I agree that city centres should be for the access and use of all residents across the entire metro area, but that access definitely has to be done in an efficient, respectful way that doesn't degrade its livability and attractiveness. There needs to be a balance, and currently the balance is in favour of those coming in from the outside. There are many people living in urban Halifax such as those attending university who are not wealthy or elite and for whom active transportation would be a great option if things were improved. Halifax is not gentrified nearly to the point where the central urban areas can be plausibly presented as a bastion of wealthy elites.
Also, the idea of cycle lanes being built to coax people to drive into town via bike is false as the majority of active transport occurs within the urban area itself across distances that are manageable for many people rather than from suburban to urban. I don't know if that talking point is an honest misunderstanding or an intentional strawman, but it needs to end.
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"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw
Don't ask people not to debate a topic. Just stop making debatable assertions. Problem solved.
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