'This is a really substantial change': Bumpy first day for 'buses only' on busy Halifax street
From his favorite coffee spot on Spring Garden Road - George Gillmore appreciates the efforts to make the street quieter.
But on day one, he's not sure those efforts are working, after spending two hours watching cars and trucks traverse the normally busy thoroughfare.
"They said no cars are coming up Spring Garden, but they are," says Gillmore. "So I just sit here and go, 'what's happening?'"he chuckles.
Apart from new traffic signs and two Halifax Regional Police officers posted at the intersections at Queen and South Park Streets, there were few other indications to drivers of the change on Monday.
As of July 4th, only municipal buses and bicycles are allowed on Spring Garden Road between 7 a.m., and 8 p.m., daily. Emergency vehicles are also permitted.
"HRP will be coming and going from the street," says Elora Wilkinson. "We're trying to find what the right balance is of resources."
Early in the day, Halifax officers were kept busy directing traffic, but they left by mid-afternoon.
Without any officials directing traffic, personal vehicles, taxis, and delivery vans returned to Spring Garden Road in short order, seemingly unaware of the new rules for the road.
Wilkinson says changing traffic habits will take time.
"This is a really substantial change," she says. "So it's going to take a little while for word to get out for people to understand what the new rules are and make adjustments to that."
Wilkinson says education is the main focus for both the city and police to start. She says fines for drivers who don’t heed the signs may come later, depending on how well residents adapt.
"I don't want to have regional police down here on traffic control every day, that’s a waste of police resources," says Sue Utek, executive director of the Spring Garden Area Business Association.
Utek says the association did highlight the upcoming changes to residents through a radio campaign and the distribution of flyers, but she still noticed a number of challenges come up on the first day.
Among them, she says, is trying to find a way to allow garbage collection on the street, since noisy trucks can't operate before 7 a.m., and then aren't allowed on the street after 7 a.m.
"The noise bylaw prevents solid waste garbage trucks from picking up here on Spring Garden [Road], so that's become an immediate issue for us this morning," says Utek.
Wilkinson says garbage collectors can use a trolley to collect garbage and take it to side streets where trucks are allowed to park for pick-ups and deliveries, a change that took effect last year.
"It would be similar to what they were doing last year during construction when the street was closed," she says.
After surviving pandemic shutdowns, continuing construction in the area, and current staffing shortages, long-time Spring Garden Road business co-owner Kurt Bulger is worried the change could keep customers away.
Bulger says he’ll know for sure in a few months, when he can compare sales figures for his independent store, Jennifer’s of Nova Scotia.
"Through the pandemic, it was borne out that 70 per cent of our business is locals. Now the tourists are back in town, so if we do 30 per cent of our business it means the locals are not coming down like they used to," says Bulger.
It’s a potential effect on his business’ bottom line that he hopes he doesn’t happen.
The changes to Spring Garden Road are in effect until 2023, but after the first six months the project will be evaluated with input from local businesses, pedestrians, and transit users.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.