Council votes to move forward on Integrated Mobility Plan
Posted Dec 6, 2017 12:27:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – After hours of discussion and a few changes, Regional Council has voted in favour of moving forward with the framework of the Integrated Mobility Plan, a blueprint the city hopes will spur the use of active transportation.
The plan was presented Tuesday by contractor Rod McPhail, who laid out 137 ‘actions’ HRM could take to make it more attractive for people to ditch their cars for other modes of transportation over the next 15 years.
The goal of the report, the result of months of work by McPhail and city staff, is to inform HRM on how to hit its 2014 Active Transportation Priorities’ Plan target of at least 30 per cent of trips made by walking, cycling or using public transit by 2031.
The plan’s suggestions include: priority transit corridors for dedicated bus lanes on major roads, a network of protected bike lanes, improving the connectivity of sidewalks and keeping an eye on the potential of commuter rail.
It also discusses how to approach future developments, suggesting more density and so-called ‘complete streets.’ This would be a combination of high density, mixed-used developments close to most general amenities, which the report says could be strategically built along active transportation corridors.
McPhail’s report was well-received by councilors, who voted to move forward with the direction of the plan and have city staff begin to look at cost and possible funding options.
Council did vote for a few changes that included quarterly updates on the plan’s implementation, a 24-month review of municipal planning guidelines and staff reports on speeding up the timeline of some projects outlined that are already underway.
Mayor Mike Savage told reporters HRM will be making its case to both levels of government for funding for some of the potential projects in the plan, despite the province not traditionally funding municipal transit projects.
“I think we have a pretty good relationship with the other orders of government and we’ll certainly make our case,” Savage said.
He thinks the next round of federal funding is meant to be “transformative” and said the idea of commuter rail could fit that bill.
The Municipality, VIA Rail and CN are currently in discussions on the feasibility of a commuter rail service between Bedford and Halifax, which would largely be built on existing CN infrastructure.
McPhail said he was happy to see such a large report so well received, saying it was a rarity when his plans get unanimous support.
“That was amazing,” he said, noting he believes the planning document will make a difference in Halifax.
Some advocacy groups have questioned the prolonged timeline on some the projects, like implementing a cycling network by 2022, but McPhail said the team was being realistic about when the projects could reasonably be completed.
Council did vote for a staff report on the feasibility of implementing that network by 2020.
Staff report ordered on issue of segways on ferry
A further staff report has been ordered on the issue surrounding segways on ferries after councillors couldn't agree on a recommendation from the Transportation Standing Committee to outright ban the electric vehicles.
Bicycles and electric bikes that can fit in the existing bike racks are currently permissible onboard the ferries and Hammonds-Plains councillor Matt Whitman said segways were being “discriminated” against.
A picture was also presented showing how the segways took up less space than bikes in the current bike racks.
Dartmouth councillor Sam Austin felt the segway ban was a non-issue, as no one had contacted him concerned that they couldn't ride their segway on the ferry.
Councillor Bill Karsten also disagreed with an outright ban but said there should be “equity and fairness” in how all people-moving vehicles are treated.
City staff did point out that technically, under Transport Canada guidelines, segways aren't allowed onboard ferries without a system designed specifically to hold them in place.
Staff will further examine the issue and report back to council.
Councillors did vote to install new bike racks on ferries and restrict the number of bikes to the amount that can fit in the racks.
Council also voted to install 'tire-sizing racks' at ferry terminals so riders can check if their bike fits before they board.
