Halifax transit plan going to council next week

The Moving Forward Together Plan was referred to a committee of the whole meeting by Halifax regional council on Tuesday.

The plan focuses on divvying up more resources for high ridership services, building a network based on transfers, investing in service quality and reliability, and prioritizing transit in the transportation network.

“We’re not saying, ‘Don’t approve it’,” said Mark Nener, a member of transit advocacy group It’s More Than Buses.

While the service improvements are commendable, he said there is not enough information for councillors to understand the full extent of the proposed changes.

“This plan is going to shape our transit network for decades to come, and our transit network is going to shape the way that our municipality grows, the way our communities grow, so it’s very, very important that we get this right the first time,” Nener said.

Ahsan Habib, director of the Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory, called the plan “good” but said it doesn’t bring a big enough change to the system.

There needs to be more discussion on other systems, such as rapid transit and commuter rail, he added.

“I would say, still, we are not embracing the transit culture that we are advocating for,” Habib said.

Stephen Adams, councillor for Spryfield – Sambro Loop – Prospect Road, said residents of Sambro and Purcell’s Cove, N.S., are concerned transit connections to the rest of the municipality would be diminished.

“This particular issue has probably caused more angst and more issue for residents in those areas than anything I’ve dealt with in over 20 years,” Adams said.

The committee of the whole meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.