(The photo above is of Dr. Afua Cooper speaking at Hiroshima Day on Wednesday.)
Our fifteenth council meeting of the year was held on Tuesday, 05 August 2025.
The full meeting agenda, reports and video recording are linked below.
Halifax Regional Council – August 05, 2025
Here are the District 7 highlights from Tuesday’s meeting:
Motion:
“That Halifax Regional Council:
1. rescind the July 8, 2025 motion with respect to Item 15.1.6 (as set forth in the Origin section of the staff report dated July 25, 2025);
2. direct the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to initiate additional functional planning and engagement for alternative cycling connections for the East Connection on Morris Street between University Avenue and Lower Water Street, as described in the July 8th Council report, and return to Regional Council with a recommendation on the preferred alternative cycling connection;
3. request the Mayor respond to the Premier’s July 16, 2025 letter advising of Regional Council’s direction to rescind the July 8th decision and that the Municipality will explore alternative cycling connections that do not require conversion of Morris Street to one-way traffic; and,
4. direct the CAO to carry out additional planning, design reassessment, and targeted stakeholder engagement for the proposed University Avenue portion of the Peninsula South Complete Streets project, prior to the commencement of preliminary and detailed design work, and provide a recommendation to Council as part of the report reviewing alternative network solutions and cost savings opportunities for the AAA bike network that was requested by Regional Council on June 24th, 2025.”
Back on Morris again……here’s the story to date: Morris Street: Peninsula South Complete Streets Project East Connection
Council had a good discussion on how to best handle this provincial overreach into municipal transportation planning (through Bill 24). We voted on each motion separately and tweaked them as we went.
“1. rescind the July 8, 2025 motion with respect to Item 15.1.6 (as set forth in the Origin section of the staff report dated July 25, 2025); ”
The debate was thoughtful, with several ideas floated: do we acquiesce to Premier Houston’s demand in order to avoid a provincial order against changing Morris into a one-way street? Do we delay a month or so in order to confer with EMCI and the Port on possible solutions to their concerns? Do we explore the alternative cycling connections further or not?
For me, I believe that the one-way Morris St tactical plan, with Lower Water turned back into a 2-way general traffic block between Morris and Terminal Rd, and the cycle path permeable in some fashion to emergency vehicles is the best solution. Faster, cheaper, temporary. Trees intact, parking and loading maintained. I voted with what I think is practically best in mind.
This motion passed 11 – 5. I voted No.
“2. direct the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to initiate additional functional planning and engagement for alternative cycling connections for the East Connection on Morris Street between University Avenue and Lower Water Street, as described in the July 8th Council report, including the implications of one-way traffic on Morris Street and include engagement with EMC and the Port of Halifax to analyze the traffic flow and investigate on emergency vehicles and port truck traffic and return to Regional Council with a recommendation on the preferred alternative cycling connection;”
This amended motion leaves the 4 alternatives (two street couplets & alternate routes) to the approved October 2024 design for Morris Street (one-way permanent) and adds the approved July 2025 design (one-way tactical) into the mix. Public and stakeholder consultation will be completed, and this process will take about a year. The one-way general traffic for Morris Street option will include the tactical design, the Lower Water 2-way general traffic solution between Morris and Terminal Road and will investigate using the cycle path for emergency vehicles as is commonly done around the world.
I’m pleased that those who feel their views have not been captured to date will have another opportunity to get involved. I’m pleased that the twice approved by council design for Morris Street is still in the mix. I’m not thrilled about spending extra money and time on a long-delayed project, but overall, I think this is a good compromise given our current political reality.
This motion passed 10 – 6. I voted Yes.
“3. request the Mayor respond to the Premier’s July 16, 2025 letter advising of Regional Council’s direction to rescind the July 8th decision and that the Municipality will explore alternative cycling connections; and,”
This amended motion passed unanimously.
“4. direct the CAO to carry out additional planning, design reassessment, and targeted stakeholder engagement for the proposed University Avenue portion of the Peninsula South Complete Streets project, prior to the commencement of preliminary and detailed design work, and provide a recommendation to Council as part of the report reviewing alternative network solutions and cost savings opportunities for the AAA bike network that was requested by Regional Council on June 24th, 2025.”
As taking out the Morris Street portion of the project changes the tender process for the Peninsula South Complete Streets project (University Ave and East and West Connections), staff recommended to go back to stakeholders (not a full public consultation) to make sure we are on the right track for the University Ave design after all this public discussion about Morris Street (plus Councillor Mancini’s 24 June 2025 motion to look for cost savings on the AAA network installations).
I wasn’t keen on this because the least expensive option was chosen of the 3 presented to council and we haven’t had any feedback on this portion of the project, but in hindsight I’m ok with it, as there may be tactical lower cost options that stakeholders are now willing to engage in. We’ll see. We expect to hear back on this portion by December.
This motion passed 14 – 2. I voted No.
12.1 Public Hearing: By-law N-200, Respecting Noise – Exemption Application – Halifax Salsa & Bachata Festival
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council approve the Halifax Salsa & Bachata Festival’s application for an exemption from the provisions of the Noise-By-law pursuant to the contents of the staff report dated June 23, 2025.”
I am a bit concerned that the public hearing letters did not go out to residents (and the hotel) of Queen’s Marque for this per our 100′ notification policy, but I hope that the tall government building between the dancing and the apartments will block any noise from being too much for residents.
The event will take place mid-August and sounds like fun!
Thursday, August 14, 7 pm to midnight (no exemption required, Sackville landing by the Wave)
Friday, August 15, 2025 – 9:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Saturday, August 16, 2025 (event starts at 7 pm)
Location: Bedford Row and Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Courtyard
Saturday, August 16, 2025 – 7:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Sunday, August 17, 2025
Location: Bedford Row between Prince and George Streets
This motion passed unanimously.
15.1.2 2026-2030 Strategic Plan
That Halifax Regional Council approve the 2026-2030 Strategic Plan and direct the Chief Administrative Officer to develop Action Plans and Budget and Business Plans in alignment with this Strategic Plan for a period of four fiscal years commencing 2026/27.”
Our strat plan has a four-year life that covers the three council priorities of Enabling Prosperity, Strengthening Communities and Moving Better. These three council priorities have subsets of 19 goals with many priority indicators and performance indicators. There are also two administrative priorities of Responsible Administration and Our People. All of these topics fall under the Vision, Mission, Values and Lenses (EDIA, Environment & Climate Action, Service Excellence) of the plan.
I enjoyed the iterative process of working with staff and council through in person and email communication to arrive at this plan for our new council together.
This motion passed 13 – 2. I voted Yes.
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council:
1. Approve the Financial Incentives Program applications listed in Attachment A of the staff report dated May 15, 2025, conditional upon the applicant’s compliance with sections 7 and 36-39 of Administrative Order Number 2020-005-ADM and the requirements specified in Attachment C of the staff report dated May 15, 2025 being satisfied; and
2. Approve the reallocation of excess Financial Incentives Program funds to the standby list properties in Attachment B of the staff report dated May 15, 2025, prioritizing 26-002 before other properties, if an approved project in Attachment A does not proceed or incurs expenses below the estimated amount, conditional upon the applicant’s compliance with sections 7 and 36-39 of Administrative Order Number 2020-005-ADM and the requirements specified in Attachment C of the staff report dated May 15, 2025 being satisfied.”
This motion passed on the consent agenda.
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council direct the Chief Administrative Officer to prepare a staff report on updating our approach to Local Street Bikeway (LSB) design to reflect the most recent professional guidelines, maximize safety and convenience of the route for vulnerable road users, and better enable experimentation and innovation. The report shall include a review of how other jurisdictions approach the implementation of LSBs and recommend that AO 2016-002-OP be updated or discontinued.”
I’ve heard from residents that don’t feel safe cycling on LSBs (example Vernon Street) and both the Halifax Cycling Coalition and staff are interested in changes, so I believe an update is required after nearly a decade of reference to this AO.
This motion passed unanimously.