HALIFAX - Remember that extensive, expensive transit study that was made public a month or two back? Theone I wouldn’t shut up about? Well apparently it wasn’t extensive or expensive enough. City staff asked for more money to further study two aspects of public transit – the Access-a-Bus program and the city’s ferry service – at last night’s regional council meeting. How much more money, you ask? Only about $69,100 [PDF]. Of course, that’s $69,100 on top of $258,200.16 already paid out to the IBI Group, the independent consulting firm behind the Metro Transit Five-Year Strategic ...

HALIFAX - A group of 15-odd people interested in the future of the Spring Garden Memorial Library building shuffled into a multi-purpose room in the Bloomfield Centre on Tuesday, hoping to share their views on how best to use the soon-to-be-bookless space. The library, built as a memorial for Canada’s war dead in 1951, will eventually transfer its tomes to a new central library, to be built across the road on Queen Street.  But while the new library’s future seems certain, the use of the old building appears anything but. Councillor Dawn Sloane, who oversaw Tuesday’s meeting, wants to see the building used as a multi-use archive/museum/civics space to provide “proper storage for the archive collection, public accessibility to the collection, (while retaining the) monument building in (the) monument district.” “We’ve been here since 1749, we do have a history,” said Sloane. “Showing a sense of pride in place, and getting people to take pride in their city is something that we need to do. I think you heard that around that table tonight.” While there seemed to be a consensus among those in attendance that the building would be ideal, at least location wise, for a civics-oriented museum space, there were some concerns about working with a building that is not in the best shape – it’s 58 years old, and has had mold, heating and cooling problems in the past. Sloane admits the building’s condition – as well as the cost of renovations – will be obstacles, but wants more information, including a feasibility study. “We know that (the building) is hot in the summer and cold in the winter,” she said. “And we have to figure that out. Is it because of the addition that was added on in the 70’s that might have changed the way the building breathes? We’re not sure. But that’s why I want to get those kind of reports.” Concerns were also raised at the meeting about trying to do too much with too little space, how best to honour the building's heritage as a war memorial, and its suitability to house museum pieces.

HALIFAX - The Metro Transit Strategic Plan – yes, that strategic plan – was “received” by Halifax Regional Council on Tuesday, but the reception was far from a warm one. Councillors debated the plan – an independent report commissioned by city hall in 2008 with a $285,000 price tag – for over two hours on Tuesday, before finally voting to “receive” the plan. Receiving the plan means: staff can now seriously get down to work, looking at the various recommendations and figuring out ways and costs of implementing those recommendations. It also means council is in no way – financially, politically, spiritually – required to take any action once staff returns with that information this coming January. Nor are they bound to the recommendations contained in the report whatsoever. The debate was a lively one, kicking off with downtown Councillor Dawn Sloane’s lament that a free downtown shuttle was not included in the Strategic Plan. You’ll recall that such a shuttle service – providing free rides across the completely walkable, minuscule Halifax downtown area – was advocated by HRMbyDesign. Then came Councillor Barry Dalrymple (Waverley-Fall River-Beaverbank) making the perfectly (politically) logical argument that Metro Transit doesn’t even service his constituency, so why should he etc etc etc. He also made a quip about one time when he and his sons drove by five busses on the same route with 2 people or less on them. Where was this route? Nobody seemed to know. His exact words: “I won’t mention the route, but...”

The plan was simple – a free downtown shuttle service, similar to Metro Transit’s FRED (Free Rides Everywhere Downtown) service, which would run year-long for city residents. Two buses would begin at the ferry terminal on the waterfront; one would go north, the other south. And public transit users would rejoice. Ah, plans. We sure make a lot of them! But this particular one was not included in the Metro Transit Strategic Plan, the suggested five-year strategy aiming to improve public transit in the HRM. This surprised downtown councillor Dawn Sloane. “I’m quite upset ... quite furious, actually,” she told the Chronicle Herald. She should be – the service has been talked about for years. According to the Herald, Sloane’s been telling constituents the shuttle was a go, and that the province has already committed two buses. Why was the shuttle service not included in the Strategic Plan? And why did this surprise councillor Sloane? It may have something to do with Metro Transit’s Five Year Capital Plan. Released last year, the capital plan read like a wish list for city councillors – pretty much every city councillor – including such items as the $27-million fast ferry (italics to emphasize speed), massive service expansion, rural express routes, and yes, a free downtown shuttle. The list was so extensive, it caused one Halifax-based journalist to suggest it had been written by three guys in a pub, on a bar napkin – “they basically just threw whatever any politician was talking about into the plan.” Unsurprisingly, council loved the Capital Plan and voted in its favour. It’s hard to vote against something for everyone, assuming you want to get re-elected.

HALIFAX - The Metro Transit Strategic Plan was discussed in Halifax Regional Council for the first time yesterday, but the controversy has been with us for almost a week now. Why is the report, which offers recommendations for improving/enhancing public transportation in the HRM, controversial? Mostly due to the ways it recommends paying for such improvements. First, a little background: the Metro Transit Five-Year Strategic Operations Plan [ PDF ], an independent report published by IBI group, was commissioned by HRM in September of last year. It was meant to offer a five-year plan to integrate Metro Transit into the Regional Municipality Planning Strategy (MPS) [ PDF ], which was adopted by city council in 2006. Because Metro Transit had adopted its first five-year Transit Strategy in 2002, it was not integrated into 2006’s MPS. However, Metro Transit saw a significant increase in service levels and ridership during its first five-year plan, and so city council deemed it necessary to work towards a new five-year plan that met those demands, while working public transportation into the MPS. Hence, the Metro Transit Strategic Plan. Now; on to the controversy.