The provincial government last week approved starting appropriation
proceedings to acquire 38 hectares near Timberlea, land needed to build
Highway 113, a controversial proposal to connect existing Highways 102
and 103 with a new 10-kilometre long, four-lane divided highway laid
through a fragile wilderness area west of Halifax (see map above).
Additionally, an environmental assessment for the project is
scheduled to be completed in October, clearing the way for construction
to begin.
“This [appropriation] is a long-term planning move,” insists
Transportation Department spokesperson Cathy MacIsaac. “We don’t
anticipate doing any road construction up there for several years.”
In addition to the as-yet unannounced land costs, MacIsaac says
100-series highways cost about $3 million a kilometre, a cost that is
sure to increase in coming years. Figure at least $50 million for Hwy
113. By comparison, the province last week dedicated a paltry $96,000
to a new $5.8-million MetroX express bus service to Timberlea. Fifty
million dollars would more than fund the proposed fast ferry, the
expansion of the MetroLink fleet, or all of the growth of the existing
bus fleet envisioned in the city’s five-year transit plan.
—TB
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.
Was there any controversy when the Kingswood subdivision was expanded to its current size in that very same area? Whats the impact of the number of houses per square km in that area? Take a bike ride through that subdivision sometime. Rich folk 1, Environment 0.
The 113 is something that should happen, the Hammonds Plains Road is an impediment to travel from the South Shore to areas other than Metro Halifax. Driving from the Hammonds Plains interchange to the start of the 102 is very fuel costly.
The sooner this happens the better.
Cranky– many people I talk to in government say Kingswood is the prime example of what was wrong with the non-existent planning controls in the old county of Halifax, and point to that as justification for the creation of HRM. They’re probably over-stating the case, but I can’t find any bureaucrat who will claim that Kingswood was a good idea.
Thanks Tim, the Kingswood subdivision has always been a sore spot for me and listening to the same people that live there bitch about highways just adds to the ire. That and all of a sudden the tree huggers are in love with the area.
FWIW, try to find a pre-1980’s copy of Canoe Routes of Nova Scotia and look up the maps for the area. The place was an oasis of activity for Hikers, canoeists, and xc skiers back in the day. Well, at least we have Long Lake Provincial Park to fill the void.
The Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes park will become a reality. But how big it is is still a question. If this highway is built, it will be the western boundary of the park; if not, the park could stretch farther west. I suppose you could argue that the highway will actually protect the park, but that’s a stretch by my way of thinking. We could probably get 30 percent more protected land out of this, if the highway wasn’t going to get built.
I should give an update on where the city is with its process, re the park. It’s all very upsetting, watching the sausage get made.
I go out there a few times a year. Wonderful area.
I particularly like this blurb from the Kingswood website:
“These pages proudly serve the 1200 homes of Kingswood nestled among trees and wildlife in beautiful Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia.”
And:
“For those who do not know Kingswood, it is more than just a subdivision. Kingswood is set amongst thousands of acres of land which is home to ducks, deer, fox, birds and other types of wildlife. “
Worrisome. I don’t think you can even start making sense of people who can write crap like that. They probably think they’re friendlier to the environment than urban housing.
Tim – this highway won’t help the people of Kingswood. In fact, all it does is take traffic off of the Hammonds Plains Road and 103/102 system closer to the city – it mostly improves traffic safety and flow to and from the South Shore.
If you have ever driven on the Hammonds Plains Road, you would realize it is a death trap waiting to happen – no shoulders and lots of blind spots. It needs to be replaced, or at a minimum widened and improved.
Thanks, Tim, for reporting on this and I hope you’ll continue to keep us updated.
Why can’t they widen and improve upon Hammonds Plains Rd? I know it would never be a 120 km/h highway, but it could be a 4-lane 70-80 km/h road (without limited access). I understand homes would be expropriated and there would be major traffic issues during construction, but is any solution perfect?
Biking on the Hammond Plain Road between Bedford and St.Margarets Bay has got to be the worst 20km stretch of pavement in HRM, and I’ve biked through the Fairview Orgasm of Asphalt!
Why the ‘anti-Kingswood’ sentiment, Crank, Tim and Realist in Dartmouth? Is your distaste for the whole of Hammonds Plains, or just Kingswood specifically? Other ‘afluent’ areas too?
STL– Kingswood is stupid development, a textbook example of how not to build. It was constructed as half- to one-acre lots, no sidewalks, no schools, no fire stations, no possibilities for busing, etc. It’s no surprise that as soon as people moved in, they were pissed off that their kids had to travel four or five kilometres to get to school, with no sidewalks, so they had to walk or bike on the roads. The parents therefore demanded school buses…
No residential development pays for itself, but this is at the extreme, it costs a lot of money to stretch city services (water, police, fire, etc.) over such a huge expanse of land. And it was designed to make it extremely difficult, almost impossible, for anyone to get anywhere except by car. I wouldn’t mandate a car-less existence, but it should at least be possible to get around without a car, even for just a trip to the “local” convenience store for a carton of milk (in some cases out there, the “local” store is a few miles away).
When it comes down to it, the residents of Kingswood are being hugely subsidized by the rest of HRM.
Tim: I think you’re off the mark in a number of areas:
1. We live here _because_ it has a semi-rural feel while still being only 20 minutes to downtown Halifax. Similarly, I’m not aware of residents being “pissed off” because there are no sidewalks – it’s never been mentioned at the Ratepayers Association meetings etc. Plenty of people seem just fine walking, jogging and biking along the shoulders.
2. The nearest store is at the entrance to the subdivision (general store, pizza place, Tim Hortons, a few others). Sobeys and two Superstores are all within a 10 minute drive – similarly to many other HRM residents I suspect.
3. Schools: We are well served by Kingswood Elementary and the soon-to-be-built new High School. Other services (including fire) are well covered too.
4. The idea that we’re subsidized by other HRM ratepayers is amusing – my households property taxes are a little over $7500 pa – so I suspect we actually subsidize other subdivisions. I’m not complaining, just stating facts.
My ‘problem’ is with the amount of woodland used up per house, and as Tim mentioned, how such an area is serviced/paid for by the remainder of HRM. Its been awhile since Kingswood was built so I’m a little fuzzy on the facts/memory of what went down so I’m sorry if my thoughts come off as boiled down to ‘don’t like rich people’. From my talking to gov’t people involved in these kinds of things I understand there was a lot of backroom dealing going on to get Kingswood going.
Cranky: I think the fact that we have large lots actually protects the “woodland used up per house” as most houses clear only a small portion for the house itself and some grass etc. Most of us still have large stands of the original Nova Scotia forest.
Compare this with, say, Bedford South where the developers completely clear the whole area so that they can fill it with small cookie-cutter houses packed close together. See how many trees you can find in those developments…
privatized forests, eh?
One thing that Nova Scotia’s 100 Series Highways don’t allow that they should allow is bikes! Why not? Both Alberta and BC allow them on their main highways. All that would be needed is a better paved should, some paint, and some signs. I’d love to be able to cycle out to the airport (for flights where I’d only need my backpack, of course) rather than taking a cab, bus, or relying on a friend or family member. A bike commute from, say Tantallon into downtown Halifax could be feasible as well. I know I know, cyclists can use the 300 series roads, but they’re way more confusing, hilly, and dangerous. Plus, it would be a bit of a psychological thing I think as it would make more people take cycling more seriously as a legitimate means of everyday transportation.
For those of you talking about Kingswood, I suggest you read a bit about HRM’s “Open Space Guide”: http://www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning/Ope…. Perhaps Kingswood was at least partly designed with this in mind? And as long as appropriate natural features are protected, so what if it’s in private or public ownership? In fact, it could very well be better protected with private ownership (well-educated private owners with appropriate government legislation, of course) as the owners have a close vested interest in their land. Look at how shitty a lot of our public parks get!
Tim – What do you mean by “Privatized Forests”?
I have heard you spent a lot of time out west or in California or something. I know BC is mostly Crown Land. But here in Nova Scotia about 70% of the province is owned by Private Persons, and only about 12- 15 % Crown Land. The rest is Private Industry. I agree with the above comment about how individual woodlot owners have more of an investment in their land. Therefore will take better care of it. I also don’t see how Kingswood is any different from any other place outside of Halifax: Fall River, Musquodoboit and places down Peggy’s Cove Road as examples.
Also, there is another wilderness reserve in HRM. It is called the Waverly Game Sactuary and it streches from Fall River to Preston to Musquodoboit and back for a total of over 6000 acres.
This extension doesn’t make a lot of sence to me. I would drive the extra 5 mintues down HWY 102 to connect to the 103 to the Southshore. What I see as a major flaw in NS’ Highways is that there is no 100 series connector from Truro to Windsor. Its a bitch and very dangerous to take HWY 14 to cut across from the two towns.
You have to understand that current planning school dogma is steadfastly opposed to places like Kingswood. It matters not the fact that those types of developments are what a certain segment of the market wants, and is willing to pay for; large lots are considered “bad” and so is something that depends upon private transportation. In their ideal world, planners would like us all to live in concrete apartment blocks clustered next to bus routes. The only cars would be for the central committee members. What it really illustrates is the problem with the type of planning theory being taught in our schools, if not the fallacy of urban planning overall.
Point being, a forest divvied up into half-acre lots and a home in the middle of each, isn’t a forest at all. It’s a pretend forest.
qpmzwonxeibcruv– you can ride your bike to the airport– it’s just not easy. Take Waverly Road out to Enfield, then reverse direction on Oldhmam Road, back to Old Guysborough Road, and then around to the terminal. It adds about 10 k to the trip…
“you can ride your bike to the airport– it’s just not easy.”
My point exactly – if we want to encourage more people to cycle, we need to do everything we reasonably can to make it a viable means of transportation. Not everyone is a Lance Armstrong wannabe who loves doing risky and difficult 100 km rides everyday. There are a lot of people, like my lovely but slightly overweight 60 year old mother, for example, who would love to use her bike more but doesn’t because it’s not convenient and a bit scary for her. That being said, I’ve been very impressed with the number of bike lanes and trails added throughout HRM over the past couple of years. Back on topic of the original article, I’m not necessarily against the building of this new highway, but I hope they can make some provision for cyclists along the route, either as bike lanes on the side or a separate trail.
Andrew Keith: you’re quite right. Regardless of one’s personal opinion of Kingswood (positive, neutral, negative), it’s certainly not the only development of its kind. Speaking for myself, any opinion I have of Kingswood would apply to other developments like it.
Bo Gus: there’s a middle ground. Not everyone who has a negative opinion of a development like Kingswood is pushing for Soviet-style apartment blocks either.
STL: my objection to Kingswood is precisely because it’s “semi-rural”, as you call it. You say it preserves a lot of original forest…well, no, what it does is preserve a lot of original trees. The forest and the ecosystem it once supported are essentially gone. Sure you still get wandering wildlife but so do we in built-up Dartmouth.
Because of the lower density of a subdivision like Kingswood you also swallow up more lakes and watercourses (and oceanfront in some cases) than the resident population warrants. Those are not your lakes and watercourses – they are public. While there is still sporadic boat access, and by law in theory the public can access bits of shoreline or streambank here and there, for all practical purposes these developments privatize bodies of water.
Finally, I don’t doubt for a second that property taxes in Kingswood (and similar developments) are hefty. However, I doubt that you’re subsidizing anyone. For starters, nobody would be building as many extra highways, or twinning or widening as many existing ones if it weren’t for you people living where you do, and these roads are very expensive. We’re all paying for those. Second, you’ve complicated the emergency response situation – police, fire and ambulance. We’re all paying for that. Third, you’ve complicated the green space/park situation for HRM as a whole…less places to consider as the city develops, and it becomes much more costly for the city to actually establish them. We all pay for that too.
Ultimately it comes down to this – in 50 or 100 years the next Kingswood may be 20 klicks further out, and where you’re at right now is strip malls, apartment buildings, condos, and way more roads. Where you currently are surrounded mostly by woods, those will be infilled with some of those cookie-cutter subdivisions. If you’re OK with that picture, then there’s really not much to discuss.
Re: riding bikes to the airport, it is a concession allowed by the RCMP and Dept. of Transport that you are allowed to bike on the 100 series highway between Halifax and Stanfield Intl. Airport.
“Point being, a forest divvied up into half-acre lots and a home in the middle of each, isn’t a forest at all. It’s a pretend forest.”
Exactly. Think of the large network of roads and the lawns. Furthermore…
Are these lots really as small as 1/2 acre. I thought they were more on the order of 3 acres. Certainly, the lawns alone are at least 1/2-1 acre on average. I could never understand why people move to these neighbourhoods for “privacy”, “trees”, “wilderness” or whatever, then cut the majority of their trees down. I guess it’s because lawns are so fashionable, or so that their large houses can be fully viewed by drivers by? (Of course, It’s not just Kingswood. Lawn lovers on big lots are everywhere. I think Kingswood gets the worst of the complaints. It’s not really any better or any worse than dozens of other poorly planned communities, but for whatever reason, that particular name gets thrown around more. )
Back to the topic of the actual article, what makes this wilderness area fragile? That there are trees? Or is there an endangered species present in the area?
Unless you are an expert on the area I don’t think you should talk out of your ass. Wait for the environmental assessment to come out and then take your stance. I am sure that if it is fragile and will be found no where else around Halifax or Nova Scotia that the plan will not go further or will be re-routed.
On the rest of this thread. I would much rather live in a wooded lot, compared to 5 stories above concrete in the downtown of Halifax. And if you are so against lawns, I’m assuming because the maintenance of them emits a lot of greenhouse gasses, you can support education initiatives on leaving your lot wooded or to have big wild gardens instead of a well groomed lawn. Instead of telling everyone they should live in a condensed community and ride their bike everywhere.
And to tell you the truth, if the area isn’t made into houses or highways, it is used for forestry, which around Halifax is all clear-cutting, so it is lose – lose either way for you negative nellys.
Hammonds Plains rd is overused and undersized this highway would remove more than half of that traffic and the associated stop and go movement. they should take the remaining triangle of wilderness that is left after the highway is constructed and make it a protected park to throw the tree huggers a bone.
C’mon folks…lighten up on the Kingswood bashing! Where are we rich people supposed to spend our millions if not on our beautiful homes with 2 acres lots? We’re not allowed to have slaves anymore, or castles with giant fountains (oh wait, there actually IS one of those here in Kingswood).
Seriously, Highway 113 (remember the original discussion topic?) will not have much of an impact on Kingswood itself…or likely on the area wildlife. On the other hand it will benefit travellers to/from the South Shore plus those further out in the Hammonds Plains area.
Why would any protected wilderness area have to be bounded by the path of the 113? There are examples of wildlife right-of-ways being incorporated into new highway construction or added to existing roads, above- or below-grade, designed to encourage wildlife to cross the highway safely, and barriers to deter them from crossing the road at-grade where it isn’t safe.