Local city planning experts say Cogswell interchange proposal lacks vision

The Cogswell district redevelopment plan is mediocre and rooted in the last century according to the former Halifax City Manager Bernie Smith and Dalhousie University Architecture Professor Frank Palermo. 

Palermo says the area is a critical part of the downtown and its makeover is being approached with the wrong attitude. 

“It may be the best we can do under the circumstances but it isn't good enough,” he says. 

Halifax council voted in early June to go ahead with the next major steps in redeveloping the Cogswell interchange 

The design plan will see the downtown highway replaced with a new street network, two multi-lane roundabouts, bike lanes, green spaces and more. 

But Palermo says the new road network is still too focused on heavy trucks and commuter traffic

“The circumstances that are pushing this is the perceived need to move trucks from the port and a lot of traffic through the area,” he says. 

Instead, Palermo says the interchange should be replaced with streets that have life. 

“It needs to be seen as a piece of the city that connects the waterfront to the communities around it, is mostly pedestrian oriented and is a destination for the city as a whole.”

He says the city has much potential and its future depends on capturing these kinds of opportunities. 

Smith says he wants to see the proposed design for the replacement of the Cogswell Street interchange more distinctive.

“One of council's objectives is to build destinations, things that are special,” he says. “We need things that will have us looking ahead and looking toward the horizon.”

He says the city needs to show some imagination. 

“This is the community's land and this is the last big piece and we owe it to the community for the future of the community to do something better,” he says. 

More public feedback sessions are to be scheduled when the design is 90 per cent complete.