HALIFAX - Over the past couple weeks, Halifax has been investing time in analyzing the feasibility of adding roundabouts to our transportation "toolkit". Although this seems like a new idea for HRM, Sydney's Alexandra Street Roundabout has been ushering traffic through since December, and in other parts of the world, roundabouts are quite common. The summer of 2007 was when I started biking again after a decade-long hiatus, and it happened in the most unlikeliest of places: Northern France. After months of talking about a France trek with some friends in London, England, we came to one important question regarding transportation: what is the cheapest way we can travel while seeing as much of France as we can? The answer was clear, and in May of 2007, after 10 years of relying on transportation modes requiring some form of internal combustion, I left the tiny town of Arras on a 300km tour to Paris. It was the best decision I've ever made in my life!

The [Re]Presenting Halifax series revisits historical and contemporary maps, diagrams and other interpretive readings of the Halifax region. See my first post for the full aims of this project and more information about contributing to the series. HALIFAX - Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres: “army officer, military engineer, surveyor, colonizer, and colonial administrator” – cartographer. DesBarres is a mysterious figure and little is known about his personal life. But despite the little attention he is given, DesBarres holds an important place in the history of this region. Leaving Switzerland, spending time with Voltaire in Paris, joining the military in England, DesBarres came to North America in 1756, seven years after the founding of Halifax. Instrumental in the successful 1758 siege of Louisbourg, DesBarres' many talents were quickly recognized by his superiors. DesBarres was soon mapping the St. Lawrence River and working on his charts in Halifax during the winter months while teaching mathematics, astronomy, and surveying to a young James Cook. In 1760, DesBarres began mapping the Halifax Harbour in preparation for the construction of fortifications and dockyards. Over the next decade he would also complete detailed hydrological surveys of the coast. The Atlantic Neptune, a large collection of charts and views of the east coast of North America was the result of his work, first published in 1777, and has been his lasting legacy.

SYDNEY, NS - After declining use and facilities crumbling for years, the initiative to revitalize Wentworth Park in Sydney began in 2004. As this work continues to progress, this park will once again be worthy of being called Sydney's signature urban park. Beginning in 2004, coinciding with the King's Road realignment and the start of construction on "The Wentworth" condominiums, renovations on the lower pond of Wentworth Park began. The renovations included an improved, more natural looking retaining wall along the pond's shore, improved pathways, monument restorations, a new elevated gazebo overlooking this section of the park, new fountains, and a new pedestrian underpass under King's Road as part of a larger plan to connect the park to the Sydney Boardwalk on one side and Rotary Park on the other. This is also part of the larger Active Transportation plan for Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), parts of which will be further explored in future articles.