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Halifax, Nova Scotia by Victor Stegemann, member of the Spacing Atlantic flickr pool.

HRM - Metro Transit's new 5-year transit operations plan  was recently "approved in principle" at an HRM regional council meeting on February 9th. The 187-page report [PDF] suggests a number of upgrades, route changes, terminal changes, price changes and additions to their service. But what does it mean for the downtown? First presented to council in October 2009, the plan is designed to "take transit to the next level," according to HRM documents. While some councillors voiced concern at the February 9 council meeting, the plan still passed. North end Councillor Jerry Blumenthal was the only one to vote against the plan. He was worried about the cost of the plan. However, this plan is just a collection of recommendations; the specific ideas put forth will need to be approved by council during the budgeting process. Councillor Jim Smith was critical of the emphasis on expanding service to rural areas like Fall River, Enfield and Musquodoboit Harbour. He's worried the plan would support urban sprawl, however he did vote to move it along. The fear of urban sprawl is no reason to not provide public transit to communities that are part of HRM and pay HRM taxes (I think we've been through this with the tax reform issue). The report shows growth in all but a few routes, in some cases up to 361 per cent. And that growth could be even higher — a study done by city staffers shows respondents would generally like to use transit more, if only the service was better.

Brought to you in collaboration with the Ecology Action Centre and Halifax Cycling Coalition, SpokesPeople covers all things cycle-related. From the principles to the potholes, we're here to examine the realities facing the two-wheeled traveler. The Halifax Cycling Coalition (HCC) has its sights set on an ambitious goal for 2010: the establishment of the CrossTown Connector (CTC) bike route, connecting the many tentacles of cycle-unfriendly Windsor Exchange in the north to Point Pleasant Park in the south. Wasting no time, the HCC is making tracks through Halifax's snow-covered streets to gather signatures for a petition in support of the CTC, with the hope of converting signatures into bike lanes before Santa begins his next round of chimney-hopping. The CTC proposal is stuffed with laudable elements. Connecting existing bike lane segments on Windsor and South Park by way of Almon, Agricola, North Park and Ahern, the CTC forms an impressive trans-peninsular trunk from which can grow the limbs of a broader, more complete bike route network in the years ahead. And how sweetly flat it is. On a peninsula with an imposing humpback ridge, the CTC neatly skirts the steep grades that many Haligonians cite as an impediment to hopping on a bike in the first place.

Halifax, Nova Scotia by Ryan Wilson, member of the Spacing Atlantic flickr pool

[caption id="attachment_2819" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Without adequate infrastructure, commuting downtown can sometimes feel like this"][/caption] HALIFAX - On January 21, HRM's Active Transportation Advisory Committee (ATAC) held it's first meeting of the year in order to make plans and set goals regarding expansion and improvement of HRM's Active Transportation network (AT). Transportation Demand Management (TDM), having committed to expanding our AT network by 20 linear kilometres by the end of the year has really stepped up its commitment to improving AT by increasing transparency in regards to AT infrastructure installation. Nevertheless, we are still approximately 70kms short of reaching AT targets defined in HRM's AT Plan before including the 20 km expansion. I met up with Halifax Cycling Coalition Co-Chair Lauralee Sim and asked her a couple quick questions about ATAC's first meeting of 2010. --- Steve: Did any issues take the spotlight at the ATAC meeting? Lauralee: We didn't discuss AT issues in detail at this meeting. We spent our time discussing how we can work as a group and reviewed some key points in the AT plan. We're hoping to determine some priority issues at our next meeting in February. Steve: What did ATAC representatives have to say at the meeting?

HALIFAX - Interested in learning more about the development of the District 14 active transportation trail and how it fits into the larger plan for the Halifax Urban Greenway? Here's an opportunity to hear members of the Halifax Urban Greenway Association and HRM staff speak on the development of the trail and how community members can become involved. WHAT: Meeting on the Halifax Urban Greenway trail in District 14 WHEN: Wed, Jan 27th, 7pm WHERE: Oxford School, 6364 North St (entrance off of Willow St, ...

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]