Halifax's Street Network

[Jstaleness]

Has there ever been talk of using a roundabout for the intersections of Alderney, Portland and Prince Albert? Would it work or is there enough space to allow for one?

Here: https://goo.gl/maps/uLMsd4CfPEr

[hoser111]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Has there ever been talk of using a roundabout for the intersections of Alderney, Portland and Prince Albert? Would it work or is there enough space to allow for one?

Here: https://goo.gl/maps/uLMsd4CfPEr

I just used Google Earth and measured the new ones on North Park and they are 50m diameter +/-. You'd need a sizeable chunk of Marine House front parking to accommodate it plus maybe some from St. James United church think.

[Jstaleness]

So let's say the land was/became available. Would it make sense to put one there? Would it be better suited further up Portland at Pleasant?

[Jonovision]

Originally Posted by Jstaleness

Has there ever been talk of using a roundabout for the intersections of Alderney, Portland and Prince Albert? Would it work or is there enough space to allow for one?

Here: https://goo.gl/maps/uLMsd4CfPEr

I don't know if a roundabout is being considered but HRM staff are working to redesign that whole area in conjunction with the second phase of the Daylighting project.

[IanWatson]

It's probably tied to the Dartmouth Cove plan. There's a fair bit of work to be done there in terms of reconfiguring that intersection + phase 2 of Sawmill River + setting up the street grid for Dartmouth Cove. Hopefully we see it done in the next couple of years.

[Dmajackson]

For anyone wanting some "light reading" the Bedford Highway Functional Plan is going to Regional Council next week for approval. The TLDR version is they are seeking approval of the Balanced Modes approach.

"The ‘Balanced Modes’ Option includes a continuous AT facility and targeted transit priority
improvements while minimizing impacts to existing traffic capacity.

• The continuous AT facility would include a multi-use path along the Bedford Basin side of
the corridor between the Windsor Street Exchange and Convoy Run, and on-street bicycle
lanes between Convoy Run and Dartmouth Road. Sidewalks would be extended to provide
connectivity within developed areas and improved access to transit stops.

• A dedicated southbound bus lane would be provided from Kearney Lake Road to Sherbrooke
Drive to assist buses in bypassing general traffic during congested periods. Other transit
improvements would include transit signal priority and queue bypass lanes at strategic
locations.

• A speed limit of 50 km/hour would be proposed for the entire corridor to improve safety and
permit narrowing of traffic lanes to enable the improvements for transit and AT. No traffic
lanes would be removed except for all left turn lanes between Rutledge Street and Hatchery
Lane in Bedford."

[alps]

While poking around the latest Google Earth imagery, I noticed that a new road has been built connecting BIO and Wallis Heights.

I thought the city might have initiated the project to make the 51 bus route more efficient, since it serves BIO during peak hours before making its usual loop around Wallis Heights. But the route map hasn't changed at all.

I subsequently found a federal government news release that said the $5.9 million project was done to "ease congestion" and "improve safety in the event of an emergency".

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by alps

While poking around the latest Google Earth imagery, I noticed that a new road has been built connecting BIO and Wallis Heights.

I thought the city might have initiated the project to make the 51 bus route more efficient, since it serves BIO during peak hours before making its usual loop around Wallis Heights. But the route map hasn't changed at all.

I subsequently found a federal government news release that said the $5.9 million project was done to "ease congestion" and "improve safety in the event of an emergency".

Seems odd, spare cash they had to spend maybe?

I hardly think BIO employees have reason to travel to Wallis Heights and vice versa. Would it maybe be a faster connection from Wallis Heights to the lower sections of Shannon park in the future?

[someone123]

Minor project but this intersection is being upgraded:



https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/...d-enhancements

I always thought it would be nice to improve the appearance of these unusual intersections. Most of them, in the past, were just blobs of asphalt. Many of them handle little traffic and are surrounded by bottlenecks so it does not make sense to design them to optimize traffic throughput.

[atbw]

Originally Posted by someone123

Minor project but this intersection is being upgraded:



https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/...d-enhancements

I always thought it would be nice to improve the appearance of these unusual intersections. Most of them, in the past, were just blobs of asphalt. Many of them handle little traffic and are surrounded by bottlenecks so it does not make sense to design them to optimize traffic throughput.

You could fit a nice little flatiron building into the space that got freed up! I've driven and walked through the SGR area a few times since this, the lights on Sackville and the one-ways have been put in and it's definitely friendlier.

[IanWatson]

Cogswell land swap is happening!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...sued-1.5893379

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by IanWatson

Cogswell land swap is happening!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...sued-1.5893379

Good news everyone!

Things might actually be underway by my next visit. I’m excited to see the stream of proposals for the new lots.

[OldDartmouthMark]

That is good news. Construction is expected to start in the fall. Let's hope they can adhere to the plan.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Those buildings around the new area don't look very tall / dense. Cogswell was supposed to be the place where the height would be built.

I guess International Place is now officially dead: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...153694&page=13

It will be a huge shame if no density ends up on these lands. With almost all peninsular land accounted for... Halifax is going to sprawl even further in upcoming years.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Those buildings around the new area don't look very tall / dense. Cogswell was supposed to be the place where the height would be built.

The Cogswell lands are still affected by the ramparts height restrictions. I think it would be better to throw those out and allow heights that make sense for the area without worrying about the Citadel courtyard but that seems unlikely to happen. If taller buildings continue to be proposed and built they'll probably be outside of downtown.

Even with the shorter height limits this is still a lot of potential infill and is really going to change the feel of the whole area.

The north end of downtown around Historic Properties is one of the nicest parts architecturally but it feels underused and squandered right now because the interchange is so unfriendly. Just having that new Granville square with some nice buildings on the new lots around it would be a big improvement.

One interesting aspect of the plan is that it's going to be downtown-like down below Brunswick and increasingly downtown-like above Brunswick around Gottingen, but there is a pocket of lower density residential in between. Maybe it won't matter much since there are development sites along Cogswell. Cogswell is the only natural artery here since none of the east-west streets farther north connect up well until you get to North.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Those buildings around the new area don't look very tall / dense. Cogswell was supposed to be the place where the height would be built.

I guess International Place is now officially dead: https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...153694&page=13

It will be a huge shame if no density ends up on these lands. With almost all peninsular land accounted for... Halifax is going to sprawl even further in upcoming years.

My guess is the new lands would have similar zoning by-laws to the rest of downtown. The renderings are probably meant to show streetwalls surrounding the park would be lower, but perhaps any potential tower could be setback on a podium.

International place in the proposal's current form is dead, but we could still see another proposal fulfilling the same role on an adjacent lot.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

International place in the proposal's current form is dead, but we could still see another proposal fulfilling the same role on an adjacent lot.

It seems much nicer to have Granville Mall open up onto a park surrounded by buildings rather than blocking off that end of the street with a tower.

International Place didn't look bad but it was designed around land ownership constraints from before there were plans to take down the interchange. In the long run it might be good that it wasn't built.

[Good Baklava]

Originally Posted by someone123

It seems much nicer to have Granville Mall open up onto a park surrounded by buildings rather than blocking off that end of the street with a tower.

International Place didn't look bad but it was designed around land ownership constraints from before there were plans to take down the interchange. In the long run it might be good that it wasn't built.

Certainly. Had international place been built Granville mall would have been busy for opening & closing hours, but otherwise dead as we see today. Having it open will see more foot traffic from those downtown for both work and leisure, coming from more buildings, thus throughout a bigger part of the day.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by someone123

It seems much nicer to have Granville Mall open up onto a park surrounded by buildings rather than blocking off that end of the street with a tower.

International Place didn't look bad but it was designed around land ownership constraints from before there were plans to take down the interchange. In the long run it might be good that it wasn't built.

I can concede that... the "flat iron" shape seemed to be an ideal use of the land, but the new plan changes things.

This being said, a number of squat buildings on the lands would end up being a huge waste of potential housing. Thin towers with green space would be more appropriate from both aesthetic and functional perspectives.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Originally Posted by Good Baklava

Certainly. Had international place been built Granville mall would have been busy for opening & closing hours, but otherwise dead as we see today. Having it open will see more foot traffic from those downtown for both work and leisure, coming from more buildings, thus throughout a bigger part of the day.

I agree. We can hope that, even with the ramparts rules, that developers will propose something like around the SGR/Carlton lands.

Parks will be nice, but there is kind of an ugly navy base on the water side, so inclosing the parks may give a better feel (and protect from wind off the water).