A historic street in downtown Halifax will be strictly for buses starting next month. The city is testing out a pilot project on Spring Garden Road to see if it helps make the transit system more reliable and faster.
The pilot starts on Monday, July 4 and will run for one-year.
The changes include:
- Spring Garden Road, from Queen to South Park streets, will be bus-only from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day (including weekends).
- Vehicle access will be maintained on Spring Garden southbound on Birmingham Street, northbound on Dresden Row and northbound on Brenton Street (left turn required at Spring Garden) from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day.
- Clyde Street will be converted to two-way, between South Park and Brenton streets, to support area circulation.
- Spring Garden Road, from Queen to South Park streets, will reopen to vehicle traffic from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. each night. Stopping is not permitted on the street outside of designated loading areas. On- and off-street parking (including accessible parking), as well as on-street loading, are located on side streets.
- Cyclists and pedestrians will continue to have access to the street at all times.
- Access to all businesses will be always be maintained.
This is part of the Imagine Spring Garden Road streetscaping project.
Source: HRM
“A transit-only street will achieve the streetscape’s original goals of an improved pedestrian experience and prioritized transit. There will be less noise and more mid-block crossing opportunities for pedestrians. Fewer vehicles using Spring Garden Road will improve reliability on Halifax’s busiest transit corridor. Additionally, the transit-only segment will allow bicycles, creating better cycling conditions,” – Halifax Regional Municipality
Council approved the plan in December of last year. More info can be found here.
