Bus-only pilot project approved for Spring Garden Road in Halifax

Halifax regional council has approved a year-long pilot project to keep cars off a section of Spring Garden Road for 13 hours a day, starting in June.

Once the project begins, buses will be the only vehicles allowed on the busy shopping streetin the area between Queenand South Park streets from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pedestrians and cyclists will also be permitted.

Staff had recommended starting the project in January because that's when road work connected tostreetscape improvements isscheduled to end.

"We'll be into winter clearing on a brand new street," said Coun.Waye Mason, chair of thetransportation standing committee that brought the proposal to councilfor a vote.

"I think pushing it out to June gives us a clean start, we need an immaculate implementation."

According to a report tabled at the transportation standing committee, the pilot project willhelp improve thereliability of transit buses and access for pedestrians.

Success of the pilot would be assessed based on several factors, including pedestrian, customer, and transit rider experience on the street; public and area resident feedback; average transit travel time;andcollision data and traffic volume on surrounding streets.

Municipal planners are also looking to createa metric to measure how businesses are affected.