Halifax could revisit the Spring Garden Road bus-only pilot project next year, after it failed to get off the ground on the first attempt.
Back in December 2021, Halifax Regional Council voted in favour of a year-long pilot project to only allow buses, bicycles and pedestrians along Spring Garden Road between South Park and Queen streets from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The pilot was part of the Imagine Spring Garden Road project and was put in place to help pedestrian and transit access to Spring Garden Road.
It started on July 4 – but just four days in, it was abruptly halted after cars continued to enter that stretch of the street despite the new rules.
“Why are we back here today, just a few months after the pilot was to begin?” said Halifax transportation planning manager Mike Connors, during a presentation to the Transportation Standing Committee Wednesday.
“Obvious answer is it didn’t go well, it didn’t go according to plans.”
What went wrong
During the short-lived pilot project, there were no physical barriers preventing cars from using the street – only signs and a couple of Halifax Regional Police officers positioned at the intersections of Queen and South Park streets.
Connors said the traffic restrictions were “more difficult to communicate than expected.”
“Traffic did not observe the restrictions through much of the operational period, and it’s evident now that traffic signage alone did not clearly communicate the traffic restrictions,” said Connors.
He also said the time-based regulations – with the street only being closed to cars between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. – and the multiple access points to that section of Spring Garden Road also posed a challenge to the pilot.
The fact that the restrictions were “mode-selective” – that the road was closed for cars but open to buses, bikes and pedestrians – made it difficult to put in physical barriers, Connors noted.
“It would be easier to implement, for example, if all traffic was prohibited from the street, as we could simply set up barriers and leave them in place,” he said.
“However, Spring Garden Road is a very important transit street and we need to continue to run buses on it.”
As well, ongoing construction along Spring Garden Road is taking “longer than expected” and added to the confusion.
‘Potential’ for a pedestrian-focused street
Despite its many challenges, Connors also took some time to highlight the positives of the brief pilot.
“During the periods when it did work, and people observed the regulations, we did get a very nice glimpse into the significant potential Spring Garden Road has as a pedestrian-focused street,” he said.
“When the traffic (was) not on the street, it was noticeably quieter, calmer and bus operation was more efficient.”
He also noted that the project tended to work best when there were police officers stationed at the intersections of South Park and Queen streets to provide enforcement and education, but said it would be “impractical” to have officers on-site on a full-time basis.
During Wednesday’s special Transportation Standing Committee meeting, Coun. Waye Mason, whose district includes Spring Garden Road, acknowledged the challenges the pilot faced in July.
“When you do a pilot, and when you attempt to do something new, sometimes it’s not going to work … and this didn’t work,” he said.
“And I think that a lot of learning happened – not just for Spring Garden Road, but all of our various bike and transit efforts around the municipality.”
Mason introduced a motion to direct the chief administrative officer to complete an operational review to investigate additional traffic control measures and other needs required for the bus-only pilot.
Staff would then return to the Transportation Standing Committee with a recommended approach for the new iteration of the pilot.
Mason also introduced an amendment to have a report ready by February 2023, with the hopes of implementing the project again in the spring.
He said it’s “essential” for the pilot to be brought back and made to work, noting its role in Halifax’s integrated mobility plan.
“The public needs to know that we’re taking it seriously and we’re moving along,” he said.
Staff ‘optimistic’
While Coun. Paul Russell expressed concerns about the short timeline, Connors, the transportation planning manager, said implementation in the spring would be, “I hope, doable.”
Among other things, staff would look at the implications of putting up barriers, such as an automated gate system that would allow buses through while blocking access to cars.
“It depends what level of investment council’s willing to make in that, and what kind of physical parameters are on the street that dictate how it’s done,” Connors said.
“We’re optimistic that something could be installed by spring, but it all comes down to what exactly it is.”
In the end, the committee ended up voting in favour of the motion. Russell voted against Mason’s amendment, but it ended up passing anyway.
According to a staff report brought before the committee Wednesday, city staff could end up recommending that the pilot be restarted after ongoing construction activities in the area are completed, and while relying on an updated signage plan, physical measures and police enforcement.
“Under this configuration, a shortened pilot duration period (e.g., one month) should be considered due to operational costs, resource requirements, and impending winter weather conditions,” the report said, though this is not recommended as it is “not expected to operate effectively and is not a sustainable solution.”
It’s also possible that staff could recommend the project be indefinitely postponed, or scrapped altogether.
“This is not recommended as it does not capitalize on an opportunity to explore Spring Garden Road’s potential as a pedestrian-oriented street with transit priority,” it said.
The staff report with recommendations for the pilot is expected to come before Halifax Regional Council in February 2023.