Dahlia-Oak-Crichton Active Transportation Connections

Hi! Welcome to the project page for the Dahlia-Oak-Crichton Active Transportation Connections project. See below for a history of the project to date and more details.

PROJECT UPDATE - DECEMBER 2021

2021 construction work is substantially complete including the following upgrades:

• Dahlia Street paving and local street bikeway implementation between Crichton Ave and Maple St
• Sullivan's Pond Park Multi-Use Pathway installation between Dahlia St and Hawthorne St
• New sidewalk installation on Crichton Ave and Dahlia St
• Improvements to the intersection of Dahlia St and Crichton Ave to improve accessibility.
• Maple St traffic calming measures involving curb extensions at intersections.

Construction work will continue in the Spring / Summer of 2022 to complete the following:

• Dahlia Street paving and local street bikeway implementation between Maple St and Victoria Rd
• Oak Street repaving from Crichton Ave to Rose St and new sidewalk installation from Crichton Ave to Tulip St
• Victoria Road sidewalk installation from Dahlia St to Thistle St
• Landscaping improvements in Sullivan's Pond Park including the addition of new planting beds, trees and shrubs.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Halifax’s Integrated Mobility Plan (2017) identifies the need to establish an all ages and abilities (AAA) cycling corridor connecting from the Dartmouth Common to the Shubenacadie Canal Greenway system as part of the Regional Centre AAA Bikeway Network. These IMP maps show Dahlia Street as the proposed cycling corridor. However, this functional planning study will investigate Dahlia Street alongside other alternative route options in the Dahlia Street – Tulip Street – Oak Street – Crichton Avenue area.

Integrated Mobility Plan Regional AAA Bikeway Network

In addition, the Municipality is interested in opportunities to improve pedestrian connectivity in the area including consideration of new sidewalks, intersection alignments, and crossing treatments to help improve the transition between the two park areas. Not only will this connection be part of the Great Trail, it will also promote walking and cycling as transport within Dartmouth and the greater HRM. A 'Complete Streets' lens will be used to incorporate street improvements for all users.

Dahlia and Oak Streets are scheduled for repaving in the near future and HRM would like to integrate the AT improvements with these recapitalization upgrades. Pending Council approval, construction of these new design treatments is targeted for 2021.

What's being considered on these streets:

• Improvements for people walking and wheeling
• Improvements for people cycling
• Potential measures to facilitate traffic calming
• Potential measures to facilitate safe crossing at major intersections
• Road safety and sightlines
• Accessibility improvements

Two route options were considered for connecting the Dartmouth Common to Shubenacadie Canal Greenway: the Dahlia Street corridor and the Tulip-Oak Street corridor. Public feedback was collected in round one of engagement which informed an internal evaluation of the two routes. In the end, Dahlia Street prevailed as the preferred walking/rolling/cycling connection. Please refer to round two engagement boards for an explanation of this process. Concept design options will be developed for this route only.

ROUND ONE PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT -- AUG 2020

HRM Staff hosted the first round of public engagement entirely online between July 31st and August 14th 2020. These initial conversations compared the Dahlia Street and the Tulip-Oak Street corridors as the potential routing options to connect between the Dartmouth Common and the Shubenacadie Canal Greenway. Over 450 people participated via online survey two live Q&A sessions.

CLICK HERE for round one information panels about more key considerations of this project

ROUND TWO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT -- OCT 2020

Due to the ongoing physical distancing requirements and gathering limits associated with COVID-19, HRM Staff hosted the second round of public engagement entirely online between October 13th and 27th. Some of the tools available were: information panels, a survey, and three live webinar sessions hosted by the project team.

This second round of engagement was meant to collect community feedback on the set of conceptual design options the project team has developed for the Dahlia Street corridor. This feedback will help shape the final designs that are recommended to Regional Council for approval with construction targeted for summer/fall 2021. This round of public engagement is now complete. There were around 200 participants who filled out the online survey and/or participated in one of our three live webinar sessions. A 'What We Heard Report' will be available shortly.

CLICK HERE for round two information panels about preferred route and concept design options

WHAT WE HEARD REPORT -- NOV 2020

The What We Heard Report summarizing all public engagement on this project is now available! CLICK HERE

Staff are using this feedback as well as internal technical review to select the recommended 30% design options for presentation to Regional Council in February 2021. Stay tuned for more information!

PROJECT UPDATE MARCH 2021

Halifax Regional Council unanimously approved implementation of the Dahlia-Oak-Crichton Active Transportation Connections project on February 23, 2021. CLICK HERE for a link to the Council Report. Detailed design work is currently being finalized. Construction of these walking and cycling improvements is expected to begin this summer (2021) alongside road recapitalization work on Dahlia Street and Oak Street. Abutting residents should expect a letter from HRM outlining the construction schedule and anticipated access changes.