Spring Garden Streetscape - Page 5

OldDartmouthMark · #81 Posted **Dec 27, 2021, 9:21 PM**

Looks nice overall.

I notice that there are private vehicles being driven on the street. Has the transit-only rule been suspended for the holidays?

Mr. Hunt · #82 Posted **Dec 27, 2021, 10:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

Has the transit-only rule been suspended for the holidays?

It goes into effect in June. https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-ca...022-100668109/

OldDartmouthMark · #83 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 12:26 AM**

Thanks!

coastalkid · #84 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 3:47 AM**

OldDartmouthMark · #85 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 5:35 AM**

Great pics!

If I'm not mistaken, it looks like they have used some of the cobblestones that had remained under the previous pavement. I like the way they fit them in at various locations.

Source

Keith P. · #86 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 1:43 PM**

The return of the ankle benders! Halifax installed them at great expense in the '80s downtown and then had to remove them in the '90s when they became challenging to walk on. This hardly seems to have justified a 6-month closure and the burning of millions in tax dollars. The concrete caissons for trees and greenery seem ideal for drunken college students to trip over or fall into as they stagger home after a night of drinking.

connect2source · #87 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 4:02 PM**

SGR upgrades look fantastic and essential to keeping any important high-street vital! Here in Vancouver they do little if anything. Robson Street is a mess of hodgepodge sidewalks, dirt around trees and asphalt patches around overgrown roots. Vancouver could learn a lot from this project.

MonctonRad · #88 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 4:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The concrete caissons for trees and greenery seem ideal for drunken college students to trip over or fall into as they stagger home after a night of drinking.

Actually, they will be perfect for the panhandlers, drifters, vagrants and hobos to sit on to pester and annoy law abiding passers-by...........

Arrdeeharharharbour · #89 Posted **Dec 28, 2021, 5:12 PM**

Nice street lighing! And so awesome to see the absence of overhead wires and old leaning wooden poles. The planters look like they may be pinch-points in pedestrian traffic flow. Maybe that's what is intended? I think providing seating on the planter ends rather than facing the storefronts might provide better sidewalk flow and keep stray legs and canes/walkers and strollers and dogs out of the ped traffic flow.

JHikka · #90 Posted **Dec 29, 2021, 6:59 PM**

Replies to this thread are exactly what I imagined they would be.

Looks like a great improvement overall.

Hali87 · #91 Posted **Dec 29, 2021, 11:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by coastalkid

This looks striking... but what is it for?

Dartguard · #92 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 12:49 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hali87

This looks striking... but what is it for?

I agree it is striking but the only answer I can provide is that it is temporary parking as that was its use the other day when I walked down SGR .

Corker · #93 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 4:46 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dartguard

I agree it is striking but the only answer I can provide is that it is temporary parking as that was its use the other day when I walked down SGR .

It looks like that is in front of Park Lane and according to the plan on Page 1 of this thread that is an Access A Bus stop. I would say the blocks are there to provide a vehicle-pedestrian barrier as the bus pulls up. The blocks are actually visible in the video also linked on page 1.

Keith P. · #94 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 12:44 PM**

These are possibly a homage to the traditional Mi'kmaq method of defending their settlements. In this case they were adapted to prevent evil motorists from driving on the sidewalks given how dangerously narrow the street has become. Of course the tactile plates had to be installed to prevent the visually challenged from continually walking into them and causing themselves severe personal injuries, just as the plates are used at street corners on sidewalks to try to reduce the carnage we have experienced for decades of such unfortunate folk stepping into moving traffic and being mowed down by thoughtless motorists.

Or, it could be HRM's homage to Halifax and its seafaring heritage, an artsy interpretation of a 5-masted sailing ship. This seems more likely given the well-accepted definition of such a vessel as a hole in the water you throw money into, which is very similar to what HRM did with this project.

Haliguy · #95 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 1:40 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hali87

This looks striking... but what is it for?

I'm pretty sure it's for cabs picking up people in front of Parklane so their not holding up traffic.

MonctonRad · #96 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 1:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haliguy

I'm pretty sure it's for cabs picking up people in front of Parklane so their not holding up traffic.

But cabs won't be allowed now due to the oppressive restrictions on non-bus traffic from 7 AM - 8 PM...........

Haliguy · #97 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 2:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

But cabs won't be allowed now due to the oppressive restrictions on non-bus traffic from 7 AM - 8 PM...........

They can now, but you're right they won't in June I guess. I'm 100 percent behind the streetscaping that has been done with the wider sidewalks, but not sure I'm too keen on the transit only pilot project.

MonctonRad · #98 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 2:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haliguy

They can now, but you're right they won't in June I guess. I'm 100 percent behind the streetscaping that has been done with the wider sidewalks, but not sure I'm too keen on the transit only pilot project.

I'm the same. The streetscaping looks nice overall but the rabid anti-car attitude promulgated by the zealots in the planning department in HRM I find very disturbing.

I have no problem in promoting mass transit and improving infrastructure (especially LRT and commuter rail), but HRM seems to be exerting a lot of effort instead upon the active suppressing of private vehicular traffic on the peninsula. This approach is a negative one, not a positive one, and is not a welcoming one to non residents.

The net result of this will be making peninsular Halifax a sort of private club for residents, with suburbanites and residents of the greater Maritimes not invited to the party. We need access to the core. Instead, HRM seems invested in making access to the downtown more difficult and more complicated.............

OldDartmouthMark · #99 Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 2:56 PM**

I made a point of driving through there last night and I have to say it does look good in person. I can also confirm that the street-side businesses didn't all disappear as had been originally predicted...

From a motorist's perspective it is no worse than before, as there were always parked cars, street bump-outs for patios, taxis, etc. blocking the side of the road anyhow. If anything it was easier to drive as there were less distractions in the form of people opening car doors or pulling out of parking spaces right in front of you, etc.

I can see where there is no longer any room for a bus to pull over to load/unload that it would be a little slower during busy times, but I'm not sure if that would even be an issue as pedestrians were always the deciding point on how long it would take you to drive through SGR. That, and people driving through to 'people watch'... or 'girl watch' as my friends and I did in our younger days (not sure if that's a thing anymore, or at least not pc enough to be outwardly admitted today?).

Anyhow, it won't matter after June. I'm split on the transit-only thing, TBH. I think overall it will be for the better, but I am curious on how people who arrive by car to pick people up or drop them off will be able to navigate the side streets. We'll see what happens, as is the purpose of a trial.

someone123 · #**100** Posted **Dec 30, 2021, 6:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

From a motorist's perspective it is no worse than before, as there were always parked cars, street bump-outs for patios, taxis, etc. blocking the side of the road anyhow.

I have not been back in a few years now but SGR was never a great place for driving. It is too busy and complicated with a lot of pedestrians and buses. It's normal for cities to have areas like this and in Europe this area would probably be closed to cars completely with tram service only or something similar. It seems pretty likely Halifax will eventually need more than just buses in mixed traffic for transit in the core.

I don't really buy the war on car point about downtown. There is a problem with cars because there are too many people in that area compared to the road capacity, so it is necessary to find other solutions. There is lots of structured parking so you can drive downtown, park, and then walk around (or use transit or ridesharing). If you want to visit SGR you are best off parking in a parkade then walking around. Virtually all new developments add parking.

Some people talk about downtown businesses like they are strip malls and you should be able to drive up to "princess parking" in front of each storefront. That is not realistic.