FAQ

Piloting the protected bicycle lane on a shorter section of the street allows the municipality to understand the many factors that need to be considered in trying a new type of bicycle lane in the city.  It is an opportunity to understand, for example, loading and parking impacts and how these can be accommodated.

Pilot projects are great ways to test new ideas in the public realm. Piloting a change allows people to see the impacts in the real world, before making a final decision.   Lessons learned from a small scale pilot project can then be applied on a larger scale with greater confidence.  

The bicycle lane will go right up to the intersections, but the bollards (plastic posts) will end 15 metres before each intersection. Drivers turning right should yield to people in the bicycle lane, and when there is an opportunity, enter the bicycle lane to make their turn. (Just like on Windsor Street for example).

Under the proposed agreement between the municipality and Dalhousie University, Dalhousie would be responsible for snow clearing of the protected bicycle lanes.

The University/ Morris corridor is identified as a candidate route for bicycle facilities in the 2014 Active Transportation Priorities Plan. There will be a need to carry out preliminary design work --- which will include more stakeholder and public engagement- to determine the best way to install a bicycle lane on the street and identify ways to mitigate any potential impacts on other street users.  Halifax staff plan to carry out this work before the end of the pilot project. 

Short-term Parking

• 43 metered stalls will be removed from University Avenue
• 2 new metered stalls will be added on Seymour Street in an area previously signed ‘no parking’
• 27 new metered stalls will be added to Dalhousie’s parking lot beside LeMarchant Place (access off South Street from Alumni Crescent in the former location of the Memorial Arena)
• 3 meters on other side streets and 7 meters on the Killam Loop will be changed to accessible parking
• Net loss of short term stalls in the area = 24

Taxi Stand

• A 3-car taxi stand in front of the Student Union Building will be relocated nearby (TBD)
• Net loss of taxi stands = 0

Accessible Parking*

Out of 9 existing, 3-hour accessible parking stalls on University Avenue:

• 1 will remain on University Avenue (outside the NS Archives)
• 3 will replace parking meters on side streets near University Avenue
• 5 will replace parking meters on the Killam Loop
• Net loss of accessible parking in the area = 0
• * Municipal records indicate that accessible parking on University Avenue was requested between 1982 and 2001 to provide short term (3 hour), on-street accessible parking spaces near major buildings. In relocating the accessible spaces, designers have tried to maintain the same level of accessibility. 

Yes, loading will be permitted in front of all buildings.  There will a break in the bollards (plastic posts) to allow for this.  That means that people driving can pull up to curb in the bicycle lane to quickly load and unload people or goods.  Understanding the impact of this is part of what we are assessing during the pilot project.  Dalhousie is also looking at opportunities, for some buildings, to relocate loading locations to other streets.

There will be normal parking enforcement and normal police enforcement of the corridor. Targeted information will be sent to those who regularly load in front of the buildings so that they are aware of the rules related to loading and unloading in a bicycle lane.  The impact of this loading on the bicycle lane will be monitored.