Company removes barriers on Dartmouth Cove trail after demands from Halifax, Build Nova Scotia

The company that put up barriers on parts of the Dartmouth Cove trail has removed them after letters from the Halifax Regional Municipality and Build Nova Scotia demanded they do so.

In a news release, the Dartmouth Cove Waterfront Access Project (4197847 NS Ltd.) said they removed the concrete barriers from the trail Friday morning after originally putting them up on Wednesday.

Bruce Wood, CFO for the project and for Atlantic Road Construction and Paving (ARCP), told CTV News Atlantic on Wednesday the company put up a temporary safety fence on the trail to work on the property for seven-to-14 days.

He did not provide details on the work. 

A worker installs a sign on a fence at the Dartmouth Cove trail on Aug. 23, 2024. (Source: Jim Kvammen/CTV News Atlantic)

Dartmouth Centre councillor Sam Austin said the company put the barriers on public land and did not have the right to do so.

“You don’t go and interfere with people’s property, let alone public property,” Austin said. “They didn’t own the land they put these barriers on. Such a clear and obvious boundary. I’m glad they removed the barricades.”

Claudia Chender, MLA for Dartmouth South, called the use of barriers a “very egregious action” by the company.

“They’re acting like cowboys,” she said. “Those barriers should have never been put up. They trespassed on provincial and municipal land. They blocked accessible access to the land.

“I hope the company faces legal repercussions.”

Halifax Regional Municipality put up a fence to prevent vehicle access to the Dartmouth Cove trail on Aug. 23, 2024. (Source: Jim Kvammen/CTV News Atlantic)

The release claims the company and the municipality will design a plan to “minimize disruption to the public” during construction on a privately-owned site on a portion of the trail.

“We are very pleased to come together with HRM to engage in a discussion to outline our vision and to finalize the approvals that have been underway for some time,” Wood said in the release. “There will be times we will need to intermittently close the trail but our goal is to share timely and transparent communication so the public can plan accordingly.”

Austin said the municipality has only agreed to meet with the company next week.

“At this time there’s no commitments from HRM to provide any access to the trail for any project,” he said. “We’ll see what conversations come.”

Halifax police were present at the Dartmouth Cove trail on Aug. 23, 2024. (Source: Jim Kvammen/CTV News Atlantic)

Chender said the company needs to understand nothing can happen on the trail without federal, provincial and municipal approval.

“Community trust has to be paramount,” she said.

The temporary blockage on the trail prompted sharp criticism from some residents and separate letters from the municipality and Build Nova Scotia demanding the company remove the barriers by noon Friday.

“My client has not authorized the placement of these structures, and their presence on the property constitutes an unauthorized encroachment,” the letter from a solicitor for the municipality read.

Three months ago, Transport Canada started the process to revoke ARCP’s approval to dump 100,000 cubic metres of pyritic slate in the cove as part of an infill project. Many residents expressed displeasure with the proposed project for months, citing environmental and increased truck traffic concerns, among other issues.

In early August, Halifax council voted to direct the chief administrative officer to consider bylaw amendments to stop or limit future infill projects at Dartmouth Cove water lots.

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