Lots of confusion on Spring Garden Road as the city kicked off its buses-only pilot project.
On Monday, cars and trucks rolled down the historic street for most the day, many seemingly unware the change was taking effect on July 4.
Spring Garden has shifted to a buses only street between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. as a way to prioritize the transit system and encourage more foot traffic and cyclists. The test phase will continue for a year before an update will be provided to council.
The Spring Garden transit-only scheme has commenced! Still lots of cars using the street. Curious if any enforcement will show up later. #halifax pic.twitter.com/efmT6RA2py
— Ben 馬志斌 (@BenMacLeod) July 4, 2022
“Spring Garden Road is a busy and vibrant street, with thousands of people that arrive there using Halifax Transit daily. Bus-only lanes help to make transit more reliable. Less traffic means less noise, cleaner air, and a better pedestrian experience.” – Halifax Regional Municipality
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.
Police started handing out informational flyers explaining the change. The city will look to educate drivers first before handing out tickets or fines.
“This is a big change and we know it is going to take time for drivers to fully adjust to the new status. We will be ramping up enforcement over the next few days, but with a focus on education first.” – Halifax Regional Municipal Planning via Twitter
I took a leaflet from the police officer. He said they won’t issue any tickets today. #hfxtransit pic.twitter.com/HGmfN3ttbe
— Ben 馬志斌 (@BenMacLeod) July 4, 2022
