HRM's Road Network Functional Plan is coming to HRM Regional Council this fall for approval. The plan continues to support the widening of Bayers Road. HRM Regional Council will be asked to approve the establishment of a transportation corridor reserve along Bayers Road to protect land from development that would be used in a future widening. Widening Bayers Road would result in the demolition of homes and the division of neighbourhoods.
The widening of Bayers Road is part of a plan that would result in the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars while still leaving HRM without a sustainable transportation vision.
We request that HRM Regional Council remove the Bayers Road widening from its list of Planned Projects in the Road Network Functional Plan. HRM Regional Council should not establish the transportation reserve corridor on Bayers Road.
We support HRM Regional Council taking alternative actions including the following:
- Implement active transportation plans, priorities, and strategies.
- Review the Transportation Masterplan linking all transit and transportation demand options as well as outlining repercussions for the parking of additional traffic on the peninsula.
- Complete the Halifax Peninsula Transit Corridor Study.
- Clearly indicate the full cost (environmental, social, and financial) to both the individual and to HRM of each transportation option available including land acquisition, construction costs, and operational and maintenance costs.
- Complete the Five-year Review of the Regional Plan to solidify HRM's vision of sustainability. The process should include developing policies to protect neighbourhood stability and residential growth in the Regional Centre that are integrated with sustainable transportation options.
Respectfully submitted, we appreciate your willingness to consider this request.
