This post is specific to the last 11 months concerning the Morris Street Peninsula South Complete Streets Project East Connection.
The staff recommended (1-way eastbound general traffic, 2-way permanent bike path, 0 – 4 trees removed, south side parking & loading access retained) 30% design for the East Connection (Morris Street) of the Peninsula South Complete Streets Project was approved by TSC on August 29, 2024 Transportation Standing Committee | Halifax.
I spoke at this meeting as a resident and candidate for Councillor. I was glad to see the project move forward, but the designs chosen were not my preference (without the benefit of all of the details I am now aware of). I wrote a post about my thoughts at the time: TSC 29 August 2024.
The same staff recommended 30% designs for the Peninsula South Complete Streets Project were approved by Regional Council on October 1, 2024.
On 10 April 2025, Mayor Fillmore and I met with the Spring Garden Neighbourhood Coalition (condo board presidents, a Schmidtville representative, Friends of the Public Gardens and the Spring Garden Road Area Executive Director) and a HRM Parks & Rec staff member about three issues they wanted to discuss. One of them was regarding traffic patterns in their neighbourhood, and a request was made to pause work on the Morris Street design to better discuss and understand the implications of making Morris a 1-way street on all modes of transportation in the area, and to be presented with a transportation plan for the area in general.
I was not interested in pausing approved work direction to pursue these residents’ request, but observing Mayor Fillmore’s interest in pursuing this course, I decided to ask for a meeting with senior transportation staff for the mayor and I to see what possible solutions could be found. It was preferable to me to stay involved, rather than removing myself from the discussion.
Due to this line of questioning from myself and Mayor Fillmore on the Morris Street path forward, staff paused the RFP for proceeding to the 60% design phase sometime in April (awarding and then changing course on a contract could be detrimental to HRM).
I met with staff three times between 05 and 09 May 2025 (the 07 May meeting included Mayor Fillmore), and decided that I was satisfied that Morris St was the best design that it could be, given all of the constraints, but that we may have a fix for the concerns of some drivers living in the Cunard Building and staff driving to work at Nova Scotia Power, by converting the block of Lower Water Street between Morris and Terminal Road back to two-way general traffic.
I communicated my desire to proceed with the 60% design Peninsula South Complete Streets Project RFP to staff on 09 May, and let Mayor Fillmore know my thoughts on 10 May, requesting to speak to him about the issue that upcoming week.
I did not hear back from Mayor Fillmore (despite repeated attempts to arrange a meeting) until 05 June 2025.
Mayor Fillmore released his motion to pause all bike lane work to council on 06 June 2025.
Those few days’ work are reported on here:
10 June 2025 HRM Council Meeting: Regional Plan, Student Transit Pass, Protected Bicycle Lanes
The motion that passed was:
“THAT Halifax Regional Council direct the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to prepare a report and recommendation for Council’s consideration at its July 8 meeting, prior to the award of the tenders for the Morris Street Multi-Modal Phase One projects, that: Provides updated alternatives to the protected bike lane option that maintains two-way traffic on Morris Street and that does not remove vehicular lanes or otherwise worsen congestion on either Morris Street or Lower Water Street.”
(11 in favour, 6 against)
The issue went on hold until the agenda package including the Morris Street staff report was distributed to council on Friday morning, 04 July 2025.
Halifax Regional Council – July 08, 2025
Item 15.1.6 Peninsula South Complete Streets Project: Potential Alternatives for Morris Street East Connection
Discarded options from the original design process for the East Connection of the Peninsula South Complete Streets Project were presented to council with the following staff recommendation:
“Motion:
That Halifax Regional Council direct the Chief Administrative Officer to:
1. 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 Discussion section of the staff report dated June 13, 2025; and
2. Return to Regional Council with a recommendation on the preferred alternative cycling connection.”
Given the information gathering I did with staff over the past 3 months (the meetings and many emails), my knowledge of the design from August 2024, awareness of the majority of resident’s wishes, support of our strategic plans & experience cycling in Halifax, I was not in favour of this path forward.
Once again, I spoke to many of my colleagues about their thoughts on the staff report and shared my intention to vote No.
On 08 July 2025, this council agreed with the last council that the one 1-way general traffic, two-way permanent bike path, 0 – 4 trees removed, south side parking & loading access design is the best choice for Morris Street.
This motion was voted down 13-4. I voted No.
As discussed during debate, I brought back a hybrid of Alternative 1 & 2 in the staff report (page 13) as the desirable path forward: move forward to the 60% design phase for Morris Street with the staff recommended and council approved 2024 design, but this time with a tactical implementation. This means that the implementation can happen faster, the project will be much less expensive, and it will also be flexible. The possibility of conversion of Lower Water Street back to two-way traffic between Morris and Terminal will be explored.
“Motion:
Direct the CAO to proceed with implementing the approved Morris Street bikeway option using temporary, tactical materials and return to Council with an evaluation information report two years after the peninsula complete streets project has been installed, and initiate additional planning to consider converting Lower Water Street between Terminal Road and Morris Street to two-way traffic to mitigate impacts to traffic capacity on Lower Water Street.”
This motion passed 13-4. I voted Yes.
Q & A
I have received communication from residents both for and against this decision. 50+ were in favour of the council decision to stay the course on Morris, and ~35 were against. Surrounding the 10 June 2025 motion to pause all work on the AAA cycling network, I received about 40 emails in support and over 300 against.
In this section I will address most of the resident concerns that I have received:
Comment: installing bike lanes causes general traffic congestion.
In fact, the opposite is true. Each person who chooses to cycle rather than drive is one less car on the road and one more available parking spot.
The Role of Walking and Cycling in Reducing Congestion
Comment: Too few people use the bike lanes.
Here are two places you can find our statistics on bike lane usage (underreported as some counters are broken):
Microsoft Power BI (click “Integrated Mobility Dashboard”, then “Active Transportation”)
BikeHfx stats (@stats.hfx.bike) — Bluesky
Our AAA cycling network is only 60% complete. Finishing what we started will result in more people using the lanes (as demonstrated in cities around the world).
Comment: The spending on bike lanes is out of control/lacks accountability.
The original 2017 $25M price tag for the AAA network was not based on detailed design. As projects firm up and time passes, the numbers get more accurate and rise with the cost of everything. This happens with many HRM projects. For example, one of the first things I had to vote on was to triple the HRM contribution towards a turf field project.
For this project, our decision to implement it tactically rather than permanently to start will save money. Staff indicated that the cost would be a lot cheaper.
Council passed Deputy Mayor Mancini’s motion (item 16.1) to look at ways to reduce costs on 24 June 2025.
19 & 24 June 2025 HRM Council Meetings: Regional Plan, Bike Lanes, Heavy Vehicles, Vehicle Noise
Comment: We should invest in transit instead.
Absolutely – frequent and reliable transit service is desperately needed in HRM. We are working on bringing the BRT plan to life ASAP, but that doesn’t mean we don’t also need Active Transportation/micromobility networks. In fact, the two pair very well in helping people decide to leave their car at home for some trips. For example, you can use the micromobility pilot bikes and scooters to go to and from a bus stop or ferry terminal, or you can place a bike on the front of our buses to help complete a journey.
Rapid Transit Strategy | Halifax
Comment: We should fix the congestion on Lower Water Street first.
Managing congestion is not easy or fast. The main issue is too many vehicles on our roads at peak times. We are working on multiple solutions concurrently. There may be more things we can do, but perfect cannot be the enemy of good.
Comment: We should focus on getting the trucks out of downtown first.
This is happening concurrently. Up to 75% of the port trucks are planned to be out of downtown by 2027. We are at 30% diverted now.
HPA_50YearPlan_June2022_RGB-LOWRES.pdf (page 22 of the pdf which is page 42 of the printed document)
Comment: We should focus on more important issues like homelessness and health and the cost of living.
Depending on personal car ownership as a method of transportation is the most expensive way to provide a transportation service to residents, both for the municipality (through taxes) and for individuals (car ownership costs ~$15k per year). HRM, like many municipalities around the world, is working on offering choice to residents, so people can choose their preferred mode for each trip taken.
Comment: The majority of people drive, so we should focus on making driving easier.
We are planning to double our population in the next 25-35 years. We cannot fit double the number of cars into our road and parking networks. Driving is an unsustainable mode of transportation. We are committed to addressing the climate emergency in HRM.
Comment: Conflicts exist between cyclists and pedestrians.
Yes, they do. Conflicts also exist between drivers and vulnerable road users, resulting in worse outcomes when they collide.
Road Safety | Walking | Rolling | Cycling | Driving | Halifax
Comment: No right turns on red rules/general traffic congestion leads to idling pollution.
Yes, they do. No right turns on red rules are there to protect pedestrians. General traffic congestion cannot be solved by adding more road space for cars due to the induced demand (more driving) that is created by doing so. We need other options for getting around, so people have choice each time they take a trip.
Comment: The Morris St project will further congest traffic downtown.
Yes, the (unsignalized) intersections of South & Barrington and SGR & Brunswick are expected to see more issues with this change in the traffic models. The Traffic Authority constantly monitors our road network and will address these issues if they materialize and interventions are needed.
Comment: We are not in Amsterdam where bicycle lanes makes sense:
The history of how Amsterdam got its cycling infrastructure may surprise you.
Amsterdam Shifted from Cars to Bikes, How Can Other Cities Follow? – INKspire
Hundreds of cities and towns around the world are improving cycling infrastructure. Many places have hills and winter. We are not unique.
Urban Bikeway Design Guide – NACTO
Other Resources:
I may add to this later, but here are a few resources on why building cycling infrastructure makes good sense:
Global health and climate benefits from walking and cycling infrastructure | PNAS
How Copenhagen Became A Cycling Paradise By Considering The Full Cost Of Cars – Fast Company
Impacts of Bicycle Infrastructure in Mid-Sized Cities – Simon Fraser University
Comment: Emergency vehicles, hospital staff, the Port & general traffic need this space:
EMS, Fire, the hospitals and the Port were all consulted during this design process. Morris Street is the backup route for port traffic. The back up route will be reallocated to Terminal/Hollis/Barrington/Inglis/Robie when Morris Street is converted to one-way traffic. Truck traffic in the downtown core is being reduced by 75% by 2027 with the implementation of the rail shuttle project and the Windsor Street Exchange upgrades.
Comment: Service vehicles need to access the downtown core.
Indeed. This is why retaining parking and loading access on the south side of Morris was so important.
Comment: You could have easily made a bike lane and left things as they were.
This is unfortunately not true. Adding even a unidirectional AAA bike lane to Morris Street would remove all of the street parking or the trees.
Comment: One-way streets and added residents in new buildings who drive contribute to a huge increase in local traffic congestion.
Yes, added vehicular trips contribute to traffic congestion. HRM is working towards real choice for residents so that they can choose to walk, roll, cycle, ride transit and use car share for more trips.
Comment: South Street offers a much more logical choice for bike lanes. The bridge bike lane hill and Dartmouth bike lane hills exist, so it is ok to have bike lanes on hills elsewhere in the network.
With the advent of micromobility, hills are less of an issue for cycling networks, that is true. The majority of people cycling still use regular bicycles (which are also much more affordable). It is not a good investment for HRM to place a cycle route on a street with steep grades, as this will not encourage people to cycle. The reason that we have a steep hill on the Halifax side of the bridge path is because we are not allowing the bike traffic to cross the vehicular traffic at North & Brunswick. I’m not aware of steep hills in the Dartmouth AAA bike network.
Also, Morris is a direct route while South is a detour from the University Ave bike lanes.
Comment: Transit routes (regular and snow plan) will need to move.
Correct. Transit was consulted on this plan. Keeping Morris two-way is preferred, but this compromise was agreed to as nearly all roads prioritize general traffic. This one will accommodate the bike lane and maintain one lane for general traffic and curb space for parking and loading. Access-A-Bus loading will still be there for Spencer House. Other routes will most likely use South or Spring Garden, but that is not planned in detail yet.
Comment: We don’t know at this point if SGR will be bus-only or not.
That is correct. The possibility was considered by staff when completing the traffic modeling for this project. The next staff report on this issue is expected 21 August 2025 at Transportation Standing Committee meeting.
01 August 2025 Update:
A few links to add as the saga continues:
Premier Houston’s letter to council and post to Nova Scotians was shared on his social media 16 July 2025. He feels that council’s decision will “contribute to vehicular traffic congestion, create unnecessary public safety risks and potentially jeopardize port activity”.
Ontario court strikes down Ford government’s plan to remove Toronto bike lanes | CBC News
I had the pleasure of meeting Premier Houston briefly this morning. I hope that he takes me up on my request for a meeting via email last week and verbally today. I am interested in solutions and evidence-based decision making and also have some resident feedback to share.
Council meets on Tuesday, 05 August 20205 to debate this motion proposed by staff in response to Premier Houston’s letter:
Morris Street Bike Lane Update – Aug 5/25 Regional Council | Halifax.ca