Over the weekend, two important labour agreements were reached. Dalhousie University came to an accord with the Dalhousie Faculty Association, averting a strike scheduled to begin today, and Metro Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union hatched a deal that may soon bring an end to the 39-day strike by transit employees. Both agreements are tentative […]
Metro Transit
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bridge Terminal construction finally starting by “end of month”
Work on Dartmouth’s Bridge Terminal should begin by the “end of the month,” city officials say. This is the first public acknowledgement that an important contract has been signed for the much-delayed Metro Transit bus station. Quebec firm Pomerleau was awarded the $12.1 million contract for construction earlier this month, just after the provincial Department […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bus hell hits Halifax
Growing pains are hitting Metro Transit hard this week. Thanks to the recent opening of the new Ragged Lake Transit Centre—a bus barn that expands service capabilities beyond the old barn in Burnside—Metro Transit has been able to bring 15 new 60-foot low floor articulated buses on line, while retiring five of the old ones. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Big changes in Metro Transit routes
Big changes are in store for Halifax bus riders. Metro Transit has released its annual service plan, which matches routing and scheduling to the funding and service standards adopted by city council. Service standards for core routes are 40 passengers/hour for weekdays and 20p/hr for evenings and weekends. Those numbers for local routes are 25/15, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Wilderness terminated
The proposed expansion of Metro Transit’s Bridge Terminal is one step closer to reality, as Halifax council Tuesday gave its final OK to placing the new terminal on land occupied by the Urban Wilderness Park in the Dartmouth Common. Council still has to approve architectural plans and allocate the money to build the terminal but, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Dartmouth
If Haligonians were told six acres of Halifax Common was set aside for a bus terminal, how would they react? Could it happen in Halifax? Unlikely. Here’s how it happened in Dartmouth. In November 2008 the legislature passed the 160-page Bill 179. Slipped into the bill in Section 66 (5) they gave six acres of […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
$9.5 million terminal expansion plans revealed
Dartmouth residents like the design for a new, expanded Bridge Terminal, but dislike its location on Dartmouth Common land. Architectural drawings for the new transit terminal were revealed at a public meeting at Dartmouth High School Monday night. The proposal stretches the terminal between Nantucket Avenue and Thistle Street, through what is now the wooded […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Politicians on the bus!
[image-1]Let’s be clear: Halifax city council is making significant headway in improving our feeble bus system. Some 15 new articulated buses will hit the streets in coming weeks, with 30 more coming over the next two years, and councillors appear committed to even more exciting expansion as laid out in the Five Year Transit Plan. But as the first new buses were rolled out Tuesday (two hybrids costing a total of $2.6 million, with a $600,000 contribution from the province), and as councillors used the opportunity for a photo op, I realized I’ve *never* before seen a politician, or a
Posted inNews + Opinion
Buses beg as cars cash in
Halifax council has been doing good work on the transit front. Councillors have committed to buying 45 new articulated buses—15 will hit the streets in coming months—and have agreed “in concept” to an aggressive five-year transit expansion plan that, if implemented, will see big improvements in bus service. Of course it will cost more money […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Bus reluctantly helps assault victim
You’re 15. You finish your shift at the downtown restaurant where you work, so you head to the bus stop to get a ride home. It’s 11 o’clock at night. Then two guys walk up to you at the bus stop and start causing shit. They ask for your phone, and when you don’t give it up one of the guys grabs you, holding you for the other one to hit with a piece of plastic pipe. A knife comes out, and you’re getting stabbed in the gut. But before they can kill you, a bus finally arrives. Are you
Posted inNews + Opinion
How to Fix the City Scorecard
Each January, our first issue of the year, we offer up our annual Fix the City suggestions in the spirit of civic-mindedness; truly, we’re trying to make this a better place to live. But does anyone listen? Are we making any difference, or is this a pointless exercise in navel-gazing? Turns out, most years we […]
Posted inLifestyle
Complete guide to New Year’s Eve
NEIGHBOURHOOD TOP PICK DJ Anderoc If you live in the west end (or you’re up for cabbing there), The Armview has a solid neighbourhood gathering set up for New Year’s Eve. Chef Troy is making hors d’oeuvres to serve all evening, with bubbly at midnight. The lounge side of the restaurant will magically transform into […]