In this issue
Public Meetings and Hearings has info on upcoming council meetings. Roadworks is starting to heat up, with construction and paving starting. Community Events is starting to fill up with events and summer programs, but please do not hesitate to email me with your community event listings to include in this update!
Councillor Update
Hello all, summer is truly here and I hope you've been able to get out and enjoy some of this nice weather and our beautiful city. A couple of updates for you today.
First off I have gotten a couple of emails with concerns about the no right turn on red at Jubilee and Oxford eastbound. I have gotten far more from residents, mostly parents and grandparents of school-age kids in the neighbourhood, in favour of making this change.
Why was this change made? What was happening is people would come up to the intersection and only look left, if they did not see a car they would turn right on a red, brush and in one case hit the kids or crossing guard.
Personally, I like the Montreal model – no right turn on red ANYWHERE controlled right and left turn arrows which deconflict turning and peds. Yes, it means cars go more slowly. That is the entire point, slow traffic and deconflict pedestrians and cars.
The thing is 1/3 or more of our signals in HRM are from the 90s and can’t do lots of arrow signals, and replacing them is happening 2-3 a year at $250-350K a pop. This one is being replaced in 2 years and will then have a green right arrow at that time. Until then the no right turn on red will remain.
Residents have long asked for a meeting, face to face, about the operations and details of the modular units on Cogswell. Now that Out of the Cold is officially confirmed as operating the space on behalf of the province, I am working to set up a meeting in 2-3 weeks. I will let folks know when it is on all my social media and in an email.
Late in May HRM and Centennial pool announce that all mechanical issues at Centennial Pool have now been resolved! The reopening will be based on lifeguard availability. Centennial Pool’s Front Desk is now open (Monday - Friday 7:30 am to 2:00 pm) for parking purchases. Updates can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/centennialpoolhfx
Strategic Performance Snapshot (SPS) was released in May and presents the municipality’s progress towards its 2021-2025 Strategic Priorities through key performance measures that were approved during the 2021/22 planning process. This dashboard increases accountability and transparency to the public in an easily understood and accessible format. If you would like to view the dashboard, please click here.
Similarly, Halifax Partnership released the Halifax Index 2022, the city’s annual report on economic and community progress.
This year’s Halifax Index reports on Halifax’s emergence from the pandemic and the city’s vital signs across seven major themes: people, labour, investment, real estate, rural Halifax, affordability, and living in Halifax. It also introduces measures to track the progress of the recently adopted People. Planet. Prosperity. Halifax’s Inclusive Economic Strategy for 2022-2027.
Halifax welcomed more than 9,200 people in 2021 and had the third-highest growth rate across all major cities in Canada, driven by interprovincial migration. Business confidence in Halifax reached an all-time high thanks in part to rebounding retail sales and GDP growth of 6%, while over three-quarters of residents surveyed said they were satisfied or very satisfied with life in Halifax. Despite the general recovery, businesses most affected by COVID may still be struggling, and residents and businesses are facing new challenges. Read more here www.halifaxindex.com
Congrats to Ayla Brown – Halifax Central Junior High School, Heather Clarke – Halifax Grammar School, Caleb Hounsell – Fountain Academy, Sacred Heart School, and Maria MacDonald – Barat Academy, Sacred Heart School on receiving HRM Citizenship Awards on May 24. You can look forward to me printing the photos of you, me, and the Mayor in my newsletter in September!
Finally, I’m happy to share that I’ve been appointed as a Council member at FCM's Green Municipal Fund! GMF helps local governments switch to sustainable practices faster. The Government of Canada has over decades endowed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities with a $1.625 billion investment fund. Council members of GMF, accountable to FCM, provide strategic oversight of the funding agreement and make recommendations on the approval of all funding applications, strategies, criteria, policies and procedures, and provide strategic leadership.
This new responsibility means I will be travelling to Ottawa a number of times a year, and the first time is at the end of next week. I am really looking forward to diving into this work and helping Canada come to grips with the climate crisis. I will work hard to make sure I catch up quickly when I return, and I thank residents for their patience while they lend me to this important national organization a couple of days a month!
Thanks and stay safe,
Waye
Public Meetings, Hearings & Engagement
Halifax Regional Council – Halifax City Hall, Council Chambers
If you want to read reports coming to Regional Council (posted mid-day Friday prior to the Tuesday meeting) or to check the agenda. Upcoming meetings:
● Tuesday, June 14, 1 pm
● Tuesday, June 28, 10 am
Agendas here: https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/agendas-meetings-reports?category=127
Halifax & West Community Council – Halifax City Hall, Council Chambers
Community Council meets on Tuesday evenings that alternate with Regional Council. Please check the webpage here for agendas (usually available a week before the meeting), locations, and times.
● Tuesday, June 21 2022, 6 pm
Agenda here - https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/agendas-meetings-reports?category=140
Regional Centre Community Council – Harbour East Marine Drive Room, Alderney Landing
Community Council meets on Tuesday evenings that alternate with Regional Council. Please check the webpage here for agendas (usually available a week before the meeting), locations, and times.
● Wednesday, June 22, 6 pm (if required)
Agenda here - https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/agendas-meetings-reports?category=140
Halifax Peninsula Planning Advisory Committee & Design Advisory Committee
The Nova Scotia government has suspended the meeting of planning advisory committees for three years, ending April 2025.
Information about how to watch or participate in virtual meetings can be found on the agenda pages. Please confirm meeting dates and times on our website as dates and times are subject to change.
Public hearings
Public hearings are published 2-3 weeks before they take place. There are no public hearings posted at this time. A list of upcoming hearings can be found here: https://www.halifax.ca/business/planning-development/public-hearings
Roadworks Update
The following street closures or sidewalk disruptions have recently been added to the RoadWorks map
- SOUTH PARK ST from SPRING GARDEN RD to SOUTH ST
- UNIVERSITY AVE from BRENTON ST to CATHEDRAL LANE
- GOTTINGEN ST from CORNWALLIS ST to CUNARD ST
- CORNWALL ST from OXFORD ST to PRESTON ST
- MAITLAND ST from CORNWALLIS ST to PORTLAND PL
- MCLEAN ST from INGLIS ST to ATLANTIC ST, starting on 2022-05-26
- COGSWELL RAMP UPPER WATER TO BARRINGTON - closed
- COGSWELL 1 outbound lane closed
You can find out road closure details on the HRM Roadworks map:
https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/streets-sidewalks/RoadWorks
Heritage Gas is also doing some work on Tower Road from June 13-17, more info below
Type of Work: Natural Gas pipeline installation
Traffic: All work planned 9 am - 4 pm
Contact: Heritage Gas 24-hour customer service line at 902-466-2003
Cogswell Construction Project
This major construction project, one of the biggest HRM has ever undertaken, has begun. Construction will take three years. More info can be found here: https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/regional-community-planning/construction-projects/cogswell-district-redevelopment
Jubilee Road CN Bridge
CN and HRM are coordinating the rehabilitation of this bridge set to begin in the summer of this year (targeting July). While the start of construction is some time off, at this time CN is required to begin site preparation starting with the removal of trees at the site that is necessary to remove to begin construction. Tree removal is set to begin Monday of next week, and only the trees that need to be removed will be removed. The trees that will be removed are only on CN property and before we leave
Members of the public can reach out to CN directly on this project by contacting CN’s Public Inquiry Line at 1-888-888-5909 or at contact@cn.ca. Prior to construction and the subsequent closure of the bridge, CN will be working with HRM to notify those residents who are in proximity to the site. That outreach would likely be in June of this year. More here https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/transportation-projects/cn-bridges-rehabilitation-project
Community Events and Info
Housing Clinic
Monday and Thursday Mornings | Halifax Central Library, Spring Garden Road
Welcome Housing hosts Housing Clinics for those experiencing housing percarity every Monday and Thursday in June from 9-12am, except on June 16
https://www.welcomehousing.ca/
EVERYSEEKER 2022
June 9-12 | Various Venues
For EVERYSEEKER 2022, expect to be moved by emotive abstractions. ES 2022 embraces the lossiness, the unrendered, the experimental, the glitches and sonic cacophony. This festival is dynamic, we relish in its various happenings. Our artists remind us to get lost in the weird, the noise and the genre-bent. We can’t wait to share this year’s artists with you. We can’t wait for you to enter ES 2022’s multitude of compositions, see you both on the keyboard and away sweating it out amongst summer flowers…or amongst vases of flowers…are those flowers?
https://www.everyseeker.com/
World Oceans Week Black Rock Beach shoreline and scuba dive cleanup event
June 11 at noon | Black Rock Beach, Lower Parking Lot, Point Pleasant Park
You have been invited to attend Plastic Ocean’s Canada’s World Oceans Week Black Rock Beach shoreline and scuba dive cleanup event on June 11th at 12:00 p.m. Participate in the shoreline clean up or dive clean up, fill a bag, and get a free BBQ lunch!
Every One Every Day Halifax
June 11 1-4pm | Gottingen from Cornwallis to Cunard
We’re closing down Gottingen St, and you’re invited! Join the neighbourhood for some dancing, games, crafts, and so much more! The Every One Every Day Neighbourhood Shop at 2169 Gottingen St. will be open for everyone to come and explore! Jo Riddles will be playing beats all afternoon, so bring your dancing shoes!
Get ready for the good weather with free 10-minute bike tune-ups with Bike Again! The street is ours - so bring your kids to have fun with jumbo games, jump rope, bubbles, chalk, and more! Come learn how to screenprint! Bring a white t-shirt and add our logo with RadStorm! Bring some ribbon, fabric, or string to add to our community bunting!! Fun and Creative art with Wonder'neath Art Society! Grab your friends, and meet us there! We cannot wait to see you!
https://fb.me/e/1OFchAjCL
The Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up
Summer | Various
The Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up is Nova Scotia’s largest volunteer-driven community clean-up program, promoting litter clean-ups across the province. Since its inception in 1992, the program has provided free supplies and support to participants who wish to carry out community-based clean-ups. In 2019, the Nova Scotia Adopt-A-Highway took over the delivery of the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up Program. With this program’s addition, the Adopt-A-Highway will have more ways to fight the litter that plagues the province. Ultimately, the two programs’ marrying will aid the Adopt-A-Highways journey towards their vision of a litter-free Nova Scotia. https://www.nspickmeup.ca/
Halifax Regional Arts Programs
Throughout the School Year | Various sites
Parents and students are invited to explore the amazing programs that are available through Halifax Regional Arts. There are many ensembles available for students to perform with. Please check out the Strings, Band and Choral program videos at http://www.hramusicwest.org , and if you have any questions call 902 717 4664
Join The Boomer Homeowners’ Network
Are you a Boomer Homeowner (aged 57- 75) thinking about where you might want to live as the years move on and your abilities or preferences change? Think you might enjoy the mutual support of others who are on the same journey? Learning more about relevant topics that can help you decide? Contact: Jesslyn Dalton at 1-902-461-1351 or email daltonjesslyn@gmail.com and get connected!
CN vegetation control
Now to October 22 | CN rail right of way
CN remains committed to running its railway safely and efficiently and building a level of trust and collaboration with the communities where we do business. To that end, we are reaching out to advise you of our vegetation control activities in your area between April and October 2022. A regularly updated schedule is available at www.cn.ca/vegetation
How can we help?
311 – HRM’s Call Centre
HRM’s call centre is open 7 days a week, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday & Sunday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to respond to routine inquiries and complaints from HRM residents. Please use this service since it helps HRM keep track of issues that are of concern to residents. More info here: https://www.halifax.ca/home/311
Call my office
Call my office for assistance with your municipal issues. Please try 311 first, and when you call have your 311 reference number ready. Vicki Palmeter is my new Constituency Coordinator. Vicki can be reached by email at Victoria.palmeter@halifax.ca or by phone at 902-490-2012.
Call or email me
I’m always available to help residents. Email is always better than a phone call, as I am often in meetings and much of the time I cannot answer the phone. If Victoria or 311 cannot assist you, please email me at waye.mason@halifax.ca or call 902.430.7822.
