Substantive errors in HRM’s Strategic Plan Updates Report make us wonder who is paying attention? They cannot be dismissed as simple clerical errors as they reflect a deeper malaise indicative of the lack of organizational determination to implement the IMP.
30 November, 2023
To: Mayor Savage and Chief Administrative Officer Cathie O’Toole
Cc: Waye Mason, Chair Transportation Standing Committee
Subject: Errors in Strategic Plan Update and state of IMP
I am very concerned to see substantive errors in the important Strategic Plan Updates Report published last week under your names.
On page 36, the report states:
“In 2022, 45 percent of 57 kilometres AAA Regional Centre Bicycle Network was completed including the Almon Street protected bike lane, Dartmouth Harbourfront Greenway multi-use path, and the North End local street bikeway.”
In fact, the Almon St. protected bike lane construction was not started, much less completed by 2022 (original target), in 2023 it was neither started nor done and as the tender has not yet been issued there is no assurance the bike lanes will be started in 2024. This project was launched in 2017.
The Dartmouth Harbourfront Greenway MUP project is not yet completed — the city website reports that a required land acquisition is still underway.
And the North End local street bikeway is only a temporary “tactical” implementation which remains incomplete and is certainly not the level of protection which would attract new riders.
These substantive errors in the Strategic Plan Updates Report make us wonder who is paying attention? They cannot be dismissed as simple clerical errors as they reflect a deeper malaise indicative of the lack of organizational determination to implement the IMP. The All Ages and Abilities Regional Bicycle Network as a whole is reported as “on track”. Surely a project that is less than 50% complete a full year after its due date should be in red ink?
The original “plan” ran out of track at the end of last year. Now the new target date of 2028 suggests to us that progress will proceed at the same glacial pace as the last six years. Surely a project that is considered a strategic priority, when it is this far off track, should receive remedial action to accelerate progress. We all know the adage – the definition of insanity is repeatedly doing the same thing expecting a different result.
We are concerned that there is no published plan of action to complete the project by 2028. By plan of action, we mean a set of well-defined and timed milestones that can be tracked to ensure the project will be completed on time. Without this, we can have no confidence that even 2028 will be a realistic date.
Halifax is falling behind other major Canadian cities! Just one example: the city of Kitchener in Ontario, about half the population of Halifax, completed 84 km of AAA cycling infrastructure in the 2017-2022 period under the same pandemic conditions (City of Kitchener, AT Progress Report, page 20).
We need far more than getting the IMP back on track. We need cycling infrastructure in every urban and suburban neighbourhood. We need to follow every tactical implementation with full implementation. As we continue to grow at a rapid pace, we cannot possibly scale our car-centric infrastructure. People need real transportation choices that get them where they need to go safely, quickly and conveniently.
I draw your attention to the just published report by Sara Kirk of Dalhousie, and others, comparing the implementation of cycling infrastructure in Halifax and in Seville, Spain. From the abstract: “We identify three lessons to implement a minimum grid to promote cycling. The first lesson is to invest and mobilize sufficient funds to build a complete network quickly. The second is to create institutional bodies with sufficient authority to implement the network. The third is to use best practice designs from the start.”
We would welcome the opportunity to participate constructively in the creation of a real plan of action for completion of the IMP and beyond that we can all stand behind. Lives are at stake!
Mayor Savage, over the last few years we have had hell (pandemic and fires) and high water (floods and storm surges). It’s time we had a cycling-friendly city!
David Trueman
Chair, Halifax Cycling Coalition
