Part of Halifax’s Spring Garden Road will be closed to cars for most of the day, starting Monday, a decision that has divided businesses in the area.
The area from South Park Street to Queen Street will be for buses, cyclists and pedestrians from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Cars, taxis and Uber are not allowed.
The pilot project will last one year.
“I think it’s going to be great in person,” said Way Mason, an area counselor.
“The biggest thing is that the buses run on time. And the second thing we hope to get out of this is a better walking experience on Spring Garden Road.”
The city says the move is also about changing the atmosphere of Spring Garden. She wants to encourage more eating, walking and rolling along the way.
The traffic will be able to cross Spring Garden Road. (Halifax Regional Municipality)
“As we make the sidewalks wider, the traffic feels closer to the people walking,” said Ellora Wilkinson, HRM’s chief planner. “So switching to buses only will make things quieter and just improve the quality for pedestrians.”
The bus-only route will be marked with new signs and banners.
Cars will be able to cross the Spring Garden from neighboring streets. Clyde Street will be turned in both directions to keep the traffic going. Brenton Street will be turned into a one-way street to the north, allowing only left turns to Spring Garden Road.
The traffic lights on the street will not change and the buses will have to stop at intersections. But Wilkinson said that could change throughout the year.
One thing that doesn’t change too much is parking and loading.
“Some people seem confused about parking or taxis,” Wilkinson said. “You could no longer park in the Spring Garden or hang up taxis. And loading was not allowed after 11 o’clock in the morning. “
Sue Utek, director of the Spring Garden Area Business Association, said a business survey shows an even division.
“There are those vendors who are looking forward to reducing more traffic from the street – motorcycles, moving cars – and there are those who are afraid of this and think that with the whole construction of South Park, it’s just not the right time. “
Kurt Bulger, owner of Jennifer’s in Nova Scotia, is unhappy with the change. (Robert Gertin, CBC)
Kurt Bulger, owner of Jennifer’s of Nova Scotia in Spring Garden, is unhappy with the change.
“Moving downtown is difficult now, and it just makes it harder,” he said. “You [won’t be able] to access the center of the street for anything [except] off the side streets, all to make the buses go 300 yards down the road. “
He believes fewer people will come to the center with the bus-only lane combined with road closure construction projects.
“Many companies are trying to get out of the pandemic that has hit us in the last two years,” he said. “So the balance in most people’s books is not great. Last year, during the construction season, and it was not so great.
“If our sales fall, we’ll scream like hell.”
Similar bus-only corridors exist in some major Canadian cities. There is a pilot project only for buses in Vancouver and a corridor with priority transit in Toronto.
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