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Africville Active Transportation Project

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A photo of the Africville Museum on a sunny, blue-sky day

Hello and welcome to the project page for the Africville Active Transportation Project. See below for a history of the project, what we have done so far, and what our next steps will be.

Overview

The municipality is developing a planning study to determine the best connections for walking and cycling between the Africville National Historic Site and the rest of the Halifax peninsula, with a focus on creating safer ways to access the site for everyone.

Background

Currently, there is no formally designated way for someone walking, biking or rolling to access the Africville National Historic Site. To gain access, people are required to make travel decisions that are not safe, such as travelling along busy streets with no sidewalk, illegally crossing a CN Railway, or travelling down steep and informal trails through Africville Look-Off Park.

In 2016, the Africville Museum brought a petition with over 600 signatures to Regional Council to make Africville more accessible through sidewalks and public transit. Through that petition, Council directed Active Transportation staff to conduct this project, which is the first step in making a safer connection to the Africville Museum for people walking, cycling, and rolling a reality.

The Integrated Mobility Plan has also identified a connection to the Africville National Historic Site as part of the all ages & abilities (AAA) network.

The Planning Study

The goal of the project is to:

  1. Identify preliminary routes for walking and cycling connections;
  2. Determine the preferred route(s) for accessibility by all ages & abilities; and,
  3. Prepare functional design drawings which show the location and type of active transportation facility staff recommends to connect the Africville Park and Museum site to the municipality’s existing sidewalk and bicycle networks.

The three preliminary connections currently being considered are (see map below):

  1. Extending the sidewalk or a multi-use pathway to the Africville Museum from Barrington Street where it now ends at Glebe Street and improving connectivity between Glebe Street and Niobe Gate Bridge via a 3-4m multi-use pathway;
  2. Formalizing and improving connection to the Museum from Africville Look-off Park and Novalea Drive using a 3-4m wide multi-use pathway; and
  3. Connecting Africville Look-off Park with the former rail corridor that begins on Kempt Road and then runs parallel to Memorial Drive, until it ends at MacKay Bridge ramps. This would be a 3-4m wide multi-use pathway plus structure that would then connect down to the Africville Museum.

The three preliminary routes being considered for walking and cycling connections.

Each of the options noted above would improve pedestrian connectivity to existing transit services and improve the overall accessibility of the Museum to existing Halifax Transit service.

This study will explore the feasibility of each option from perspectives of cost, land requirements, topography, public and stakeholder views, and other factors. Preferred options will be identified and then, pending Regional Council direction, considered for implementation in the following years. The project is currently in the Functional Study stage. You can find more details on the Active Transportation planning and design process here.


Opportunities to Provide Feedback

Community engagement for this project took place from October 19 to November 2, 2021 in the form of 2 in-person open house sessions, 2 webinars, and an online survey. Recordings of the two webinars can be found on the right side of this webpage, as well as a "What We Heard Report" which summarizes the feedback received during engagement from all formats.

Please note that the project team will be conducting engagement specific to the Africville Community in the near future. However, members of the Africville Community were encouraged to participate in the public engagement events listed above as well.


This project is separate from both the Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment Project and the potential land exchange with the Africville Heritage Trust and the Halifax Port Authority however, there are interrelationships that must be considered due to the close geographic proximity. See here to learn more about the potential land exchange and here to learn about the Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment project.

Hello and welcome to the project page for the Africville Active Transportation Project. See below for a history of the project, what we have done so far, and what our next steps will be.

Overview

The municipality is developing a planning study to determine the best connections for walking and cycling between the Africville National Historic Site and the rest of the Halifax peninsula, with a focus on creating safer ways to access the site for everyone.

Background

Currently, there is no formally designated way for someone walking, biking or rolling to access the Africville National Historic Site. To gain access, people are required to make travel decisions that are not safe, such as travelling along busy streets with no sidewalk, illegally crossing a CN Railway, or travelling down steep and informal trails through Africville Look-Off Park.

In 2016, the Africville Museum brought a petition with over 600 signatures to Regional Council to make Africville more accessible through sidewalks and public transit. Through that petition, Council directed Active Transportation staff to conduct this project, which is the first step in making a safer connection to the Africville Museum for people walking, cycling, and rolling a reality.

The Integrated Mobility Plan has also identified a connection to the Africville National Historic Site as part of the all ages & abilities (AAA) network.

The Planning Study

The goal of the project is to:

  1. Identify preliminary routes for walking and cycling connections;
  2. Determine the preferred route(s) for accessibility by all ages & abilities; and,
  3. Prepare functional design drawings which show the location and type of active transportation facility staff recommends to connect the Africville Park and Museum site to the municipality’s existing sidewalk and bicycle networks.

The three preliminary connections currently being considered are (see map below):

  1. Extending the sidewalk or a multi-use pathway to the Africville Museum from Barrington Street where it now ends at Glebe Street and improving connectivity between Glebe Street and Niobe Gate Bridge via a 3-4m multi-use pathway;
  2. Formalizing and improving connection to the Museum from Africville Look-off Park and Novalea Drive using a 3-4m wide multi-use pathway; and
  3. Connecting Africville Look-off Park with the former rail corridor that begins on Kempt Road and then runs parallel to Memorial Drive, until it ends at MacKay Bridge ramps. This would be a 3-4m wide multi-use pathway plus structure that would then connect down to the Africville Museum.

The three preliminary routes being considered for walking and cycling connections.

Each of the options noted above would improve pedestrian connectivity to existing transit services and improve the overall accessibility of the Museum to existing Halifax Transit service.

This study will explore the feasibility of each option from perspectives of cost, land requirements, topography, public and stakeholder views, and other factors. Preferred options will be identified and then, pending Regional Council direction, considered for implementation in the following years. The project is currently in the Functional Study stage. You can find more details on the Active Transportation planning and design process here.


Opportunities to Provide Feedback

Community engagement for this project took place from October 19 to November 2, 2021 in the form of 2 in-person open house sessions, 2 webinars, and an online survey. Recordings of the two webinars can be found on the right side of this webpage, as well as a "What We Heard Report" which summarizes the feedback received during engagement from all formats.

Please note that the project team will be conducting engagement specific to the Africville Community in the near future. However, members of the Africville Community were encouraged to participate in the public engagement events listed above as well.


This project is separate from both the Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment Project and the potential land exchange with the Africville Heritage Trust and the Halifax Port Authority however, there are interrelationships that must be considered due to the close geographic proximity. See here to learn more about the potential land exchange and here to learn about the Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment project.