University students are back, Halifax goes into moving mode

CTV Atlantic: Halifax goes in moving mode While the beginning of September marks the end of summer for many, university students see it as moving day. CTV's Allan April reports.

Approaching the end of summer vacation, over 30,000 students in Halifax are flocking to new residences and the city is facing new fortes and challenges.

With couches and cardboard boxes outlining the sidewalks of Halifax, you don’t need to look at a calendar to know Sept. 1, serves as moving day for many university students in the city.

"It's just a completely different place when students start showing up, the place just comes alive,” said Dalhousie University student, Jeff Walton. “I was walking around campus yesterday, it was just buzzing with kids and it's so exciting.”

For businesses near Halifax universities, the first of the month marks the beginning of a business rush.

“They're all moving out of their old apartments and into the new apartments, and it's one of our busiest days of our whole year," said Coburg Coffee owner, Kelly Irvine.

Irvine said she estimates that business for the coffee shop near Dalhousie campus went up about 50 per cent on Sept. 1. She also said typically students bring in about a 35 to 40 per cent sales increase.

The influx of traffic from students moving on the same day has left challenges for some looking to book moving trucks.

Recent graduate, John Abiertas said he had to travel an hour outside of the city to find a set of wheels.

"We needed something to get in here, something big, but everything was booked up since Monday, so we had to drive all the way down to Lunenburg to get our U-Haul vehicle," he said.

Moving companies are now in high demand. Justin Munden of Munden’s Moving and Storage, said it’s been a hectic week for his company.

“None of our guys have finished before 5 o’ clock, we're out 8 p.m., 9 p.m.,  it's been crazy, so we're really excited our guys are off Sunday and Monday so our guys get a well-deserved break,” said Munden.

The beginning of September also marks the start of new difficulties with the upkeep of taking out trash. Resident, Siobhan Kennedy-Cameron said she thinks solving the problem could involve property owners better educating their tenants on the city’s garbage disposal plan.

“They don’t know how to do the garbage, but if you’re from anywhere in Canada none of the garbage is the same so I don’t blame them, but I think the landlords really need to be proactive and know what their students are doing,” she said.

Halifax Regional Municipality spokesperson, Nick Ritcey said people should put their trash out on the curb the night before pick up. He also said HRM has a specific phone line for reports of complaints but he recommends having a conversation with your neighbour first.

"Residents can call 311 to report a complaint, but we just really encourage everybody to be good neighbours, and just knock on the door ask politely if they can quiet down or perhaps go downtown,” Ritcey said.

Students will move in at both Saint Mary’s and Dalhousie University campuses over the Labour Day long weekend.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Allan April.