Halifax council to vote to possibly stop Morris Street bike project

Halifax council will vote on a motion that recommends it reverse course on the Morris Street bike lane project.

Halifax Regional Council will vote on a motion to potentially stop a project to convert Morris Street into a two-way bikeway in light of a letter from Premier Tim Houston expressing is government’s opposition to the plan.

The motion, sent to Mayor Andy Fillmore from Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Cathie O’Toole, recommends council reverse its decision on the bikeway project from earlier this month.

It also recommends council direct the CAO look into alternative cycling connections on Morris Street between University Avenue and Lower Water Street, and that the mayor respond to the premier’s letter advising him of this reversal.

The Morris Street East Connection project would change the road into a one-way for vehicle traffic, which was a point of concern in Premier Houston’s letter.

“Eliminating one lane to add bike lanes will contribute to traffic congestion, create unnecessary public safety risks and potentially jeopardize port activity,” the letter read. “To say that I find it disappointing that public safety and economic impact concerns have been dismissed with a simple shrug of the shoulders would be a serious understatement.”

On July 8, council voted down a recommendation of potential alternative bikeway options that would have preserved two-way traffic on Morris Street. It directed staff to go forward with the original bikeway option by using “temporary, tactical materials” and provide an evaluation report two years after the Peninsula South Complete Street project was installed, the motion says.

“Failure to rescind the July 8th decision would create additional financial and reputational risk for the municipality and be damaging to inter-governmental relations with the Province of Nova Scotia,” the motion reads.

In his letter, dated July 16, Houston said his government “will be forced to act” if council did not rescind its decision on Morris Street, citing Bill 24, which gives the Nova Scotia government authority over transportation projects in municipalities.

“Since Bill 24 gives the Province the authority to issue an order and require the municipality to comply with that order, effectively overruling the decision of Halifax Regional Council in this situation, and the Premier’s letter indicates they intend to use this authority, staff are recommending that Council rescind its July 8th decision and direct staff to explore alternative bikeway options for the East Connection that retain two-way traffic flow on Morris Street,” the motion reads.

“This approach will avoid assigning staff resources and capital funds to further exploring an option that will ultimately not be permitted by the Province to proceed.”

Houston gave council until Aug. 6 to respond to his letter. Council will vote on the motion at their regular meeting on Aug. 5.

Bike lane history

Last October, council approved new bicycle facilities for several street in the south end of Halifax as part of the Peninsula South Complete Street project, according to the motion. The work included the Morris Street East connection, which would create a two-way bikeway on Morris Street that would connect proposed two-way bikeway on University Avenue to Lower Water Street.

The University Avenue bikeway project is between LeMarchant Street and South Park Street.

On June 10, Mayor Fillmore introduced a motion that asked for reports on alternatives to the Morris Street project that would maintain two-way vehicle traffic. That motion passed 11-to-six.

“This direction followed concerns from the community and stakeholders related to the implications for general purpose traffic, transit, and truck traffic of converting Morris Street from two-way to one-way flow,” the motion reads.

Costs

If council decides to rescind its previous decision, it will not incur preliminary design costs for the Morris Street project (estimated at $80,000) or design costs for phase one of the University Avenue component of the project (estimated at $120,000), according to the motion.

However, the municipality will incur planning and design costs for the East Connection, which is estimated to be between $100,000 and $300,000. To date, the functional planning for the Peninsula South Complete Street project is $201,500.

Alternatives

If council votes down the original recommendation, the motion suggests it could direct the CAO to implement the Morris Street bikeway while considering changing Lower Water between Terminal Road and Morris Street to two-way vehicle traffic to “mitigate impacts to traffic capacity.”

The motion does not recommend this route as it expects the project would not be permitted based on Houston’s letter.

Bike lane controversy

Bike lanes have sparked debate in Halifax in recent months, with Mayor Fillmore bringing forward a motion to pause awarding contracts for new bike projects in June. That motion, which drew hundreds of bikers outside City Hall, was defeated 12-to-five.

“Bike lanes do not cause congestion,” Coun. Sam Austin said at the time. “What does cause congestion is a municipality that has not done the work to provide alternatives. Delay makes it worse.”

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