🗞 Sprawl is still a problem

COMMUNITY PLANNING

Sprawl is still a problem for Halifax, 20 years after it was flagged as an urgent issue

The Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee met on Thursday, Nov. 16, and the only thing they did of consequence was vote on a motion allowing construction companies to pour concrete an additional hour and a half until 9:30 pm. This will go to council for final approval. Councillor Patty Cuttell also kept her seat as chair of the committee. 

Other than that, this meeting was dominated by sustainability. This committee first got a presentation from Peggy Cameron of Friends of the Halifax Common fame. She told the committee that the high-rise buildings going up near where she lives are bad for the planet, in construction costs and then in the pollution generated by the people living there, who all drive. Her presentation relied heavily on a report prepared by Development Options Halifax (where Cameron is listed as the president and a director) with support from Friends of the Common (where she is also a director) and Toronto/Vancouver based Mantle Developments, which is described as a “climate change strategy consultancy.” 

The report, unsurprisingly, finds that the four high-rises in the works for the corner of Spring Garden Road and Robie Street—a big swath of land called the Carlton Street block—are bad for the planet and should instead be “missing-middle” housing. 

Read the full meeting recap at The Coast

Need to know

🏥 The government is pledging to add or replace another 2,200 long-term care rooms by 2032, on top of the already announced 3,500 rooms by 2027.

🍂 Heads up, Halifax! The fall leaf clean-up program is starting Monday, November 20, 2023. View the weekly work schedule here.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY

Halifax Transit service adjustments

As our city grows, so do our transit needs. Starting November 20 Halifax Transit is introducing new service to Bayers Lake, Burnside and Dartmouth Crossing, and bringing back 55 trips on 26 routes, 12 of which will be returning to full service! Learn more here.

On The Coast

SPONSORED BY SYMPHONY NOVA SCOTIA

The Nutcracker: A perfect holiday gift

Young dancers from Halifax Dance join Symphony Nova Scotia to bring The Nutcracker to life in this festive holiday performance. Purchase your tickets now.

In other news

🔥 With the number of unhoused people in the HRM continuing to grow, deadly fires are becoming more of a concern.

🙋 Shelter Movers Nova Scotia is looking for volunteers for a variety of roles both out in the field and in office.

💨 The federal government is supporting EverWind Fuel’s Nova Scotian wind-powered hydrogen project with a $125 million loan.

💡 The annual light projection show premiered this past weekend at the former Halifax Memorial Library. This year’s show is called “Everything is Sparkling”, uses artist Meaghan Smith’s song It Snowed and will run nightly until Dec. 26.

🎨 North end Halifax has a new piece of public art. Check out Anisa Francoeur’s newest piece outside the Bus Stop Theatre on Maitland Street.

👰 Has anyone found a wedding dress? A woman in Digby is still on the hunt for her wedding dress after she sent it out to be restored and it was never returned. CBC has the story.

🏈 The Montreal Alouettes took home the Grey Cup this year with a 28-24 win against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

🚴 Have you seen the amount of e-bikes around town these days? Turns out all those bikes are reducing the demand for oil faster than most governmental policies designed to do the same.

🚗 The US Transportation Safety Board has recognized the danger caused by speeding and is recommending that all new cars be made with automatic speed-limiting technology. Like we did for seatbelts and backup cameras.

🎒 In some Japanese cities parents are not allowed to drive their children to school. Unlike in Halifax, Japanese authorities recognize the danger posed to children by drivers, and design their cities and craft policies to keep their children safe.

SPONSORED BY TRANSAT

Save up to $1,500 with Transat

This year, Transat is going big for Black Friday. You can save up to $1,500 per couple on South vacation packages from Halifax Stanfield International airport. All you need to do is book by November 26!

EDUCATION

Suspended French school board member in Halifax still advocating for French-language education on the peninsula

It may surprise you to learn that there is no French-language high school on the Halifax peninsula. Not one. Parents, care-givers and students who go to primary school in French inevitably have to make a choice about Grade 9: go to an English school or take a bus to Burnside.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Nova Scotia has a French-language school board called the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial–CSAP. 

• The CSAP council currently has 18 members across the province to represent the 10 CSAP school districts.

Halifax has three council members who are elected every term. Of those three, Jeff Arsenault is the only council member who represents the Halifax Peninsula.

Arsenault has been a vocal opposition to recent CSAP decisions and was suspended earlier this month from council until January 2024. However, he is still an elected member who represents the families of French-speaking students for the peninsula.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips sat down with Arsenault for an interview.