News 1. HST hit to Nova Scotia Yesterday, I linked to Charlottetown Guardian reporter Teresa Wright’s bombshell that Atlantic provinces are being told to return “hundreds of millions” of dollars of miscalculated HST payments back to Ottawa. I wrote: Wright doesn’t put a dollar figure on the amount Nova Scotia owes, but assuming that the […]
Newer accessible buses considered unsafe by riders
By the end of March, Halifax buses will be 100 per cent of the accessible low floor (ALF) variety. That’s an important step forward in the slow march towards equal access for those of us with mobility challenges. Put that milestone next to the recent beta-testing of a new stop announcement system, and Halifax Transit appears...
Transit tech comes to Halifax, slowly
Another phase of Halifax Transit’s new tech rollout is hitting the streets, in the form of a female robotic voice letting you know what bus has just arrived at your stop, and what stop is next for the bus you’re on. In addition to the voice, there’s an on board display screen with the same...
Rethink: Halifax council calls for a much-needed second opinion on our bus route network
Colour me impressed. Halifax city councillors have voted to get a second opinion on the city’s new bus route plan, Moving Forward Together. Though it’s already been approved and the five-year implementation plan is underway, most of the heavy changes aren’t scheduled until 2018 and beyond, so there’s time to rework it. (In fact, the...
New transportation plan sets clear priority for transit, but missing key value statements
Last week we got our first glimpse of what a new 15-year transportation plan could look like for Halifax. In a second round of public consultations (ongoing this week in Bedford, Spryfield, and online), the Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP) team has presented a bunch of proposed actions, ranging from plugging the gaps in our sidewalk...
Africville and Electric Buses: Morning File, Thursday, December 1, 2016
Why are there so few Views lately?
Hi Halifax, Katie here! Tim says he’s tired so is taking the morning off. (I secretly think he just wants to see my memes though.) News 1. Court must decide whether to approve Africville lawsuit Over 50 years ago Africville, the historic Black Nova Scotian community outside Halifax, was razed to the ground in the name of so-called “urban […]
MFT changes discussion postponed to December 6
Councillors gear up to defend proposed changes, while IMTB asks to bring in an expert
Last night, Halifax council opted to defer a decision on a long list of changes to the Moving Forward Together transit plan until its meeting on December 6th. The plan, which was actually already approved in the spring, was before councillors Tuesday as they considered a staff report rejecting nearly all of the 23 changes proposed...
Halifax councillors need to make a living wage ordinance a priority: Morning File, Monday, November 21, 2016
November Subscription Drive Click here to purchase a subscription to the Halifax Examiner. News 1. Just how low, and how bad, can the Chronicle Herald get? In a bid to restart negotiations between the Chronicle Herald management and its striking newsroom employees, the union sent the company a request for a meeting. But the company […]
Remember MFT?
Transit advocates It's More Than Buses remind us what's wrong with Halifax's new transit plan
A brand spanking new council will take their seats in city hall soon, and one of the early items on their agenda will be a report outlining the repercussions of 21 different amendments to Halifax Transit’s new plan, Moving Forward Together (MFT). We last left the MFT plan in the spring, when our previous council...
Halifax needs a Living Wage ordinance: Morning File, Monday, September 26, 2016
News Views Noticed Government On campus In the harbour Footnotes News 1. Halifax needs a living wage ordinance Last week, Halifax council wrestled with a contract for parking enforcement. The term for the former contractor, ISSA, had expired, but that company agreed to continue providing enforcement on a month-by-month basis until a new contract was […]