It’s one of the most historic streets in Halifax and the city wants your input on how it should look.
A survey is out asking you to help with the new design of Water Street. It wants to know if the area needs bigger sidewalks, dedicated bike lanes, and more public spaces.
The city is planning on making changes from Terminal Road to Historic Properties.
The project team has developed two design options for the Water Street corridor (Lower and Upper Water Street), with a goal to develop a long-term vision for the busy street and gateway to downtown.
TRANSIT-FOCUSED OPTION. This option prioritizes improvements to transit along Water Street.
Approximately 4,900 vehicles per day travel on Water Street. About 60 percent of people that live nearby walk to work.
PEDESTRIAN-ENHANCED OPTION. This option prioritizes improvements to the pedestrian realm and public spaces.
“Traffic on Water Street is often busy during peak periods, and as a very constrained corridor, there are limited opportunities to improve traffic flow. The Water Street Functional Design will attempt to manage congestion by enabling more people to walk, cycle, or take transit by making these options more comfortable and convenient.” – Halifax Regional Municipality
Planners will take the feedback and make recommendations to council in the next few months.
Interesting Facts about Water Street
- Approximately 4,900 vehicles per day travel on Water Street.
- Up to 5,000 pedestrians walk/roll on Water Street during the warm summer months.
- About 50,000 tourists visit Water Street every year.
- Downtown Halifax is home to over 25,000 residents. It’s also the fastest-growing downtown in Canada, growing by 26.1% since 2016.
- There are about 1,600 businesses in downtown Halifax.
