With the worst of Hurricane Fiona behind us, the city is in recovery mode. As of Monday afternoon Nova Scotia Power is reporting almost 175,000 customers without power, and there are still many Halifax roads blocked by fallen trees and debris. (Tuesday evening, that NSP number is down to 117,000 customers.) In other words, it's going to take a little bit of time to get back into the normal swing of things. But, having an updated list of facilities that are open and closed throughout it all might come in handy.
We'll be trying to update this list as often as possible given that we are also struggling with spotty internet here at The Coast.
WHAT'S OPEN
Comfort centres and shelters
There are a number of comfort centres open across the province for those needing support after Hurricane Fiona. Head to novascotia.ca to find the nearest one to you.
Emergency health services
While emergency health services remain open, Nova Scotia Health is asking that anyone who can wait for care should refrain from overwhelming emergency departments.
Halifax Transit
Halifax Transit has resumed regular scheduling although delays should be expected as the city works to clear debris left by the storm and restore power.
Halifax Public Libraries
Most libraries in the city reopened on Sunday, except the Captain William Spry and Alderney Gate branches. The Halifax Central Library downtown is a perfect charging and wifi spot if power hasn't been restored in your neighbourhood yet. To confirm branch openings as the week progresses, check HPL on Twitter.
Grocery Stores
Most grocery store chains (Superstore, Sobeys, etc.) are open as long as they have power. While power remains out across the city, calling ahead to your store of choice is a safe bet.
Nova Scotia Community College
As of Tuesday September 27, NSCC has given a list open and closed campuses from Wednesday, Sept. 28 through Monday, October 3. Basically campuses north and east of Metro Halifax—Amherst, Pictou, Truro and Marconi in Sydney, for example—are closed until Monday, while campuses in Halifax and the west of the province are open. The two exceptions are Port Hawkesbury's Straight Area campus, which is open despite its location near the where the storm made landfall, and the Aviation Institute in Dartmouth, which is closed. But the college may open some of those closed campuses earlier than Monday, so watch your social channels.
Halifax Shopping Centre
The Halifax Shopping Centre has regained power and is now open.
Mic Mac Mall
Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth has also regained power and is now open.
Garbage and green bin collection
After garbage and compost collection was cancelled on the peninsula Monday Sept. 26 and Tuesday, pickup is back to the normal schedule as of Wednesday, Sept. 28 *except for* Prospect Road (which includes Goodwood, Hatchet Lake, Brookside, Whites Lake, Prospect Bay and Terence Bay according to the city's announcement). The other exception is for streets that aren't drivable yet.
For peninsula residents, there's a make-up garbage and green collection on Monday October 3 (for those on the Monday schedule) and Tuesday Oct. 4 (for the Tuesday folks). The make-up day for Prospect Road—with double the garbage bag limits!—is Wednesday Oct. 12.
The city has wisely increased the amount of tree waste it will accept on green bin day, doubling the limit to 10 bundles. "Tree waste should be tied in armload-sized bundles. No bundle can exceed 75 pounds and no individual piece can be more than four feet long or larger than eight inches in diameter," says the city. "Up to 20 paper bags of yard waste will also be accepted."
Parking
To make parking a little easier for the rest of hurricane clean-up week, rules about not parking on streets overnight because of street cleaning have been lifted. The street-cleaning parking bans will be enforced again starting Monday, Oct. 3, and all other no-parking signs and regulations are still in effect.
The Public Gardens
Reopened Tuesday.
Parks
Point Pleasant and Shubie Parks reopened on Tuesday. For other parks, the city's Thursday update doesn't single out any parks as being closed, but instead gives a general warning: "Residents are asked to continue to exercise caution in parks, due to downed branches and trees."
Cemeteries
An HRM update on Tuesday addresses Camp Hill Cemetery—which reopened Tuesday—and Fairview Lawn Cemetery—which opened for burials on Tuesday, and reopens to public visitors Wednesday Sept. 28.
Tree waste
If collection day and its increased limits isn't enough for you (see above), the city is running eight locations where people can take tree waste—think branches and leaves—from Wednesday Sept. 28 to Wednesday Oct. 5. The pop-up drop-offs are free and open 8am-8pm. The locations are:
2 Lyle Street, Dartmouth
26 Thomas Raddall Drive, Halifax
Bayer’s Lake Industrial Park, 230 Horseshoe Lake Drive, Halifax
50 Cheviot Hill, Porters Lake
Kinsac Ballfield (near 1703 Beaver Bank Road), Beaver Bank
Sheet Harbour Community Centre, 183 Pool Rd, Sheet Harbour
Lake Charlotte Boat Launch, 11475 Highway 7, Lake Charlotte
Peace Park, 67 Park Road, Musquodoboit Harbour
The city had originally announced a ninth location, on Thornhill Drive in Dartmouth, but as of Tuesday it's not in play.
Dalplex
Dalhousie University's large gym/pool complex at 6260 South Street reopened Tuesday with an invitation to "anyone in our community who is still without power to use our facilities to shower and charge their devices free of charge." Nice move, Dalplex. The place is open 6am-10:30pm on weekdays, with slightly shorter hours on weekends. But we're hoping this isn't an issue by the weekend, right NS Power?
Sports fields and rec centres
As of Thursday, Sept. 29, baseball diamonds and other sports fields are open. But the city encourages checking the website for field conditions to be sure about particular fields you're interested in.
The same Thursday update from the city says most rec centres are now open for regular operations. However, recreation facilities that are being used as comfort and/or shelter centres (see above), or which still don't have power, "may not be open for programs and rentals." The city says you can call your local centre—here is the list with contact info—to check its status.
WHAT'S CLOSED
Public schools
Nova Scotia has announced that all public schools in the HRM as well as Cape Breton and the Northeast Region will be closed Tuesday, September 27. An update on the closure will be provided by end of day Tuesday.
Liquor and cannabis stores
Many NSLCs in the HRM are closed. For a list of all NSLC closures head to mynslc.com.
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie has announced that its Halifax campus will reopen on Tuesday, but classes will resume on Wednesday—the same applies to the University of King's College. Dal's Truro campus will remain closed on Tuesday.
St. Mary's University
SMU facilities remain closed. An update on whether the university will be open Wednesday will be given Tuesday at 8pm.
Halifax Regional Council
City council's regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 27 has been postponed until Thursday, Sept. 29.