E-News August(ish) 2022

Bit late on my e-news! Summer got away from me and July’s edition crept into August, which has now just barely spilled into September! Apologies to anyone who was missing the District 5 report over the last few weeks.

News

Summer of Stuff
I have been struck over the last few weeks by the number of recently completed projects that are making life better in District 5. Many of the projects were partnerships between the municipality and others and were very much only possible because of that community involvement and leadership. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the work and highlight what’s new.

Shirley’s Splashpad
Shirley’s Splashpad on the Dartmouth Common opened just in time for the second half of the summer season. The splashpad came out of extensive work by the Friends of the Dartmouth Splashpad who helped identify a location and get the project prioritized in HRM’s Aquatics Strategy. The Friends were also integral in raising additional funds to supplement HRM’s budget and make the Splashpad even better than an HRM only project would have been.

The largest donation to the Friends of the Dartmouth Splashpad was made in honour of Shirley Clarke, who lived just a short distance away on Thistle Street. Shirley raised six children in the neighbourhood and became a grandmother of 12 and a great-grandmother of 10! After her death in 2020, Shirley’s family made the decision to support projects in her honour that would have a positive impact on the community that she loved. The Friends worked with the Clarke family to make the splashpad one of those projects. Shirley Clarke is the Shirley of Shirley’s Splashpad. A big thank you to the Friends, and the Clarke family.

Penhorn Lake Trail
Penhorn Lake has a new trail! The new trail runs from Somerset Street around the Lake to connect with the paved active transportation trail that HRM built on the beach side a few years ago. The two trails combine to create a complete loop around Penhorn Lake.

The new trail was made possible thanks to the Penhorn Lake Area Trails Association (PLATA). PLATA was able to tap into an HRM grant, some District 5 capital funding, a contribution from Clayton/Crombie Partnership, and a Provincial grant to pay for the new trail’s construction. PLATA was also instrumental in working out the original vision for trails in the area, including the paved trail that HRM built. Penhorn Lake is a better place because of PLATA’s work over the last 15 years.

Alderney Gate Lobby Renovation
This project is actually an all HRM effort. HRM completed renovations to the Pedway in Alderney Gate in 2018. The renovations turned the Pedway into a much more well-used gathering space. That work has since been extended down to the lobby. The just completed lobby work removed the curtain wall that separated the Library from the lobby, and added new seating and a public washroom. The result is a much more welcoming space for both Alderney Gate and the Library.

Alderney Gate Plaza Upgrades
It’s not just the lobby at Alderney that has changed. The side and rear plaza next to the Library has some new outdoor seating too. This project was driven by the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission. The Commission spearheaded the effort with Dalhousie’s Planning and Design Centre and was successful in tapping into some federal funding to make the Plaza project possible. A big thank you to the Business Commission!

Dartmouth Common Disc Golf
You might have seen a few media stories about disc golf on the Dartmouth Common. I live nearby and typically pass by the Common a few times a week, and I can’t recall so much sustained activity in the Park. The course is an HRM Parks and Recreation pilot project that was made possible because of the sustained lobbying effort of people who just love disc golf and have been pushing for HRM to add a municipal course. That persistence has paid off. Disc golf on the Common seems to be a runaway success and I’m looking into options with staff as to how to make the pilot course permanent.

Albro Lake Shade Structure
Last but not least, the new shade/picnic area at Albro Lake is almost complete. This project came from Councillor Mancini and I pooling the District 5 and 6 capital funds. The idea came from Councillor Mancini who had originally wanted to add some more gym equipment, but as we looked at the space and how it’s used, the gym equipment idea morphed into a shade structure instead. Glad to work with Councillor Mancini to make this addition to Albro Lake.

Budget Video
Curious what else might be up in District 5? I did a video outlining what the 2022 budget means for our community. Check it out here:

Special Planning Areas
Since my last e-newsletter in June, there has been news regarding District 5’s two special planning areas, Penhorn and Southdale. The special planning areas are places where the Province has taken over the planning process. Instead of Council making decisions on development in these areas, a panel of unelected appointees makes a recommendation to the Minister of Municipal Affairs John Lohr. Lohr then makes the final call. All of that now happens in secret with no public oversight or involvement. So what has happened over the last two months?

Penhorn
The Province has approved the redevelopment of Penhorn Mall. As I wrote previously, this one wasn’t a huge concern because there has already been a lot of public engagement and work done to sort out the future vision for the property. Between the reveal of the first concept plan and the final approved plan shown above, there were some changes to the orientation of the buildings to better align them with the streets (a positive change given the urban context), but the overall direction for the site remained the same. Some folks in Manor Park had some lingering questions, which will now, unfortunately, go unanswered, but this really was down to a question of details rather than big picture vision.

At Penhorn, the Province’s approval really hasn’t made any practical difference. By eliminating a public hearing, the Province cut 2-4 months off the timeline, which is pretty inconsequential given that site prep work was already underway and will continue for some time. There was nothing being held up here. This was more about the Minister getting in front of a parade that was already on the move and being able to add the Penhorn unit count to boasts about housing approvals than it was about making any real impact.

Southdale
Southdale, on the other hand, is the very opposite of Penhorn. While Penhorn has had lots of past work and engagement, no one has ever really thought about the Southdale lands in much detail. This is because, for decades, the lands were effectively frozen in time under Provincial ownership. The big change came in 2020 when they were quietly sold. HRM had just started a visioning process for the property when the Province designated the site as one of the nine special planning areas. This has sharply curtailed public engagement.

The Southdale plan hasn’t been approved yet, but the Minister recently gave permission for the developer to start cutting trees and moving earth to prep the site for development. This has sparked an angry reaction from folks worried about the future of the Eisner Cove Wetland. A few of them have opted to take direct action and have occupied the site to block clearcutting. There were some, frankly, very dangerous moments when Clayton’s contractor started up equipment anyway and got extremely close to some of the protesters. Whether the protesters should be there or not is besides the point, no one should ever operate equipment with such recklessness! It was lucky that no one was seriously hurt!

HRM is no stranger to controversy around new development, but I can’t recall ever seeing anything remotely like this. Why is that? Could it be because all the usual options to influence the planning process have been eliminated? Normally people with concerns could organize around public meetings or try to influence Council, but that’s all gone. The public has virtually no say in what is happening in Southdale and decisions are being made in secret. People with concerns are left with a stark choice of give up or protest. There are no other options. The Province has created the conditions for this situation by backing everyone into a corner.

This mess is the direct result of Premier Houston and Minister Lohr’s heavy-handed and unwarranted interference in the planning process, a process that they clearly didn’t understand. HRM’s political and civil service leadership advised formally and informally that this interference wasn’t needed or wanted and that public input shouldn’t be seen as an impediment to development. With a few weeks of experience in government though, Houston and Lohr felt they knew better than municipal leaders and civil servants who have dealt with planning for their whole careers. They didn’t listen and are responsible for the mess that has resulted. Here are my words at Law Amendments back when the bill creating the Taskforce and giving Minister Lohr extraordinary powers was still under consideration:

So far the Province has had a “damn the torpedoes” approach to the special planning areas. I expect that will continue unless there is a groundswell of public outrage. It’s too bad because, between the two poles of no development anywhere on any of the Southdale lands, and accepting Clayton’s plan without any revisions, is a whole lot of space for discussion. Do we need a connection across the marsh if the road link to Gaston is built? Would some more height be better to maximize the undisturbed lands? How big should the wetland’s buffer zone be to protect the marsh? None of that is being discussed, or if it is, no one in the public knows about it because everything is being done in secret.

Pinehill Paving
A short update on the Pinehill Road paving scheduled for this year. It’s a bit of a bad news/good news situation. The project will be tendered shortly, but the expectation is that the actual work won’t take place until the spring. So a bit of a delay there. The good news is that HRM has revised the plan and is going to incorporate some traffic calming into the project. Two speed tables will be placed on Pinehill. This is a welcome revision given concerns in the neighbourhood around traffic coming off of Woodland Avenue.

Slayter Street Traffic Calming
Still with traffic calming, Slayter Street is going to be getting six speed tables this year. The traffic calming on Slayter is coming because of Slayter’s status as a local street bikeway in the Integrated Mobility Plan.

A local street bikeway isn’t a bike lane, it’s a traffic calmed local street where vehicle traffic is both slow and limited. The idea is that bikes and cars can share space when those conditions exist. Local street bikeways can require some infrastructure to implement to get to slow and limited traffic conditions, but they typically don’t have big impacts on parking since they don’t take up curb space with separated lanes. HRM will be launching a planning project this fall to look at Slayter Street and potential connections from it north towards Highfield, to the Macdonald Bridge, and south towards Dahlia Street (a local street bikeway currently under construction) and Ochterloney.

Speed tables are coming to Slayter in advance of the detailed planning project because HRM has decided to install speed tables on a number of identified local street bikeway routes as an interim traffic calming measure. This is something that HRM can quickly put in place. Bikes aside, speed and shortcutting from Woodland Avenue to the Bridge has been a common concern in the Brightwood neighbourhood for years. I’m looking forward to seeing speed tables added to Slayter to help address those issues and make the street safer for everyone on two feet and two wheels.

Speed Limit Reductions
The Flower Streets and the Chappell – Moira area will be getting District 5’s first speed limit reductions. In the Flower Streets, 40 km/hr will be the new posted speed limit on Rose, Tulip, Dahlia, Myrtle, Mayflower, Pine, Oak, and Beech. In Dartmouth North, 40 km/hr will be the limit on Chappell, Russell, Moira, Chapman and Richmond in the section between Wyse Road and Victoria Road.

To make these speed reductions possible required a fair bit of engagement with the Province. The default speed limit set in the Motor Vehicle Act is 50 km/hr. For HRM to post less than 50 requires special permission from the Province. When the new Transportation Safety Act was being prepared by the then Liberal government, the opposition NDP tried to amend the Act to provide municipalities with the power to set their own speed limits, but the government rejected the proposal. So we’re stuck with going cap in hand to the Province for every single speed limit application. The Province’s oversight doesn’t provide any value, it just creates more work, but we’re stuck with it. Alas.

Where the Province has been allowing speed limit reductions is on residential streets if vehicle speeds (85th percentile) are already less than 50 km/hr. Streets with 85th percentile speeds of more than 50 require traffic calming first before the Province will approve a reduction in the posted limit. We can reduce the speed limit where people aren’t speeding! The Province also doesn’t approve reductions on collector/arterial streets, which is why Maple Street isn’t included in the Flower Streets speed reduction.

There are a number of other District 5 speed limit reductions in the works that I’m hopeful will eventually get Provincial approval. Requests that have come through my office include Crichton Park, King’s Wharf, and the Lorne/Cranston area, but there are likely others in the queue from 311 calls.

Woodside Car Show Cancellation
For many years, a Thursday summer night in Woodside meant car enthusiasts gathering in Transit’s Park and Ride lot. This was always an unofficial event, but the A&W across the street helped organize and facilitate things. Unfortunately, with A&W’s closing, there has been no one overseeing the car show and there has been a substantial increase in issues and complaints from the public. Police have had to consistently attend to deal with illegal activity. Transit circulated a letter to attendees in June/July warning that the lot would be closed to the car show if behaviour didn’t change and, unfortunately, there has been no improvement. Transit has now closed the Park and Ride lot to the car show. A few bad apples have spoiled the bunch.

Councillor Kent and I have heard from some folks interested in seeing the car show continue. Transit would be open to considering this, but not without someone taking charge of the situation. An unorganized car show with no one in charge is causing too many issues and won’t be allowed to continue. Ideally, the car community organizes themselves into a non-profit to govern this event. Folks in the community know each other and are best placed to volunteer time and manage dynamics. HRM and Councillor Kent and I are open to further discussion on this if there is the will in the car community to make this informal event into a real thing. The ball is in the car community’s court.

Active Transportation and Transit
HRM has made some changes over the last few weeks in what equipment is allowed on transit. The exploding interest in micro-mobility has meant that the days of a one-size fits all bike rack solving everything are over. The municipality is now allowing e-bikes on bike racks on conventional buses. Skateboards, foldable manual scooters and other non-motorized devices are allowed on the bus if they can be folded and stored on a lap. Motorized devices like segways, e-scooters, and hoverboards aren’t permitted on buses, but HRM is expecting to be able to allow them onto the ferry soon.

The challenge on the ferry is Transport Canada regulations stipulate that everything has to be safely stowed during the crossing. That requirement has meant that if it doesn’t fit on the bike rack, it hasn’t been permitted onboard. Rather than continue with the impossible task of trying to build a rack to fit everything, transit has almost finished installing multi-purpose storage space on each boat. With that work nearly complete, Transit is anticipating being able to announce changes to what’s allowed on the ferry very soon.

Transit Disruptions
Still with transit, it has been a tough few months. Transit is very short-staffed and has had to cancel several bus runs as a result and cancel the last batch of Moving Forward Together Plan upgrades set for November. HRM just doesn’t have the people right now. This week, disruptions have impacted the ferry service, limiting Alderney service to 30 minutes after 2:00 pm. Rather than cancel whole routes, transit has focussed on cancelling select bus runs to try and minimize the impact of the staffing shortages on the public. The idea is that a more limited service is better than no service at all, but it has been complicated to keep track of.

The challenges HRM is facing aren’t unique to Transit or to the municipality. HRM saw an increase in retirements during the pandemic and it has been challenging to run recruitment to fill those vacancies. The labour pool is much smaller than it was pre-COVID and there is strong competition for employees. Other transit agencies are dealing with similar challenges and have had to modify service too including Toronto, Ottawa, Victoria, Kingston, and Boston. Transit management believes things will get better, but it will take time to fill vacancies (6-7 weeks to get a new driver on the road). Recruitment is the priority and is ongoing. Transit is also looking at options to bring back recent retirees.

If you are interested in working for Transit check out the recruitment process here. HRM is very much hiring.

Rebuilding Henry Findlay Park
During Canoe 22, Henry Findlay Park was closed to provide additional event space. The tot playground, swings, and gym equipment were all removed and some temporary crusher dust pads were put down for tents. Now comes the task of putting Henry Findlay Park back together again.

One of the improvements to Henry Findlay coming out of the event is the old, at the end of its life, gym equipment has been replaced. The new single-piece Apollo multi-gym was installed last week. With the cooler September weather upon us, HRM is planning to remove the crusher dust pads, reinstate the lawn, and bring back the tot playground and swings over the next few weeks. It will be good to have Henry Findlay Park back again.

Volunteer Awards
Do you know an outstanding community volunteer? Feel that it would be worth recognizing them for all their good work? HRM is accepting nominations for the municipality’s 2023 Volunteer Awards. The deadline for nominations is Friday January 6 so there is lots of time to nominate someone. I would encourage everyone who thinks of someone to nominate them. This is a lovely event that provides recognition and a thank you to the many folks that make HRM a better place to live. For more information, to check out past winners, and to nominate someone awesome, visit HRM’s website here.

The Avenue History
If you’ve followed my blog and e-newsletter over the last six years you might recall me writing about The Avenue. The Avenue was a Black community that once existed at the end of Crichton Avenue. The community was settled sometime in the early 1800s and was home to members of Dartmouth’s Black community for well over 100 years.

Unfortunately, The Avenue suffered environmental and institutional racism: city services stopped on Crichton Avenue at the last white family’s house, schooling was initially not offered and was then segregated before full integration came, and undesirable facilities, including the dump and stone crusher, were placed there. Parts of the community were expropriated for development and construction of the Circumferential Highway while other families were bought out. When the Kings Arms apartments were built, a number of graves belonging to the original Black settlers were found. The graves were dug up and reburied in a mass grave at Christ Church Cemetery with no marker.

Today, there are just four original families left at the end of Crichton Avenue and this part of Dartmouth’s history seemed to be on the verge of being forgotten. There has, however, been renewed interest in the story of Dartmouth’s early Black settlers. HRM has added a small interpretative sign to Birch Cove Park where baptisms were held and the municipality’s community grant program provided funding to Christ Church and the Victoria Road United Baptist Church to fund a marker for the unmarked grave site. The municipality has also identified the end of Crichton Avenue as a potential cultural landscape, which will likely mean more detailed heritage interpretation in the future.

In the vein of new interest, I wanted to share an excellent new guest blog post by Karen Foster on the Halifax Regional Libraries website about The Avenue. It’s well worth a read! Check it out here.

Seymour the Turtle
Just a quick shoutout to our Parks and Rec horticultural staff for all the amazing work that they do in District 5. Seymour the Turtle in Martins Park recently received some love and is back to looking stunning. You can find Seymour along the Shubenacadie Canal near King’s Wharf.

Public Art Halifax Common
HRM is seeking public art proposals for the new pool on the Halifax Common. This is a great opportunity for qualified artists to design, fabricate, and install public art. Successful artists will work in collaboration with the municipality’s project team. The new aquatics space will include a 13,500 square foot pool, a new playground, and a year-round pavilion with a community room, kitchenette, modular stage for performers. It is anticipated the new facility will be open to the public in summer 2023. The deadline for public art proposal submissions is September 19. More details available here.

Public Consultation

Southdale
Now – Monday, September 19
Virtual
As noted in my News section, planning in the Southdale Special Planning Area continues to advance with little public input or transparency. HRM staff are, however, currently collecting public feedback on the draft policies for the Southdale Future Growth Node on HRM’s Shapeyourcity site. The feedback will be considered by HRM staff working on the project and will be provided to the Provincial Taskforce that will make a recommendation to the Minister… although it’s unclear what weight or consideration the Taskforce will give any of that feedback. A single online question is not even a shadow of the public engagement that would usually accompany a planning process like this, but this would appear to be the only limited opportunity to provide any formal feedback all. You can review the latest documents and provide feedback here.

Council Update

To keep you informed about what is going on at Council, I’m writing a regular blog after each meeting. Each of my entries is about what I saw as noteworthy from a District 5 perspective and my views on the issues. We might not always agree, but I think it’s important to provide a record of how I voted and why.

Council Update, August 9 and 23
A busy meeting with a bunch of stuff about lakes and parks, plus a new registered heritage property on Pleasant Street. Read about it here.

Council Update, July 12
Contract awarded to implement a mobile app for transit fares, closing a small portion of Banook Avenue, Centre Plan setback requirements, and protected turn movements at intersections. Read about it here.

Council Update May and June
A combined update of May and June’s meetings. HRM’s approach to encampments and Dartmouth Cove infill. Read about it here.

Tenders

Awarded

• Renovations 3rd Floor Alderney Ferry Terminal, $225,916 (Avondale Construction)
  Interior renovations of HRM’s office space on the third floor of the Ferry Terminal (space above the Wooden Monkey)
• Functional Plan for Active Transportation Connections from Grahams Grove to Dartmouth East, $108,700 (Englobe)
  Consultant hired to run the planning process for how to improve active transportation connections over the Circ from Grahams Grove/Lake Banook to Waverley Road, Shubie, Main Street, and Woodlawn. Public engagement on this project to come
• Traffic calming Hawthorne and Elliot Street, $211,570 (Dexter Construction)
  Curb extension at Hawthorne and Erskine and speed tables on Hawthorne and Elliot

Tendered

• Interim Bikeway Improvements, Closing September 8
  Speed tables for Slayter Street and improvements on other streets identified as local street bikeways in the Integrated Mobility Plan
• Tree Pruning, Closing September 19
  A fair bit of tree pruning coming to District 5 if the tender is successful. Areas in the tender are the Flower Streets, Park Avenue, Johnstone Avenue, Cameron Street, Hillside Avenue, Newcastle Street, Hazelhurst Street, Harbour Drive, Esdaile Avenue, and a swath of Portland Street and nearby streets stretching up into Murray Hill and Silver’s Hill
• Cracksealing, Closing August 31
  Minor pavement repairs to fill cracks on a number of District 5 streets including Alderney Drive, Beckfoot Drive, Micmac Boulevard, Peddar’s Way, Pleasant Street, Portland Street, Prince Albert Road and Alfred Street

Events

Special Waste Mobile Drop-Off
Saturday, September 3, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cole Harbour Place, 51 Forest Hills Parkway
Chance to get rid of your old batteries, paint, expired medication, propane cylinders etc without going out to Bayers Lake.

Mayor’s Bike Ride
Saturday, September 10, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Halifax Central Library
Join the Mayor and some members of HRM Council for the ninth annual Mayor’s Ride. The Mayor’s Ride aims to promote cycling, celebrate active transportation in HRM, and highlight the role that supporters of healthy and active communities play. This year’s ride begins at the Halifax Central Library. A reception will follow afterwards in the Library. All are welcome to attend.

Free Symphony Nova Scotia Concert
Friday, September 16, 7:30 pm
Alderney Landing Theatre
Come enjoy Symphony Nova Scotia in the Alderney Theatre as the kick-off to Symphony Week. Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and even John Lennon will make up the program. The concert is free and one of several happening during Symphony Week. Check out Symphony Nova Scotia’s page here for other opportunities, including concerts at several public library branches.

Special Waste Mobile Drop-Off
Saturday, October 8, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Mic Mac Mall
Chance to get rid of your old batteries, paint, expired medication, propane cylinders etc right here in District 5 without going out to Bayers Lake.