing residential capacity in the city cores with highrise buildings to concentrate the population and make efficient use of a short subway system.

[Dmajackson]

City unveils plans for new multi-use trail
Halifax News Net
By Kim Moar - The Weekly News

Even though the old abandoned train tracks are still there, Tony Walker of Fairmount sub-division is already using what will become Halifax's newest multi-use trail just as HRM envisions people will.

Walker was one of about 70 residents at a public meeting last Thursday night to hear about the city's plans for CN's now-defunct eight-kilometre-long Chester Spur Rail Corridor. The afternoon session of the meeting attracted about 50 people.

Purchased by the city last August for $2.8 million and christened the Chain of Lakes Trail, the corridor runs from the Joseph Howe Superstore to the Lakeside Industrial Park.

By the end of June the tracks will be gone and HRM will tender work in July to turn the corridor into a multi-use trail. The two-kilometre section between Joseph Howe Drive at the Superstore traffic lights and Brook Street at Crown Drive will be paved immediately, and the remaining six kilometres of the path will be constructed out of hard-packed crusher dust.

"It's exciting," said Walker, who is already walking along the tracks to his job in the Bayers Lake Business Park.

"It's very difficult to bike on right now, but I walk and run it regularly, so it's a great commute," Walker said.

It takes Walker less than a half hour to get from his home to his office. "It's perfect."

Walker said once the tracks are gone and the trail is constructed, he hopes to use it year-round, even it means using snowshoes or cross-country skiis to get there.

Like Walker, Arlington Avenue resident Irene Spargo also walks along the abandoned tracks, but she too finds the terrain difficult. "It's a little awkward." An avid hiker, Spargo said she will definitely use the new trail once it's complete.

HRM trail specialist Don Amber said the trail will be off limts to the public while the work is being done this summer, but will be ready to use by the end of October.

When complete, the new eight-kilometre-long trail will link up with the 13-kilometre-long BLT trail in Timberlea, which connects to the 32-kilometre-long St. Margaret's trail.

"So when you add those together, and you can walk from the Superstore to Hubbards, 53 kilometres away," Amber said.

Residents at Thursday's meeting raised concerns about vandalism to abutting properties, privacy issues, the use of ATVs and illegal swimming in Chain Lake, owned by Halifax Water and reserved as a back-up municipal water supply.

Amber said with the trail now owed by HRM, it will be policed under municipal park bylaws, which restricts motorized vehicles like ATVs, and is subject to noise bylaws, leash bylaws and hours of operation. It will close each day at 10 p.m.

"So it's now become a managed piece of municipal property," Amber said.

Amber said crime tends to go down in green areas used by the general public because it lessens the opportunity for troublemakers.

Residents abutting the trail will be invited to a meeting with Halifax police in the coming weeks to discuss their concerns.

Thursday's meeting, held at the St. James Anglican Church at the Armdale Rotary was hosted by HRM and the newly-formed Chain of Lakes Trail Association. Residents at Thursday's meeting were encouraged to take out a membership with the association to be involved in the three to five year future planning process of the corridor.

"All this initial construction does is create one three-metre wide trail, inside a 30-metre wide green space, and the opportunities are unlimited for the future," Amber said. He said future opportunities could include things such as a playground, bike racks, benches or pocket parks.

The paved portion of the trail will be plowed and maintained at the same priority level as downtown Halifax sidewalks to ensure people can use the trail regardless of weather for recreation, and for short commutes.

The city has tendered a study being undertaken by SNC Lavalin looking at how to connect various trails and parks around the city with one another.

kmoar@hfxnews.ca

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

City unveils plans for new multi-use trail
Halifax News Net
By Kim Moar - The Weekly News

Even though the old abandoned train tracks are still there, Tony Walker of Fairmount sub-division is already using what will become Halifax's newest multi-use trail just as HRM envisions people will.

Walker was one of about 70 residents at a public meeting last Thursday night to hear about the city's plans for CN's now-defunct eight-kilometre-long Chester Spur Rail Corridor. The afternoon session of the meeting attracted about 50 people.

Purchased by the city last August for $2.8 million and christened the Chain of Lakes Trail, the corridor runs from the Joseph Howe Superstore to the Lakeside Industrial Park.

By the end of June the tracks will be gone and HRM will tender work in July to turn the corridor into a multi-use trail. The two-kilometre section between Joseph Howe Drive at the Superstore traffic lights and Brook Street at Crown Drive will be paved immediately, and the remaining six kilometres of the path will be constructed out of hard-packed crusher dust.

"It's exciting," said Walker, who is already walking along the tracks to his job in the Bayers Lake Business Park.

"It's very difficult to bike on right now, but I walk and run it regularly, so it's a great commute," Walker said.

It takes Walker less than a half hour to get from his home to his office. "It's perfect."

Walker said once the tracks are gone and the trail is constructed, he hopes to use it year-round, even it means using snowshoes or cross-country skiis to get there.

Like Walker, Arlington Avenue resident Irene Spargo also walks along the abandoned tracks, but she too finds the terrain difficult. "It's a little awkward." An avid hiker, Spargo said she will definitely use the new trail once it's complete.

HRM trail specialist Don Amber said the trail will be off limts to the public while the work is being done this summer, but will be ready to use by the end of October.

When complete, the new eight-kilometre-long trail will link up with the 13-kilometre-long BLT trail in Timberlea, which connects to the 32-kilometre-long St. Margaret's trail.

"So when you add those together, and you can walk from the Superstore to Hubbards, 53 kilometres away," Amber said.

Residents at Thursday's meeting raised concerns about vandalism to abutting properties, privacy issues, the use of ATVs and illegal swimming in Chain Lake, owned by Halifax Water and reserved as a back-up municipal water supply.

Amber said with the trail now owed by HRM, it will be policed under municipal park bylaws, which restricts motorized vehicles like ATVs, and is subject to noise bylaws, leash bylaws and hours of operation. It will close each day at 10 p.m.

"So it's now become a managed piece of municipal property," Amber said.

Amber said crime tends to go down in green areas used by the general public because it lessens the opportunity for troublemakers.

Residents abutting the trail will be invited to a meeting with Halifax police in the coming weeks to discuss their concerns.

Thursday's meeting, held at the St. James Anglican Church at the Armdale Rotary was hosted by HRM and the newly-formed Chain of Lakes Trail Association. Residents at Thursday's meeting were encouraged to take out a membership with the association to be involved in the three to five year future planning process of the corridor.

"All this initial construction does is create one three-metre wide trail, inside a 30-metre wide green space, and the opportunities are unlimited for the future," Amber said. He said future opportunities could include things such as a playground, bike racks, benches or pocket parks.

The paved portion of the trail will be plowed and maintained at the same priority level as downtown Halifax sidewalks to ensure people can use the trail regardless of weather for recreation, and for short commutes.

The city has tendered a study being undertaken by SNC Lavalin looking at how to connect various trails and parks around the city with one another.

kmoar@hfxnews.ca

Maybe sometime in the future these trails can be converted to a subway line (with a trail on top) if the Bayers Lake and Timberlea areas grow so that a lot more people are living in these area. It should be relatively cheap to convert a trail to a subway line versus burying a subway below an active roadway.

[Wishblade]

I found this article/graphs in SpacingAtlantic today comparing the travel patterns of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. They are much more similar than I would have thought: http://spacingatlantic.ca/2010/05/25...e-spacing-map/


And also, congrats on 20,000 posts everybody!

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

I found this article/graphs in SpacingAtlantic today comparing the travel patterns of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. They are much more similar than I would have thought: http://spacingatlantic.ca/2010/05/25...e-spacing-map/


And also, congrats on 20,000 posts everybody!

Halifax is low on public transit but higher on walking and riding bikes.

[Wishblade]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

Halifax is low on public transit but higher on walking and riding bikes.

That is true, however when you pit automobiles vs all other modes of transportation, all the cities are nearly equal. I just honestly expected the others to blow us away, Montreal and Toronto in particular.

[fenwick16]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

That is true, however when you pit automobiles vs all other modes of transportation, all the cities are nearly equal. I just honestly expected the others to blow us away, Montreal and Toronto in particular.

I am sure it would be even better if Halifax had a short subway connecting SMU, Dalhousie, the major hospitals, downtown Halifax and the West Mall. Add a cross harbour subway tunnel to that route and I am sure that the percentages would go way up.

[Dmajackson]

This is an interesting report done by the Halifax Cycling Coalition last June; Bicycle Count

It shows a count of cyclists at ten intersections in Halifax and Dartmouth during the peak rush hours. It doesn't give an complete view of cycling in the city but it shows certain routes are heavily used by commuters and it describes a few problem areas (ie MacDonald Bridge, Armdale).

[Dmajackson]

The following article is bias towards motorists and Councillor Adams seems to do a good job of circling the question (not a compliment). The comments to it are beyond stupid but I think when approved mine will shut up all of the drivers backtalking about cyclists. Anyways to stop from getting on a long rant here I'll post my comments when they appear on the CH website (I forgot to save a copy) and as a cyclist I support the HRM proposal;

Bike lanes on Herring Cove Road hit bump at regional council
By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE City Hall Reporter
Thu. Jun 10 - 4:54 AM

A contentious plan to add bicycle lanes to a stretch of Herring Cove Road in metro has been referred to the municipality’s active transportation advisory committee.

The city staff proposal calls for a 900-metre section of the road to be cut to two lanes from four to accommodate bike lanes on each side.

Local business operators are upset about the planned project because they fear the lane reduction will lead to fewer customers and hurt their bottom line, the local councillor said Wednesday.

Coun. Steve Adams (Spryfield-Herring Cove) wanted to address the issue at Tuesday’s Halifax council session but his colleagues decided to send the matter to the city’s advisory group. The committee is to meet June 17.

Local small businesses have been providing petitions for people in the area to sign in opposition to the plan.

Adams supports those in his district complaining about the proposed paving project, though he said he also backs the presence of bike lanes in Halifax Regional Municipality.

But he said this project makes little sense because the section of Herring Cove Road in Spryfield that’s to get bicycle lanes isn’t linked to bike lanes at either end.

"Regardless of what the active transportation committee says, it’s not going to erase the hundreds of names on these petitions, nor is it going to give the business community any semblance of reassurance that it’s not going to adversely affect them."

Metro cyclists have said the municipality is not as bike-friendly as other Canadian cities. They argue the more bicycle lanes, the better — provided such lanes make for safe bike riding.

A former member of the municipality’s bikeways committee, Adams said active transportation is important but this proposed project goes against the regional plan calling for four lanes of vehicular traffic in that area.

( mlightstone@herald.ca )

[Wishblade]

personally I think its crazy to eliminate 2 lanes in favour of bike lanes. All it is going to do is create 2 lanes of idling traffic with 2 barely used bike lanes on either side. I say if they want to add in bike lanes, widen the roadway.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

personally I think its crazy to eliminate 2 lanes in favour of bike lanes. All it is going to do is create 2 lanes of idling traffic with 2 barely used bike lanes on either side. I say if they want to add in bike lanes, widen the roadway.

I wouldn't oppose that however from what I gather it would require exapropriation which is pointless when there is two lanes of uncontinuous traffic in the area. If the two lanes continued into Halifax then I'd say exapropriate more land for bicycle lanes however since they dont and the city doesnt seem keen on widening the rest of the road right now I say get rid of the pointless lanes.

By the way if you think bike lanes are unused come out to Bedford on a decent day. When I'm out I commonly see more cyclsits than I count (I usually stop counting after 20) and that is only over a two hour period on a single road in one direction (I dont usually pass too often).

[Keith P.]

I never see bike lanes being used, decent day or otherwise. Meanwhile I see the Herring Cove Road used constantly by motorists. Game, set and match. HRM has gone overboard with useless bike lanes already and this is beyond ridiculous.

[fenwick16]

I don't see this as being a reasonable solution. Instead of bike lanes use the two lanes for BRT, since it will carry a lot more people. During the winter, bike lanes will be almost completely empty.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

I don't see this as being a reasonable solution. Instead of bike lanes use the two lanes for BRT, since it will carry a lot more people. During the winter, bike lanes will be almost completely empty.

Fine by me. I forget the exact locations but certain bus lanes in Halifax have been designated bike lanes as well so the buses and bikes end up using the same lane. Most of the time bikes will have the space to themselves and it would only be for a few seconds that the bus might get a bit close to them.

[beyeas]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I never see bike lanes being used, decent day or otherwise. Meanwhile I see the Herring Cove Road used constantly by motorists. Game, set and match. HRM has gone overboard with useless bike lanes already and this is beyond ridiculous.

Apparently it's only "Reds" who use them.

[coolmillion]

Yes, the reds love their bikes, don't they! hey
Well, I agree that Herring Cove Rd. shouldn't be the top priority for bike lanes, but the argument that the lanes aren't used is void. They are used and they would be used a lot more if there was proper connectivity. I used to live in the West End and would bike to work at SMU and on Sp Garden Road every day weather permitting. During commuter traffic I saw many, many other cyclists, and of course many, many more cars - inevitably just a single driver who would ofter look at me with distress or envy as I passed them. Many cyclists in Halifax learn to avoid the routes most heavily traveled by cars - in some cases even when it means not using bike lanes.
Of course, the reason for bike lanes is to make it safer and more attractive for people to choose bicycling as a transportation option. To argue that we shouldn't create more lanes because the few we have aren't used as much as car lanes is silly.
Despite the recent additions, the city has extremely poor cycling infrastructure (lanes, etc.) for the number of people who use bikes (1% according to the 2006 census - http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/env...nning-1177.htm - and note the top deterrent is "too dangerous", something that can be remedied in part through road adjustments; edit: I just noticed that the data on deterrents is from Montreal).
And for the sake of comparison - in Vancouver, where 1.7% cycle to work in year round mild weather, the Burrard bridge was recently narrowed to car traffic and widened for bikes on a trial basis, with a noticeable increase in bicycle use.

[Dmajackson]

Here is the staff report on the issue; http://www.halifax.ca/boardscom/docu...0617ATAC52.pdf

What has not been mentioned so far is the road will only have two through lanes, however, it will also include a centre turning lane which will solve some of the traffic problems potentially caused by removing traffic lanes.

Interestingly if the Spryfield BC wants to keep the two lanes to allow more cars to enter the retail sites it will eventually make the centre/left lanes pointless like on Sackville Drive. If the businesses see an increase in business from having four lanes it means more traffic will be turning left off the road which will back-up traffic in that lane and eventually drivers will avoid using that lane because of the stop-and-go momentum (very similar to Sackville Drive). In the three-lane solution the two lanes that will be used less (the centre lanes) are simply merged into one to save space will providing safer left-hand turns. The net gain of the two options vehicular -wise are ultimately the same (or close to it), if the four lanes remain the centre lanes will be used almost exclusively by left-turners while in the three lane solution the centre lane will be used by two-way left-turners. This ultimately leaves the bicycle lane as a net gain for the three-lane solution which makes it a better choice than wasting space with having four-lanes.

Basically if you want to imagine this it is like comparing the Bedford Highway (102-Meadowbrook) to Sackville Drive (Cobequid-Beaverbank). On the Bfd Hwy two lanes ensure uninterrupted flow for thru-traffic and a centre-lane for turning traffic. On Sackville Dr all four lanes theoretically are for thru-traffic however the centre lanes are used almost exclusively by turning traffic.

To me this is a no-brainer. You are ultimately improving the ability for vehicles to enter local businesses, streamlining thru-traffic, and provding space for cyclists.

[Dmajackson]

Just to state the final say about the Herring Cove Road bicycle lanes;

Paving project won’t have bike lanes
By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE City Hall Reporter
Wed. Jul 7 - 4:53 AM

A controversial repaving project in Spryfield that potentially was to include pavement markings for bicycle lanes is going ahead without the bike lanes.

Halifax regional council Tuesday authorized the $1.1-million roadwork after the local councillor presented his colleagues with a 2,639-name petition objecting to remarking the road to accommodate the bicycle lanes.

Coun. Steve Adams (Spryfield-Herring Cove) said business operators and others were worried about a city staff proposal that would have seen a 900-metre section of Herring Cove Road cut to two lanes from four to accommodate bike lanes on each side.

Businesses feared traffic would be reduced and that would hurt their bottom line.

In giving the repaving project the green light, council opted to keep the pavement markings the way they are, without bicycle lanes.

Bike lane advocates on council said before the idea was killed that such additions to the road would be in keeping with Halifax Regional Municipality’s active transportation plan. They lost their battle in a 13-9 vote.

Coun. Steve Streatch (Eastern Shore-Musquodoboit Valley) said the active transportation plan is causing headaches for council and suggested it may need to be reformed.

[Dmajackson]

Well its official motoroists are not only idiots but also indifferent to the well-being of cyclists.

I won't go into detail (or a rant) about the incident right now since I am still very shoken up about it so I just experienced an almost fatal hit-and-run collision in the form of a right-hook at the corner of the Bedford Highway and Dartmouth Road.

If I had reacted even one second later (or travelled one foot further) I would currently be in the morgue.