‘Traffic is brutal’: Premier says Halifax mayor on right track to rethink bike lanes

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston weighed in on Halifax’s bike lane discussion by saying Mayor Andy Fillmore was “on the right track” when he tried to get council to pause construction on new lanes.

“The traffic is brutal, everyone can see that,” Houston said Thursday.

“I think he’s on the right topic, for sure, on traffic congestion. I think the motion to say, can we have a discussion about the cost, about the location, that makes sense to me.”

Fillmore brought a motion this week asking council to pause construction on new bike lanes associated with the all-ages and abilities (AAA) bikeway network project until a staff report could be completed to evaluate increasing costs and congestion concerns.

The mayor indicated he wanted to re-evaluate the design and cost of the project, which he says has ballooned to almost $100 million.

Councillors defeated the motion by 12 votes to five on Tuesday.

In reaction, the premier said he believed the majority of taxpayers would want the government to think twice about costs.

“They kind of like it when government says, ‘Let’s make sure we’re on the right track here, and let’s understand the cost and stuff.’ So, for some reason, the council decided no, and they’ll have to decide that,” Houston said.

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“But I think the mayor was on the right track.”

2:10 Halifax councillors concerned about mayor’s motion to pause bike lane construction

Coun. Shawn Cleary took issue with the premier’s idea that bike lanes negatively impact traffic. Cleary pointed out that the city has grown exponentially in recent years.

“That is the major contributor to congestion. The other thing I would remind the premier is when you mandate all your employees back to work, then you’re going to have more cars on the road, especially in government jobs — they’re largely 9-to-5, so the rush hours are very congested,” said Cleary.

He added that the best solution is to invest in more transportation options.

“The more people that are on a bus, the more people that are on a bike, the more people that are walking — the fewer cars there are on the road. And so, the investment in sustainable transportation actually reduces congestion.”

Other councillors echoed this sentiment during Tuesday’s meeting, which was heated at times.

“Water is wet, the sky is blue, the sun rises in the east and bike lanes do not cause congestion,” Coun. Sam Austin told council.

“What does cause congestion is a municipality that hasn’t done the work to provide needed alternatives and is growing rapidly. That’s the cause of congestion.”

Only a report on the design of bike lanes along Morris Street passed 11-6.

For his part, Fillmore said he’s committed to fighting for active transportation.

“That has been my drumbeat through all of this. We can meet all the active transportation needs in a better way if we just take a minute and try harder,” Fillmore said Tuesday.

2:16 Cyclists push back after Halifax mayor proposes pause on bike lane construction

— with files from Angela Capobianco