David Suzuki's Commercial and Sustainable Living... you know where this is going..

"It all starts with me" the tag line from David Suzuki's commercial for Conserve Nova Scotia basically says it all.  If we do not start with me (us) where does it start? 

Living within our means, using the resources we have, and making sure we replenish those resources should be everyones mantra.  Unfortunately, many humans and governments do not follow this sound advise.

Case in point: Urban Sprawl, and underutilization of existing infrastructure within our own municipality.  Halifax Regional Municipality has been sprawling for years and its affecting the municipality's ability to maintain the amenities we all ready have.  Like an elastic band, you can only streatch something so far before it breaks.  Each time a new residential development plan in an unserviced area is approved by Council it costs a huge amount of money for the basic infrastructure such as water, sewage, streets, police, fire, transit,  and schools.  As new areas pop up outside of the urban core, the need to maintain the existing infrastructure within the already established areas still exists. Like any water pipe, recreation centre, street or sidewalk that has been utilized for a period of years, it only has a certain lifecycle and repairs, ugrades or replacement is vitial to maintain a level of service.

Tonight I attended one of the 3 meetings regarding the Peninsula Recreation Centre public meetings.  George Dixon Centre, Needham Centre and St. Andrew's Centre are all under review.  The centres are in need of upgrades, redesigning of programmable space and wheel chair accessability .  All were build decades ago when accessibility was not a standard practice.  Furthermore, Halifax is becoming the home to many different ethnic communities who have certain needs which must be accommodated as well.  The message was clear from the residents, just upgrade what we have.    Losing such assets to a community would be devastating as they are the heart of a community.  HRM By Design also supports complete neighbourhoods and these type of facilities are key components.

Back to my rant.  If we are going to make our municipality a liveable and viable place to live we need to follow a sustainable way of living and stop building our communities which make us reliant on cars.  Walkable neighbourhoods are vital to the health of our residents and municipality.  Reliable mass transit is a must as well but  I'll get into that later as I believe our transit routes are not serving the residents or commuters as well as it could.  Ok, I must rant about this for a few lines...  We have too many buses serving the same areas and are not looking at any change to this by the looks of things.  550+ workers (NSPI), 300+ students (NSCAD), residents of the area (1200+) and those who will be wanting to frequent the future Farmers Market and Pier 21, Cunard Centre, and the Train Station/ Bus Station at the Westin, the students of Dal and SMU, staff of the hospitals and the patients were relying on the Downtown Shuttle to make their lives easier, but the shuttle was not included in the latest 5 yr transit strategy.  Out of Frustration I have started a petition.  Please sign it!

To wrap this up, HRM needs to plan better for the future.  We as citizens need to demand that our government doesn't just think it's sustainable but actually that they lead us by example by retrofitting community centres, re-evaluate our transit strategy and demanding more eco-friendly means for our future.

You need to be aware of what the Municipality is or isn't doing and contact your Municipal Representatives via phone, email, snail mail etc as it does start with you.

Transit, the climate and why do I care so much about FRED on Steriods

Since finding out the Downtown Shuttle is not included in the recommendations coming forward to Council on Tuesday I've been really upset. Furious. Beyond reproach!

So what is the big deal its 6 buses: 3 going on a proposed north route and 3 on a south route. So what has me to the point of frustration that I actually washed down the walls in my bathroom and then most of the windows in my house? It starts with disappointment and ends in climate changing measure that all of us should be concerned about; this is everyone’s planet folks! 

My beef started with the way in which I found out the Downtown Shuttle was cut. Council was given the IBI report a week in advance so we could read through the 347-page document and be ready with questions for the Committee of the Whole to October 27th. I admit I didn’t crack open the book till Monday and when I did it left me puzzled. Where was the Shuttle? I flipped to the index, no shuttle… checked out the appendices, no Shuttle. 

Thought maybe I missed an email from a staff person explaining the removal of the project I cheerlead for 3 years. Nope, no explanation sent. Called the Mayor, he didn’t call me back. Called the CAO and his assistant told me to contact Transit. I was sent an email basically confirming my fear. Cut, with no real reason. Such an email would tick off anyone, but here is the kicker. Within the Regional Plan and HRM by Design there are several paragraphs devoted to an explanation of the need for such a service.

According to HRM by Design : "Creation of a frequent, high-capacity shuttle transit service within the downtown, and with connections to nearby destinations such as hospitals and universities, has several benefits."

"Firstly, it can expand the reach of express transit services and ferries which stop at a single location downtown. It can improve connectivity within the downtown for visitors, shoppers, and employees alike. Using hybrid diesel-electric buses, the service can also reduce the impacts of buses on the downtown by reducing noise and emissions and allowing some routes to transfer passengers and turn around before entering the downtown.” 

So with the adoption of HRM by Design by the Province last week, why the heck was this keystone of the plan left out? Please someone tell me! 

Residents, workers and businesses were looking forward to this service. It would cut down the use of cars in the area, helping us save our planet. Such a service would help get people hooked on transit. They would then increase their ridership and we could build a true network of mobility.

This weekend I had to read a Proclamation for the Climate Change Rally.  I was in such a funk about this Shuttle issue, I felt like I should have apoligized to all participants  of the rally because HRM will not be going forward with the Shuttle.  By the way the Shuttles were to be of hybrid diesel-electric technology to minimize noise and emissions. 2 had been given to HRM by Concerve NS.  (I wonder where there are going to be used now?)

Alas, Tuesday is approaching. Hopefully I will get the answers to my questions. More importantly, I hope Council reinstates some form of this project. Mobility within the downtown areas of the peninsula would make it an attractive place for residents, businesses and visitors. Isn’t that what we need to achieve? A more vibrant downtown so we may grow?



What do you think?



Ps if you feel so inclined, please sign the petition that I will be presenting on Tuesday Oct 27th