HALIFAX - The Downtown Halifax Business Commission (DHBC) recently launched a promotional campaign to "tell a better story" about your experiences downtown - that is, after you get out of your office/home/car to take advantage of the fun factory that our downtown can be. One ad tells the story of the great food I ate, the park I sat in, and the conversations I had during my lunch break - rather than "I ate at my desk today". This positive approach piqued my interest, got me thinking about the downtown story I tell, and ultimately lured me to their annual general meeting last Wednesday evening. As I arrived Paul MacKinnon, Executive Director of DHBC, was delivering an entertaining tongue-in-cheek presentation on people's perceptions of the downtown, informed by their annual survey. Overwhelmingly (yet not surprisingly) parking shortages emerged as the hot issue. I had to surpress myself as the city-design-geek in me physically cringed. Considering the plethora of challenges and opportunities we Haligonians could speak up about - why does parking always take centre stage? What a dull story: "I tried to go downtown but there wasn't enough pavement to sit my big auto on for an hour or two, so I didn't go."

HALIFAX - Last week, WebUrbanist published a neat article on old star-shaped fortresses still kicking around in the US, Europe and Asia. It struck me that while all the other forts in North America (and some in Europe) looked strikingly similar to Halifax's Citadel — pulling off the "frozen-in-time" look in an equally successful fashion — others in the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, France and Japan looked far more alive and integrated into their modern sites, not just as museum pieces but active urban spaces. That's not to say that Halifax's Citadel isn't active or entirely a museum piece either. During weekdays the monument might attract mostly tourists, but walk up the citadel on a weekend morning and you'll find plenty of locals out for a leisurely stroll; walk up late at night and you'll likely meet another group of Haligonians, this time using the site's isolation to work more illicitly as prostitutes or in other illegal trades. Yet this isolation from the rest of the city surrounding it means the Citadel can be a dangerous place to be at night, for both workers and recreationists alike. So maybe it's time to update our old fort. Our worries of attacking cavalry and need for spaces where cattle can graze are long gone, so why not add trees, benches or even a pond to the currently barren grass fields (specifically near Bell and Sackville streets) surrounding the site — a replacement body of water for the lost Egg Pond now buried under the Commons skate park.

[caption id="attachment_3769" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="From left to right: Steve Bedard (Co-Chair, HCC), Laura Smith (Workplace Health Promotion Planner, CDHA), Jeffery Horne (Supervisor Maintenance and Operations, CDHA), Emma Felts (Editor, Spacing Atlantic) and John Mason (Supervisor Maintenance and Operations, CDHA)."][/caption] HALIFAX - In early January, Spacing Atlantic teamed up with the Halifax Cycling Coalition and launched a poll of the best and worst bike parking spots in Halifax and Dartmouth. After over a month of voting, we're ready to announce the winners of the Best and Worst of Bike Parking in the HRM for 2009! Winner of Best Bike Parking: The Dickson Centre Entrance at the Victoria General Hospital This spot really blew all other nominees out of the water. With its high capacity, sheltered parking area, multiple bike rack designs and the security of the commissionaires office nearby, the Dickson Centre Entrance at the Victoria General Hospital site was the clear winner with 69% of votes.

HALIFAX - If you happened to be one of the many unlucky car owners who left their cars parked on your neighbourhood street on the night of December 14th, you would have woken up to a $50 ticket on your windshield. With nary a snow flake on the ground or in the forecast, welcome to HRM's Winter Parking Ban [PDF] (not to go off on a tangent, but this is a document that equates pedestrian traffic with congestion... uh what?). Merry Christmas! The Grinch came by early.

HRM - Recently we shared what makes a great bike rack with you. This week we are hoping to raise awareness and change in regards to properly facilitating bike parking in Halifax and Dartmouth. Out of the numerous parking spots in the HRM, the Halifax Cycling Coalition has determined the three best and three worst spots using a bike parking evaluation tool developed by Citizens for Safe Cycling — a not-for-profit based in Ottawa. We want you to vote on your favorite/most hated! Best Parking Nominees The Dickson Center Entrance, Victoria General Site Some positive attributes to this site include: a variety of rack configurations; the parking area is completely covered by an outcropping of the Dickson Center; and on top of being regularly patrolled by security staff, there is a security station not 15 meters away from the site. [caption id="attachment_2322" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Bike parking outside of the Dickson Building, VG site"][/caption]

Over the last month, Spacing Atlantic has engaged in an in-depth analysis of HRMbyDesign, the ambitious plan set fourth by the municipal government to transform the region over the next 25 years. This is the final segment in a series of weekly installments that has explored the plan's various nooks and crannies, carving out a unique and fresh perspective on the HRMbyDesign process. ________________________________________________________________________ HALIFAX - Aside from making our downtown more sustainable, economically vibrant and heritage-friendly, HRMbyDesign also intends to change the way we move. The Downtown Halifax Secondary Municipal Planning Strategy (Downtown Plan) section on transportation addresses issues such as the reorganization of downtown streets, active transportation, public transit, freight movement and parking. One of the main parts of this section is the Street Network Plan. The Street Network Plan designates primary uses for downtown streets with the goal of streamlining traffic . Under the plan, Lower Water, Hollis, Prince, Sackville, Duke and Brunswick streets are designated as higher traffic flow streets. Barrington and Spring Garden are going to be taking on a greater role for public transit, while Bedford Row, Granville, Argyle, and Market — amoung others — will take on greater roles for pedestrian and bike traffic. Motor vehicle traffic on streets that are to be primarily used for biking and walking will be discouraged by allowing only one direction of motor traffic. I like this element of the Downtown Plan. It provides a good foundation on which other improvements to downtown transportation can be made. When HRM talks about active transportation, they mean walking and biking. We took a brief look at pedestrian related improvements in the piece on HRMbyDesign and sustainability, so let’s take some time to look at cycling.

What makes a for good bike parking? Join the Halifax Cycling Coalition as we explain what to look for when locking your bike, and how end-point infrastructure is looking in Halifax today.

HALIFAX - For nearly a decade, the parking lot at Lower Water and Morris streets has been the headquarters of one the city's most unique and unregulated cultural spaces. During the weekday, permit holders park their cars in the sunken pit.  In its off-hours, it has hosted a multitude of unsanctioned activities. On the weekend, a regular crowd plays street hockey, and at night, car enthusiasts gather there to compare engines. The green space that surrounds the parking lot serves as an unofficial park; a place for people to hang out and for the homeless to sleep. It has been the backdrop for countless music videos and photo shoots, and a battling ground for freestylers. The most evident feature of this unique pseudo-public space is the wall that encapsulates the parking lot that operates as a dynamic open-air gallery for graffiti artists. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="614" caption="The Pit: parking lot and former legal wall. NSP offices under construction in the background."][/caption] Up until very recently, the pit was considered a legal wall (or 'free wall') — the only place in the city where graffiti artists could freely practice their skills without fearing arrest. Since September, this freedom has been revoked. Without any formal communication to the artist community or surrounding neighbours, police began to crack down on graffiti activity in the pit, telling artists they were unwelcome and that what they were doing was illegal. What gives?  What changed?