Mobility plan meetings end with bus cancellation concerns in Spryfield

Planners at the final meeting Thursday about bus service in Spryfield got a lot of feedback about the limitations of bus service in the area.

The meeting came on the heels ofcity council's decision Tuesday to scrap a bus that travels through Spryfield to Sambro, prompting some concerns about reducing transportation options to and from the urban core.

"That was a real big disappointment, because that means it's going to cut off people who are outside of the...city, so to speak," saidBruce Holland, the executive director of the local business commission.

"They're not going to be able to get into the city, to work, or to school or anything else."

A mixture of urban and suburban needs

About 20 people attended the meeting to discuss transportation issues specific to the Spryfield neighbourhood.

"They have issues that they don't have maybe in the urban centre," saidRodMcPhail, project manager for the integratedmobility plan.

"Sidewalks, for instance, on Herring Cove Road. There's some sidewalk on it, but not full sidewalk."

Planning workshops were held between Nov. 30 and Dec. 8 at locations around the city, ending with thesession Thursday evening.Staff will now begin to draft recommendations to submit to city council.

Goal to reduce vehicle traffic by 10%

"It's a fairly aggressive timeline," saidMcPhail.

Theplan's goal is to reduce car use from 80 per cent of all trips made in Halifax, to 70 per cent of all trips made.

Holland saidhe came to Thursday's meeting because he was concerned a possible move to cut out a traffic lane along the main shopping stretch of Herring Cove Road. There are currently four lanes.

"There was some recommendation the last time that it go down to three to incorporate bike lanes. We have no difficulty with the bike lanes whatsoever, but we do have difficulty with reducing the number of lanes," he said.

Buses a contentious issue

Although the meeting covered all modes of transportation, buses were a common theme, particularly in light of the council decision just days earlier to eliminate one of the local bus routes.

Frances Dorsey moved from Portugese Cove to Purcells Cove to be closer to the bus line. She believed cancelling the Sambro bus would have a negative effect on some residents, particularly seniors.

"They don't have cars, they can't afford cars, they've lived in those communities their entire lives," she said.

"They were born in those communities. And to remove the bus is going to force them to move out of their homes."

Also on Tuesday, council considered reducing bus service to Purcells Cove. That's been delayed for a year pending areview.

More bus-only lanes possible

Dorsey sometimes takes the Sambro bus to get downtown, but says it doesn't run often enough to be convenient.

"I have to connect at Mumford Road, and an 18-minute car ride turns into an hour-and-a-half commute," she said.

Rod McPhail hopes to present the integrated mobility plan to council in June.

Some elements of the plan could include a bike network, better sidewalks and wider streets with bus-only lanes. Other aspects could include widening Bayers Road for busesand re-examining main arteries like Robie Street.