Create an emergency shelter
When the harshest winds of winter hit the city, and the streets are buried beneath a blizzard’s weight in ice and snow, where can the homeless turn in a pinch for safe and supportive care? Nowhere, since the closure of Pendleton Place, a harm reduction centre that the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services decided to cut funding for last year.
Harm reduction centres are an important part of transient care programs, built to deal with any number of emergencies and difficulties. They offer immediate health care service, a place to escape from the cold and the wind when the temperature drops below safe levels for those sleeping in the streets (and when beds available in standard shelters are quickly grabbed up), and specialized care for anyone dealing with various problems that could disrupt work in a normal shelter, such as struggling against addiction. They’re also a place for people who don’t quite fit into the mold, such as the transgendered, who may be unwelcome in one instance, and uncomfortable in another.
“There’s been quite a gap in continuum since the closure of Pendleton Place,” says John Hartling of Community Action on Homelessness. Despite a positive reaction to existing services when they are provided, according to the Health and Homelessness in Halifax report commissioned by CAH, and information that points to mental health problems being much higher among the homeless than once thought, there is “nothing on the horizon” for replacing the closed facility and providing necessary emergency services. —MG
Destroy St. Pat’s
It’s been over two years since St. Patrick’s High School merged with Queen Elizabeth High to become the brand spanking new Citadel High, leaving us with only memories of the former glory of the old St. Pat’s. That, and a big ugly dilapidated building on a prime piece of Quinpool Road land.
While plans have been made to turn the old QEH over to its neighbour the QE2, St. Pat’s remains as the oversized, underutilized home of the Quinpool Education Centre, and perhaps as a monument to the lessons and rivalries of old.
The city can’t do anything with the property until the school district turns it over, but we say bureaucratic red tape be damned! The building is an eyesore, and something needs to be done.
A much-needed multi-million-dollar redesign and rebuilding of Quinpool Road is in the works, promising to bring a fresh look and vitality to the street. But, even so, dumpy old St. Pat’s remains at the entrance of the project, pulling the whole plan down. And a couple of new shrubs or other landscaping changes propped up in front of the building isn’t going to change that ugly truth.
The education programs currently being held in St. Pat’s could be held in a much smaller space and the current building could be replaced, revamped, sold…anything.
Doug Hadley, communication coordinator for the school board, says the district will continue education programs at the building “until such time as we feel there is a more suitable location to host them.” So find or build that other location. How? Where? With what money? Whatever. Do it. —KW
Establish an Africville inquiry
Talk about Africville seems tired. It’s been almost six years since the United Nations urged Canada to consider reparations for the removal of Africville residents, the closure of their businesses and church and the overall destruction of their community, but all these years later, the wrong hasn’t been righted.
And neither the city of Halifax nor the province of Nova Scotia has found it in themselves to issue an official apology. Moreover, for nearly 20 years, politicians have been promising some sort of compensation, or at least to rebuild the church that was bulldozed to the ground in the dead of the night. But still no compensation, and still no church.
Eddie Carvery, whose family was one of the many forced to leave Africville, has been camping off and on at the site of his family’s home, 1833 Barrington Street, since the ’70s. He’s not even asking for compensation at this point. But he is demanding a public inquiry to figure out once and for all what really was behind the relocation of Africville, and to openly and honestly acknowledge the wrong and suggest proper compensation.
Carvery is right. An inquiry is the logical first step, and the very least we can do. —CD
Put a bike lane on Quinpool
This city needs more bike lanes and we all know it. I’m sure having to move out of the way for cyclists to shoot by on the sidewalk is getting as old for them as it is me (a committed hoofer). But it’s understandable, if not illegal and dangerous. Cruising along on six or so inches of wet leaf- or snow-covered pavement with side mirrors grazing your arms the whole time can’t be enjoyable.
We need bike lanes in a lot of places, but Quinpool Road in particular. This road is notorious among my pedalling friends and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a main artery with lots of cars on the road and very little room for vehicles of the two-wheeled variety.
Barry Yanchyshyn, senior landscape architect for HRM, says that bike lanes were considered for the redesign of Quinpool Road that’s in the works, but the amount of road available simply doesn’t allow for them. What the plan offers instead is an extra-wide curb lane that would be shared by both cars and bikes.
We say no. There needs to be a bike lane, somehow, some way. Why not get rid of the street parking? Sure, businesses will be pissed, but the times they are a-changing and hey, cyclists like to shop too. And if you’re rethinking the whole street anyway, why not take the plunge and make a major change, lead the way? Here’s five or so metres of road being taken up by stagnant cars that could instead be flowing traffic. Environmentally friendly flowing traffic. Seems like a good idea to us. —KW
Replace the free graffiti wall
Two weeks ago, the parking lot at the corner of Lower Water and Morris Streets became the temporary home for the historic Charles Morris building. While that’s good news, our problem is the lot has been one of the city’s best examples of making the best of a bad thing—transforming an urban eyesore into a creative space. With it goes one of the only forums for spontaneous public expression in the HRM.
Over the last decade or so, grafitti artists have used “the pit” (as it’s affectionately known) as a canvas. Though not strictly a legal wall, a tacit agreement with Nova Scotia Power, owner of the lot, has allowed graf writers to do their thing without being harassed by the police.
The moving of the Charles Morris building was accompanied by the filling of the pit. NS Power filled the pit to make the lot level with Lower Water Street. The levelling, says spokesperson David Rodenhiser, was a “neighbourly gesture”—there had been complaints about people drinking and using drugs in the pit, and “unfortunately the folks who had been using the lot responsibly are going to lose out.”
Downtown councillor Dawn Sloane says that nefarious doings in the pit are nothing new, but she’s let things slide for the sake of the graffiti artists. “I would rather have [grafitti] concentrated in one area than have it all over.” It’s probably fair to guess that the escalation in complaints might be related to a condo that’ll soon be on Hollis and Morris (on the former Charles Morris lot).
Sloane says it’ll take a big public stink—a petition with about 250 names would do—to get the city to even think about replacing the wall, especially with fellow councillor Linda Mosher’s push for a “graffiti management plan” standing in the way—a plan that doesn’t distinguish between street art and vandalism. —JL
Put a crosswalk on Cogswell Street
One of the most dangerous traffic hot spots in the city got a little more hectic this year, with the opening of a park for service dogs—working dogs assisting blind people—at the grassy lot between Rainnie Drive and Cogswell Street, by Centennial Pool.
Problem is, the corner chosen for the park is well-known to be a nightmare for even pedestrians with perfect vision.
To make matters worse, there is not a crosswalk down Cogswell or Rainnie near the park entrance, or anywhere between North Park and Gottingen streets. Residents wishing to use the land have to precariously venture across the road, through traffic coming from all points from the intersection up the street.
Kevin McEachern of HRM Right of Way says that crosswalks are only placed in areas that record a high enough traffic count and low visibility of the pedestrians, and that the strip of Cogswell between Rainnie and Gottigen must, therefore, not be busy enough.
Hogwash, says we. Let’s place common sense above the bureaucratic logic, and put a marked crosswalk on Cogswell Street. —MG
Impose a coffee cup tax
Halifax is nothing if not strongly caffeinated. The city seems to have a coffee shop on every corner, much to the delight of its many coffee addicts—and the chagrin of its environmentalists. These dozens of coffee shops not only produce tons of coffee, but tons of disposable cups.
While there are a couple municipalities in the province who accept the cups for compost, Halifax does not. Most disposable cups have a plastic or wax lining to keep them from leaking, making them difficult or impossible to compost and/or recycle.
All these cups are simply going in the trash, and cafes are handing them out left and right with nothing being done to stop the waste.
The City of Toronto proposed last year to either put a high tax on disposable cups, create a deposit-return system similar to that of alcohol bottles or simply ban the cups completely. The proposal was rejected by the Toronto council.
Maggy Burns of the Ecology Action Centre suggests reusable or travel coffee mugs, but she believes the only way to really discourage coffee drinkers from paper is hitting where it hurts—their pockets.
“My recommendation is for the province to put a levy in coffee cups, the same as they’ve done for plastic water bottles.”
Burns says at least the environmentally unfriendly could provide revenue for other ecological programs, or even fund a coffee cup recycling program. At the same time, a tax would discourage people from using disposable cups.
Trident Booksellers & Cafe on Hollis Street has tried a different approach.
The cafe only uses disposables that have a lining made of corn syrup instead of plastic, and are therefore compostable. The plastic lids, however, are still not recyclable, so a couple years ago Trident came up with a fix for that too: It started charging five cents extra for lids and tries to get customers to reuse them.
Manager Janet Shotwell says the most effective deterrent for disposable cup use at the cafe was to stop giving out loyalty stamps for beverages in paper cups (after 10 stamps, the customer gets a free drink)—people began bringing their own reusable cups, just to get the stamp.
But other cafes haven’t followed Trident’s laudable lead, and the garbage continues to flow. It’s time Halifax try to succeed where Toronto failed—we should impose a tax on paper coffee cups. —SK
Provide water in bars
It’s true that many places in Halifax are happy to provide customers with as much free tap water as they want, whether they serve that water or provide a pitcher and glasses at the bar, but there are other places that straight-out refuse to give people water unless it’s bottled and sold at pretty ludicrous prices.
Let’s look to our friends, the Aussies, to learn how to do things better. In New South Wales, the government has a legislation that states: “Free water mandatory.” They recognize that at establishments where liquor is sold, it makes sense to allow patrons to have access to tap water.
The legislation says it is necessary for people to have water if they need to take medication or to relieve dehydration. The law also mentions that bottled water often doesn’t conform to “reasonable charge” guidelines The legislation also points out that having water accessible is important in slowing down alcohol consumption and preventing dehydration. (And remember, bar owners: the longer it takes people to get wasted, the longer they can stay out and keep buying alcohol, so the more money your establishment will make.)
It’s next to impossible to figure out who should be responsible for passing this legislation in Nova Scotia. Each government department suggested someone else to speak to, saying the issue didn’t fall under its jurisdiction. But it seems the Department of Alcohol & Gaming should be the ones in charge. Once again, that’s how the Aussies did it! —CD
Make street names more visible
Halifax is a difficult city to navigate on many levels, but the undercover street name signs make matters worse.
Tourists and newcomers to the city complain that street names are rarely visible—either they are blocked by overgrown trees or simply not there at all. Busy intersections such as Connaught and Chebucto pose this problem, as well as streets near Dalhousie University where trees are close to the road.
Taso Koutroulakis, deputy traffic authority of the city’s Traffic Services, says if people want the problems with signage fixed, they just have to ask. “If there are signs that are missing or damaged or obstructed residents should call the 490 number,” he says of the city’s request line, 490-4000. “We would look into it and have it corrected.”
Koutroulakis says if signs are missing entirely, the only reason would be theft or damage. HRM policy requires a minimum of two signs indicating intersecting streets, but Traffic Services doesn’t have the means to drive around checking on the thousands of street signs around the city.
At least, not yet. Koutroulakis says regular checks to make sure signs are visible are in the near future.
“Starting next year there’s a program in place where there’s staff that are going to be assigned specifically to drive the streets of HRM to note any deficiencies,” he explains. “They’re tasked to identify any hazards or maintenance problems.”
Until then, Koutroulakis advises that any problems with sign visibility be reported to the HRM service request line.
Let’s hope these check-ups begin soon— there’s only so much last-minute turning our necks can handle. —SK
Let pubs open on Quinpool Road
It’s high time that people should be able to go to Quinpool Road restaurants and have a drink without having to also order food. Thanks to a community plan from 1986 that worried that “lounges” would somehow compromise the neighbourhood, only three places on the street can currently serve booze without serving food: Freeman’s and Seasons were grandfathered in, and Athens picked up Quincy’s old license, which Quincy’s only got after a lengthy application process. Others have been rejected.
Northwest Arm-South End councillor Sue Uteck says two solutions are being batted around: either a site-specific or a general area allowance of lounge licenses on Quinpool. Both Uteck and Connaught councillor Jennifer Watts favour the site-specific option so that there can be more control on hours of operation and public input.
As for public support? “I don’t think I have had one negative call yet,” says Uteck. “The demographics of Quinpool have changed and people want to be able to go to their local.”
Hear, hear. Halifax is in desperate need of neighbourhood pubs and the idea that any enjoyment of a bevvy sans food needs to be relegated to the downtown core is arcane.
Then again, maybe we’re wrong. Maybe you get a couple of pubs on Quinpool and the whole street gets burnt to the ground by roving groups of lawless drunkards. Maybe the whole area ends up getting cut off from the rest of the city and all the criminals are sent there and then Kurt Russell shows up and starts kicking ass and taking names.Or maybe people will just be able to go and enjoy a drink after a hard day’s work. —KW
Lift the Argyle parking ban
About a month ago the city, without telling anyone, put up signs warning that cars parked in certain spots on Argyle between 12:05am and 8am might get towed. To lose a few parking spots is a big deal in a city where downtown parking is so bad, and the move upset Argyle businesses owners. The city’s excuse: the parking ban frees up space for emergency vehicles. The idea is to prevent street brawls such as the one that spilled out from the Dome a few years ago.
The story, via councillor Dawn Sloane, goes like this: Police say douchebags (our word, not theirs) like to roll past bars looking for trouble. When they see their nemeses in line at the club, the douchebags park, rush out and throw down. Cramped parking spaces mean cops can’t get there in time to stop any nastiness. That’s Halifax for you—can’t walk two steps without a gang of street toughs jumping out of their Range Rover to beat you up for no reason.
If the city is so worried about violence, it should focus on prevention instead of enforcement. A late-night bus would kill two birds with one stone: alleviate parking and help clear drunk people out of the troublesome area between Argyle and Pizza Corner. The Coast asked for a boozer bus two years ago. So far, nothing. —JL
Fix the City Hall software
City Hall had new meeting management software installed in 2007 and, ever since, city council meetings have been an embarrassing cascade of dropped votes, microphone cut-offs, lost PowerPoint slides and the Coast reporter busting a gut from laughter.
City clerk Cathy Mellet says the problems with the system have been fixed, but council meetings continue to see operators struggle with the system—due to user error. “The mics are controlled by the mayor, and we are new to being in the chair”—Mellet and her staff have just begun sitting in on council meetings and are adjusting to the new technology.
“It’s a new system, different from what we’re used to,” she says. “We’re dealing with a bit of a learning curve.” Staff underwent training for the system, and there is a user manual to refer to.
Backman Vidcom is the system’s vendor and has installed similar software at other municipalities around the province. Sales manager Daniel O’Malley confirms Mellet’s claims that the technology takes some getting used to.
He says councillors using these systems “don’t essentially come from technological backgrounds; it’s not an easy thing.”
We’re not buying it. Mellet is an excellent clerk, capable and self-effacing. We can understand that the bumbling mayor might have problems with the on-off switches, but if Mellet and her staff can’t operate the software, the problem’s not with them—the problem’s with the software.
And software salespeople blaming users for the crappy user interface is the ultimate in tacky, don’t you think?
Backman Vidcom’s contract should be revoked, the company sued for non-compliance and a decent software firm should be contracted to build a working, user-friendly system. —SK
Accept Ontario health cards in bars
This is really irritating to anyone from Ontario who is of legal drinking age and without a driver’s licence: Despite the fact that, in terms of giving your birthdate and photo, Ontario health cards are identical to driver’s licences, Halifax bars will not let you in based with health cards alone.
“It’s really up to the establishment,” says Jeremy White, head of investigation at the alcohol and gaming authority.
So if there’s no rule, why do Halifax bars categorically deny health cards? As White explains, Halifax bars’ main reference is The ID Checking Guide. Made by a Californian company, the book lists driver’s licences from every province and US state, and nothing else.
So Halifax bars: why not exercise some autonomy and allow lazy Ontarians to get their drink on? —JL
Drain the Common paths
Before being developed into Canada’s oldest city park and Halifax’s most prominent green space, the Halifax Common was a swamp. Some might argue it still is.
The North Common especially is essentially a big, sometimes grassy, sometimes muddy bowl. And what sits in the middle of that bowl? A nicely paved footpath. Or a lake, depending on the weather.
After a good rain fall or snow melt there are sections of the footpath that force you to either get soaked as you wade through their murky depths or attempt a risky portage through the muddy swamps that surround them.
Peter Bigelow, HRM real property manager, says the city is aware of the problem and he jokingly dubs it a “nice, natural skating rink,” referring to the state of these water obstacles during a freeze. The issue is in discussion, he assures, and plans have been proposed for either more drainage or new, wider, less-floody footpaths.
Yes, good. Both please. And maybe before next winter. My shoes will thank you. —KW
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This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2010.
YES to the street signage!
i’ve been living in tantallon for the past 3 years…everyday i take the new highway fr0m halifax t0 the tantall0n exit (exit 5). everyday i have t0 l00k at this sign when i get 0ff the exit ramp that is there t0 p0int pe0ple in the right directi0ns. Y0u kn0w the big signs with the little square signs 0n the b0tt0m p0inting y0u in the directi0n f0r such things as the 24 hr gas stati0n , parks , st0res, etc… the arr0w f0r 0ur 24 hr gas stati0n 0n 0ur exit p0ints left t0wards St. Margaret’s Bay Rd. s0me0ne needs t0 fix this! the 0nly 24 hr gas stati0n in this area is the 24 gas stati0n 0n the right 0f this same said sign 500 ft away. y0u can see the gas stati0n when u c0me 0ff the exit but the exit sign p0ints y0u in the 0ther directi0n. Seri0usly…i’m i the 0nly 0ne wh0 has n0ticed this?
Is the health card vs. driver’s license really that big an issue in Halifax?
I’ve used my NS provincial ID card (I don’t drive) for years & I’ve had friends from Ontario & Quebec use their health cards here with no problems. I’ve been denied from bars in Ontario for not having a driver’s license, but never had it happen in HRM.
I just want readers to know that Smiling Goat Organic Espresso Bar (South Park Street) offers completely compostable take out cups, forks, knives, napkins and anything else that would leave the shop with you. They aren’t only smiling because they have the best coffee in town, they are also environmentally friendly too, and in Halifax THAT is something to smile about.
I can’t believe the pit is gone! I loved going every couple months to see what great artwork was up there and take some pictures. I even took visitors from out-of town there…it’s a nice detour when heading to the waterfront.
tac: I’m sorry, I can’t even focus on reading your comment because the 0’s (zeros) in place of O’s are so distracting! Get that O key fixed!
just to let you know that when i lived in ontario for 13 years, bars there would hardly ever take their own health cards either….
Heh, I had to laugh when I read the suggestions for Quinnpool Road. Do away with the parking, eh? The logic being its good for the “flow of traffic”. Of course, that traffic flowing would be downtown to where the real businesses are, right? Like the ones on Argyle, right? The businesses I assume The Coast thinks are right in being upset with the loss of parking. So how can you justify standing up for the loss of parking in one area and support the removal of parking in another? The best laugh (well, one of them anyway) comes from the justification that flowing traffic is ‘good for the environment’ and hey, it also helps the losers on the bikes at the same time so we’re saving the world with bikes AND cars at the same time! win-win!
I’ve also been reading The Coast long enough to remember when the paper referred to Quinnpool as a thruway to the businesses downtown and that there wasn’t any reason to stop to shop on Quinpool(more or less, that was the impression I remember having with what was written). Remember that? It doesn’t look like things have changed much (but the recent “Buy Local” campaign sure looks good on paper, and probably keeps the local business owners sedated.
Not that I want distract from what I have just wrote and get the cycling nazis riled up, but I gotta know what the hell is it with advocates of cycling and the construction of bike lanes? Its like, they see a road, it has to have a bike lane. I believe that not all urban cycling situations merit a bike lane. In fact, I have seen cases where they actually do more harm than good for the cycling commuter. I for one am in favor of the wider curb side lane the length of Quinnpool. There are two or three major cycling danger zones in metro, most any cyclist who ventures around and off the peninsula knows which they are, and Quinnpool Road doesn’t even come close.
Mr Crank: You provide excellent points in your response –not all streets in Halifax merit bike lanes & sometimes, bike lanes cause more harm than good. There is, however, a lot of ignorance in your response.
According to studies out of Toronto and New York, motorists using on street parking are more likely to be using a service rather than patronizing businesses (ie, grabbing cash at an ABM). In fact, the Toronto study indicates that only 10% of patrons at local businesses arrived on site via a car (The NY study indicates this number is 20%). Both studies (as well as some from Europe) also indicate that cyclists visit businesses more often and spend more money per visit than motorists. This is definitely something that can help the cafe’s, restaurants and athletic/clothing stores along Quinpool to increase their profits.
As far as making a shared lane on Quinpool, this is what we have already on this street. Although it works for strong, experienced riders, it doesn’t encourage more people to use the bike as at least a secondary mode of transportation. Bike lanes –on the other hand– have proven to do this in cities including Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Portland, New York, London (UK), Paris, Copenhagen, Beijing (the list goes on). On top of this, the Halifax AT Plan indicates Quinpool as a candidate street for receiving a bike lane. Further studies and (again) our own AT Plan indicate that streets are more efficient when they have bike lanes installed.
Although cycling isn’t the silver bullet that will end all of societies concerns, catering to cyclists and significantly increasing the amount of Halifax’s cycling population will have a likewise significantly positive impact on the complex problems we are facing as a society (ie, less spending on preventable diseases, less environmental impact due to transportation demands, increase in personal wealth due to savings on fuel expenditure, increased municipal wealth due to less spending on maintenance of transportation infrastructure, increased provincial wealth due to savings in healthcare, etc).
It is not just me saying this, but a lot of Halifax approved plans such as our AT Plan, HRM Regional Plan and HRM by Design plans. Perhaps we are the ones ahead of the curve on this issue.
Steve Bedard
Co-Chair, Halifax Cycling Coalition
PS – Do not call us Nazi’s. I’m not sure if any one person or group deserves this branding for wanting to build a better, more diverse Halifax.
Just a few points on some of the suggestions.
First and foremost, the Ontario Health Card issue. The Ontario Health Card isn’t technically a form of valid ID. I guess the issue lies in some legality out there, but the issue lies at the feet of the Ontario government. Since it’s not a valid form of ID, it could be a liability from an insurance standpoint if something were to happen and the age of the person came into question.
Secondly to the bikes. While those are indeed compelling figures Mr. Bedard, I think that comparing cities that have a primarily urban population or a commuting population where they have significant infrastructure to support it, is an “apples to oranges” issue, not to mention that those cities have significantly more capital than our fair city. Until a larger portion of the people that clog areas like Quinpool (i.e.: the people that live outside the city core and work downtown) move closer, there’s no need to spend millions on the 5% (with bike lanes, maybe 7%) of the population that would bike to and from work. Those dollars would be better spent on awareness and programs that would make an incentive out of carpooling, biking, walking, transit, so on and so forth. We need to dispel the “car culture” before we tackle the whole “bike lanes in major thoroughfares” mess. By the way, it’s Nazis, not Nazi’s.
Finally, the parking ban on Argyle. Come on, seriously? What businesses complained? I want to know so I can go slap the owners myself. The only thing I think it might effect are indeed the bars, but you shouldn’t be driving after you get out of a bar, should we?
Sorry, Mr. Bedard, the Nazi thing was in jest a la seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi”.
You post some interesting and encouraging figures. Though, I do dare you to walk the length of Quinnpool Road stopping in at each independently owned and operated business and present this information to the owners and ask them if it is ok to remove parking and turn Quinnpool into a throughfare to downtown. Better yet, stop in at the next Quinpool Road Merchants Association meeting and see how they feel. If you have their blessing, I see nothing wrong with the proposal.
BTW, I misread the point about ‘envrionmentally friendly flowing traffic’. Sorry for any confusion.
Right on. The Quinpool Mainstreet Business Association was quite open to learning more about catering to cycling and the spending habits and patterns of cyclists compared to motorists last year during the redesign’s community consultation forum at the (the) Holiday Inn. Unfortunately, we learned of the redesign a little too late and couldn’t work with the designing company (Terrain Group) until the designing was completed.
The unfortunate thing is that transportation issues, whether it be cycling, using public transit, rollerblading, walking, etc. are all fighting against 90+ years of car culture. This is a car culture that is killing us, literally! Being a nursing student, I’ve seen the trends in car ownership and a decrease in active living. Our younger generations are becoming more and more lethargic, because we are fostering the concept that active living, and active transportation is boring and tedious. I thought this for the longest time before I gave cycling a try, and now I am totally hooked!
The HCC is working on establishing a better bike culture in Halifax. NSHPP I think has gone a long way over the past 2 years in improving the profile of active living through commercials telling us all how to make back-yard ice hockey rinks, or trying to get us into walking (with the help from heart and stroke). But nothing is quite as effective as infrastructure to get people out and moving. Sure, we could wait until the cycling population of Halifax is larger, but isn’t that sort of thinking used by all levels of our government already? “Don’t address an issue today when it is cheaper and manageable… lets wait ’till it becomes a major problem and try to administer a band-aid solution to it when the time comes.” The reality is that bike lanes are cheap, effective and required for not just the thousands of cyclists that hit the streets of Halifax daily, but for the tens of thousands of people that would like to give cycling a try, but are waiting for the infrastructure to support them.
Mr. Bedard, as someone who would describe myself as a “intermediate” cyclist (it one of the few activities that I can do without injury to my knee, damn osteoarthritis) I can say that it would take more than a few bike lanes to entice me to take my bike to and from work, especially from downtown. Not everyone shares the enthusiasm that avid cyclists have. The hills leading up from the downtown core are intimidating at worst for someone who doesn’t bike everyday. I feel the funds could be better spent on perhaps making existing parks more “bike-friendly” or perhaps making a park dedicated to it and that would actually serve the community better as a whole.
There are so many more serious things wrong with this city, that having “Accept Ontario Health Cards” for ID is laughable. It was a joke, right? I went to university on ON, and like another poster said, bars in Ontario wouldn’t even accept OHIP cards. The reason? You only need your birth certificate and proof of residence (ie, a phone bill) to get it. Well, that and fifty bucks. But you don’t need to show photo ID.
Agreed – I travel to Toronto on a fairly regular basis and plenty of bars don’t accept health cards – they even have signs up indicating such.
Free water, just what a bar needs, a bunch of freeloaders ordering free water and taking up space and staff time. Now if they’ve been buying other things, that’s ok, but otherwise it’s a great way to put yourself out of business.
We definitely need to allow pubs to open on Quinpool for sure! Like Cranky though, I also find it interesting that before Quinpool Road started getting all trendy and cooler, The Coast really couldn’t be bothered with it in favour of the cool, trendy North End Halifax instead. It seems like they’re starting to develop more favourable opinions of Dartmouth as parts of it move to being more cool and trendy too, as well, after dismissing it as “just another boring white middle-class suburb” for years. The funny thing is that much of Dartmouth is hardly a “white middle-class suburb.”
As for draining the Commons, shouldn’t The Coast be in favour of maintaining what was once a natural wetland? It could be more environmentally friendly, you know. Then we can laugh and dance and sing in the natural wetland.
Can I help destroy St. Pat’s when they tear it down? I’m sure it would be a great fundraiser from past students with fond and not-so-fond memories. What will they do with the old shooting range?
Crosswalk Craze; When one is passed by a driving examiner to qualify for a drivers licence he or she should be very well aware of the rules of the road, ie, all intersections, marked or unmarked are pedestrian crosswalks, and have the right of way. If you dont know the motor vehicle act, you should not be driving. Maybe we need new motor vehicle examiners before issuing licences which is a privilidge, not a right
‘commonsense’, you are indeed correct that every intersection is, technically, a crosswalk. See how that works out crossing Quinpool Road at the intersection with Armview Avenue or Monastery Lane at 4pm on a Friday, or, say, across Main Street in Dartmouth at the intersection with Brigadoon Avenue. If HRM and the Province of Nova Scotia were serious about this and public safety based on the rules of the road, they would mark and sign every single intersection as a crosswalk. Probably some weird civil engineering traffic rule against this, though.
‘doubtful’, I’d love to help rip down QEH myself. The worst I ever did was bash in and write on a few already beaten up lockers.
In Ontario you’re not allowed to use a health card as identification either, it’s just not official. If you’re complaining, get a passport.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1163925…
Heh, my spidey-sense is telling me that the Quinpool Mainstreet Business Association will not be as down with the elimination of parking spaces on Quinpool as someone was led to believe….