'That's 100 per cent stupid': urban forest expert says of HRM idea to cut trees for bike lanes
According to HRM active transportation planner Mark Nener, the Peninsula South Complete Streets Project will in part lead to the clearing of space to allow for the creation of more bike lanes.
"Changes to parking, curbside loading, traffic lanes and also impacts to trees," said Nener.
Which means ripping down trees is an option, in these early stages. When told that South End Halifax trees could be on the chopping block, Peter Duinker was quick to react.
"That's 100 per cent stupid," said Duinker, who is an urban forests expert with a research background in environmental assessments.
"What grieves me is the car lanes are considered sacrosanct," said Duinker. "And what has to be forfeited is the tree line between the curb and the sidewalk."
Duinker said the best place to have trees is on city streets and it takes decades for them to grow back. He is also in favour of bike lanes.
"The last thing we do is dump a good environmental program with trees for a good environmental program with bikes," said Duinker.
Nener said the project would soon involve public engagement, which will likely not be in-person due to COVID-19.
"We will present visual materials, to help communicate the options and implications to the public," said Nener.
HRM staff will make final recommendations to council for approval by mid-2022. Until then, it is unknown exactly how many, if any, trees will removed to make room for bike lanes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quake deaths pass 5,000 as Turkiye, Syria seek survivors
Rescuers raced Tuesday to find survivors in the rubble of thousands of buildings brought down by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks that struck eastern Turkiye and neighboring Syria, with the discovery of more bodies raising the death toll to more than 5,000.

Will Biden's second state of the union mark a less protectionist approach to Canada?
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of isolationism and protectionist policies.
Thieves cut huge hole in Ottawa restaurant wall to get at jewelry store next door
An Ottawa restaurateur says he was shocked to find his restaurant broken into and even more surprised to discover a giant hole in the wall that led to the neighbouring jewelry store.
New details emerge ahead of Trudeau-premiers' health-care meeting
As preparations are underway for the anticipated health-care 'working meeting' between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada's premiers on Tuesday, new details are emerging about how the much-anticipated federal-provincial gathering will unfold.
Why wasn't the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over Canada?
Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America. The alleged surveillance device initially approached North America near Alaska's Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.
Mendicino: foreign-agent registry would need equity lens, could be part of 'tool box'
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says a registry to track foreign agents operating in Canada can only be implemented in lockstep with diverse communities.
Quebec minister 'surprised' asylum seekers given free bus tickets from New York City
Quebec's immigration minister says she was 'surprised' to learn the City of New York is helping to provide free bus tickets to migrants heading north to claim asylum in Canada.
Vaccine intake higher among people who knew someone who died of COVID-19: U.S. survey
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
opinion | Don Martin: Alarms going off over health-care privatization? Such an out-of-touch waste of hot political air
The chances Trudeau's health-care summit with the premiers will end with the blueprint to realistic long-term improvements are only marginally better than believing China’s balloon was simply collecting atmospheric temperatures, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, 'But it’s clearly time the 50-year-old dream of medicare as a Canadian birthright stopped being such a nightmare for so many patients.'