Good evening Haligonians,
Our eleventh council meeting of the year was held on Tuesday, 10 June. The full meeting agenda, reports and video recording are linked below.
Halifax Regional Council – June 10, 2025
(Items 10.2 Vehicle Noise Bylaw, 14.1 Board of Police Commissioners Annual Report and Work Plan, 15.2.1 Rural Transit Grants and 15.2.3 Robie St Transit Priority Corridor were deferred due to a heavy agenda.)
Here are the District 7 highlights from Tuesday’s meeting:
10.1 Regional Plan Review: Phase 4 (Case 22257), Including Minimum Planning Requirements
After amendments made on the 3rd and 10th of June, the Regional Plan Phase 4 passed first reading. The public hearing will take place on 19 June at 1 pm and continue into 20 June if required. We are required to finish the Regional Plan by 30 June 2025 per provincial legislation. If Council decides to make significant changes after the public hearing on 19/20 June, the process must restart with a new first reading, re-advertisement, and a second public hearing.
Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council direct the Chief Administrative Officer to:
1. negotiate and execute an agreement with the Province of Nova Scotia that extends the Student Transit Pass Pilot Program through the 2025/26 school year;
2. expand the Student Transit Pass Pilot Program to include homeschooled students, with the cost of this expansion to be borne by the Municipality, as set forth in the Financial Implications section of the staff report dated May 12, 2025;
3. engage with private schools to assess their interest in participating in, and funding their participation in, the Student Transit Pass Pilot Program; and
4. prepare a report for Regional Council outlining a proposed long-term funding model for transitioning the Student Transit Pass Pilot Program to a permanent program, with such a model reflecting the cost and value of the program, and enabling adjustments for operational costs and inflation.
This motion passed on the consent agenda. (Councillor Steel brought this motion back for discussion later out of concern over not funding private school student bus passes. A funder will have to be found for private school student bus passes, as the province is not funding these passes at this time.)
15.3.2 Mayor Fillmore – Motion to Pause New Bike Lane Projects Pending Traffic Impact Review
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council waive section 17 of Administrative Order One, requiring a staff report from the Chief Administrative Officer; and
Direct the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to:
Pause awarding contracts for any new bike lane design or construction capital projects, effective immediately, until Council receives a supplementary staff report that:
1. Provides a list of bike lane projects proposed in the current 4-year capital plan that could result in reduced vehicular traffic capacity and/or increased traffic congestion; and
2. Assesses the feasibility of alternative network solutions that could achieve active transportation goals while sustaining or improving current traffic flow.”
“Reason: In consideration of increasing public concern over traffic and congestion, rising costs associated with
active transportation infrastructure, a new Provincial government mandate prioritizing the development of
a rapid transportation system in and out of HRM, and the forthcoming release of the Links NS Regional
Transportation Plan.”
It was a doozy of a week getting ready for this meeting starting on Friday morning when Mayor Fillmore informed council that he was adding this item to the agenda via email at 9:03 am. I had a podcast recording scheduled with Atlantic News for 3 pm, so the timing worked out well to be able to share my thoughts on this regressive motion here (on all the usual podcast apps):
Councillor Laura White Discusses Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore’s Bike Lane Motion
What I object to the most with this motion is the lack of process and collaboration that went into it. This meeting was a continuation of the Regional Plan Phase 4 debate that we have a legislated deadline of 30 June to meet. Pivoting to dealing with a sweeping motion to pause design and construction of the All Ages & Abilities (AAA) cycling network (without a staff report!) was all consuming and emotional for council. It distracted me from the work of the Regional Plan, district work and preparing my own motions for future council dates. A week was lost to this times 16 people.
I am so disappointed in this motion because it is not based in fact. Bike lanes do not cause traffic congestion. Period. If anything, they alleviate it, as people have another choice on a mode of transportation. Congestion is caused by the number of cars on the road, and there are solutions to deal with this (of which adding cycling infrastructure is one).
As for costs, every project has gone up in price. This completed AAA network is now 6+ years behind its scheduled 2022 completion date. Of course, the cost has gone up. Also, many of these projects come with road safety upgrades for all road users and public space improvements, so attributing the cost increases to “bike lanes” is not entirely accurate in itself.
The worst part is that there is already a culture divide between cyclists and drivers (many people identify as both, of course) fueled by rhetoric online and by politicians elsewhere. I’m so sad to see this style of politics come to Halifax and worry that having this conversation at council puts more vulnerable road users at risk.
Here’s a video from Kevin Wilson on 09 June in which he assesses “the accuracy of the mayors claims and how well they support his argument for pausing the development of the city’s bike network.”
Here is Councillor Austin’s blog post written 06 June:
The Bike Network is in Trouble – Sam Austin
The good news is I had productive conversations with many of my colleagues over the weekend as we discussed our thoughts on this motion. I do think there is room for improvement with our AAA network, but this is not the way to get there.
The motion was defeated 12-5.
Mayor Fillmore then came back with a two-part motion to pause the Brunswick Street Active Transportation (AT) project and the Morris Street AT project. The bidding process for the Brunswick Street project was closing on Wednesday, 11 June. The project includes a new pedestrian plaza: Brunswick Street AAA Bikeway | Complete Streets | Halifax
The Morris Street tender for moving the design from 30% to 60% was ready to go out to bidders.
Council voted down the Brunswick Street pause (12-5 again), but a pause was passed on Morris Street until a staff report comes back on 08 July (11-6).
I voted No to both questions.
I’m all talked out about this motion, but if you want to read more, here’s another one of Councillor Austin’s posts:
Council Update: Bike Lane Battle – Sam Austin
Take care all, I hope you have a safe and restful weekend!
Laura