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Bayers Lake Business Park Active Transportation Plan

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Current Project Status

Round Two of public engagement is now complete and you can find a summary of feedback received in the What We Heard Report. Next, the project team will take the feedback received to an internal technical committee to consider any necessary revisions, evaluate the design options, and choose the preferred options to include in the Final Report. This report is estimated for completion mid-summer 2021.


Project Background

When Bayers Lake Business Park was opened in the late 1980s, it was meant to act as a traditionally auto-centric industrial park. For this reason, and the lack of active transportation (AT) development requirements at the time, the infrastructure in the park was designed for car and large truck travel and did not include facilities for people walking, biking, or rolling. In the mid-1990s, big-box retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart, Kent, and others were introduced into the park, transitioning it away from an industrial park and towards a commercial shopping destination. Most recently, offices and services (e.g. Canada Revenue Agency and Access Nova Scotia) have located in the park, creating more demand for AT facilities so employees can commute to work or travel around the park during the day.

In 2008, a municipal Business Parks Functional Plan was prepared by consultants to identify the existing conditions of the region’s business parks and opportunities and constraints for further development. Some of those issues related to AT include poor connectivity with nearby neighbourhoods, high traffic volumes, and poor communication between park users and the municipality regarding development and planning. The consultants recommended an alternative transportation plan which focuses on bicycle lanes, pedestrian infrastructure, and improved transit access.

Although HRM has since recognized some of these problems (e.g. the need for sidewalks) and is now building AT infrastructure into new phases of business park development, a large amount of developed land within the park would need infrastructure retrofits to create a safer environment for AT users. This project aims to create a functional plan to help guide the municipality in what AT facilities to consider building as these streets are rehabilitated over the next 10 years.

Considerations will include:

  • How AT users want to travel to, from, and within the park;
  • How AT users connect with existing Halifax Transit services; and
  • How proposed AT facilities can improve connectivity between Bayers Lake Business Park and surrounding areas, including but not limited to residential communities (Beechville, Clayton Park West, Fairview), Ragged Lake Business Park, and Long Lake Provincial Park.


Public Engagement

Find a summary of the engagement feedback received in our What We Heard Report.

COMPLETE: ROUND TWO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - APRIL 7 to 28, 2021

Municipal staff hosted the first round of public engagement entirely online between April 7 and April 28, 2021, through information panels, an online survey, and three live webinar sessions hosted by the project team (more information below).

This second round of engagement collected the public's feedback on:

  • a set of conceptual design options the project team has developed for Chain Lake Drive, Horseshoe Lake Drive, Susie Lake Crescent (older section), and Hobsons Lake Drive (including how to link the newer and older sections) based on public feedback from Round One of engagement; and,
  • the evaluation criteria staff will use to pick the best design options for each corridor.

COMPLETE: ROUND ONE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - NOVEMBER 4 to 20, 2020

Municipal staff hosted the first round of public engagement entirely online between November 4 and November 20, 2020, through virtual information panels, an online survey, and two live webinar sessions hosted by the project team. These initial conversations discussed how business park users currently travel to, from, and through the business park, what types of AT facilities they would prefer to see, and more.


Current Project Status

Round Two of public engagement is now complete and you can find a summary of feedback received in the What We Heard Report. Next, the project team will take the feedback received to an internal technical committee to consider any necessary revisions, evaluate the design options, and choose the preferred options to include in the Final Report. This report is estimated for completion mid-summer 2021.


Project Background

When Bayers Lake Business Park was opened in the late 1980s, it was meant to act as a traditionally auto-centric industrial park. For this reason, and the lack of active transportation (AT) development requirements at the time, the infrastructure in the park was designed for car and large truck travel and did not include facilities for people walking, biking, or rolling. In the mid-1990s, big-box retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart, Kent, and others were introduced into the park, transitioning it away from an industrial park and towards a commercial shopping destination. Most recently, offices and services (e.g. Canada Revenue Agency and Access Nova Scotia) have located in the park, creating more demand for AT facilities so employees can commute to work or travel around the park during the day.

In 2008, a municipal Business Parks Functional Plan was prepared by consultants to identify the existing conditions of the region’s business parks and opportunities and constraints for further development. Some of those issues related to AT include poor connectivity with nearby neighbourhoods, high traffic volumes, and poor communication between park users and the municipality regarding development and planning. The consultants recommended an alternative transportation plan which focuses on bicycle lanes, pedestrian infrastructure, and improved transit access.

Although HRM has since recognized some of these problems (e.g. the need for sidewalks) and is now building AT infrastructure into new phases of business park development, a large amount of developed land within the park would need infrastructure retrofits to create a safer environment for AT users. This project aims to create a functional plan to help guide the municipality in what AT facilities to consider building as these streets are rehabilitated over the next 10 years.

Considerations will include:

  • How AT users want to travel to, from, and within the park;
  • How AT users connect with existing Halifax Transit services; and
  • How proposed AT facilities can improve connectivity between Bayers Lake Business Park and surrounding areas, including but not limited to residential communities (Beechville, Clayton Park West, Fairview), Ragged Lake Business Park, and Long Lake Provincial Park.


Public Engagement

Find a summary of the engagement feedback received in our What We Heard Report.

COMPLETE: ROUND TWO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - APRIL 7 to 28, 2021

Municipal staff hosted the first round of public engagement entirely online between April 7 and April 28, 2021, through information panels, an online survey, and three live webinar sessions hosted by the project team (more information below).

This second round of engagement collected the public's feedback on:

  • a set of conceptual design options the project team has developed for Chain Lake Drive, Horseshoe Lake Drive, Susie Lake Crescent (older section), and Hobsons Lake Drive (including how to link the newer and older sections) based on public feedback from Round One of engagement; and,
  • the evaluation criteria staff will use to pick the best design options for each corridor.

COMPLETE: ROUND ONE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT - NOVEMBER 4 to 20, 2020

Municipal staff hosted the first round of public engagement entirely online between November 4 and November 20, 2020, through virtual information panels, an online survey, and two live webinar sessions hosted by the project team. These initial conversations discussed how business park users currently travel to, from, and through the business park, what types of AT facilities they would prefer to see, and more.

  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Round Two of Public Engagement Survey

    Please let us know your feedback by filling out this 10-15 minute survey for Round Two of Public Engagement for the Bayers Lake Business Park Active Transportation Functional Plan.

    This survey is meant to collect your feedback on:

    • how and why you currently travel around the Bayers Lake Business Park;
    • a set of conceptual design options the project team has developed for proposed AT facilities on Chain Lake Drive, Horseshoe Lake Drive, Susie Lake Drive and Hobsons Lake Drive; and
    • upgrades to the three Chain of Lakes Trail crossings.

    There are information panels linked here that you may wish to reference during the survey for contextual information or if you would like to zoom into any images. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the survey, please contact Megan Backos, Active Transportation Planner at (902) 478-9725 or backosm@halifax.ca. Thank you!

    In accordance with Section 485 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), any personal information collected in this survey will only be used by municipal staff and, if necessary, individuals under a service contract with the Halifax Regional Municipality for purposes relating to active transportation within the Bayers Lake Business Park.  If you have any questions about the collection and use of this personal information, please contact the Access and Privacy Office at 902-490-7460 or accessandprivacy@halifax.ca

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  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Round One of Public Engagement Survey

    Please let us know your feedback by filling out this 5-10 minute survey on your current travel habits and facility preferences too, from and throughout Bayers Lake Business Park.  There are information panels linked here as background to these questions that describe more about the project scope.  

    In accordance with Section 485 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), any personal information collected in this survey will only be used by municipal staff and, if necessary, individuals under a service contract with the Halifax Regional Municipality for purposes relating to active transportation within the Bayers Lake Business Park.  If you have any questions about the collection and use of this personal information, please contact the Access and Privacy Office at 902-490-7460 or accessandprivacy@halifax.ca

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  • CLOSED: This survey has concluded.

    Property Owners' Engagement Survey

    In November 2020, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) engaged the public on what active transportation (AT) connections would be most important to them while travelling within Bayers Lake Business Park as part of the Bayers Lake Business Park AT Plan development.  

    In the first round of engagement 44% of survey respondents replied that the lack of connection between the street and front door of commercial/business/service amenities is what discourages them from using AT modes (e.g. walking, cycling, wheeling) within the business park. “Access to key destinations” was also listed as the #2 priority for people using AT modes through the business park.

    While HRM is not able to propose AT connections on privately-owned land in our AT Plan, we wanted to reach out to property owners in the area to gauge their interest in AT and building future connections on their properties. The following 5-minute survey aims to gather feedback that may inform future 

    In accordance with Section 485 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA), any personal information collected in this survey will only be used by municipal staff and, if necessary, individuals under service contract with the Halifax Regional Municipality for purposes relating to active transportation within the Bayers Lake Business Park.  If you have any questions about the collection and use of this personal information, please contact the Access and Privacy Office at 902-490-7460 or accessandprivacy@halifax.ca.

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