Halifax spending $64 million on land to widen Robie Street for bus lanes

Haley Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

Some Halifax residents and councillors are questioning whether a multimillion-dollar program to widen a engaged roadway is the close move, but municipal unit accidental it's needed to amended transit present and successful the decades to come.

On Thursday, municipal unit provided an update to the city's proscription committee astir the Robie Street transit corridor. The metropolis is creating autobus lanes successful some directions connected Robie implicit the coming years, with lanes already installed successful immoderate sections successful 2020.

Municipal unit person said these lanes are a captious portion of Halifax's aboriginal rapid-transit system since 2 routes volition tally on Robie Street.

Because the northbound extremity of Robie narrows betwixt Cunard and Young streets, the metropolis has been buying up onshore to yet widen it and let two-way autobus lanes.

The municipality plans to bargain 33 properties earlier the autumn of 2026, and a unit study said they person secured about fractional of those properties truthful far. The terms tag for this information of onshore acquisition unsocial is astir $64 million.

Long-term tenants successful affordable apartments person told CBC they are disquieted astir losing their homes and uncovering thing other during a lodging crisis, portion immoderate concern owners person already been displaced oregon closed up store completely.

"My main concerns are to speech astir 'properties,' erstwhile it's really buildings wherever radical live," nonmigratory Peggy Cameron, who has been advocating against the widening, said extracurricular the meeting.

"Despite what the unit says, many, galore radical are unaware that this is happening."

The conception of Robie betwixt Almon and Cunard streets is the narrowest and volition beryllium the astir impacted by widening, the study said. This means 40 mature trees volition beryllium removed.

Halifax volition works caller trees arsenic portion of the project, ending up with much than are determination now, but Cameron said the existing trees are "irreplaceable" and bring biology and neighbourhood benefits.

Cameron said she felt the unit investigation from the study astir utilizing different rapid-transit options successful this country was "thin." She pointed to cities similar Zurich, Switzerland, that use postulation precedence signals to let buses to leap up of traffic.

She said it was besides disappointing unit could not accidental Thursday however overmuch clip buses would prevention with a widened roadworthy and dual autobus lanes.

"Many radical volition bargain into the idea, 'oh, it's transit, we can't accidental nary to transit.' And yet, we're not truly seeing, is that the champion bang for the buck?" Cameron said.

Coun. Patty Cuttell raised akin concerns during the meeting. She asked unit to bring backmost much details astir transit clip savings and investigation connected different options, similar reversing lanes, to a aboriginal meeting.

"This is simply a important task with a important outgo and it's gonna person an interaction connected the metropolis and successful peculiar a circumstantial neighbourhood," said Cuttell.

"While we're looking astatine this done a lens peculiar to transportation, I deliberation it's incumbent connected us, particularly arsenic council, to look astatine it from each perspectives and recognize what the trade-offs are successful doing immoderate of this work."

Mike Connors, Halifax's manager of proscription planning, said assorted options person been considered by unit and consultants astatine aggregate readying sessions implicit the years. 

He said postulation precedence lights don't bash capable to support buses moving rapidly done the roadway, and a reversing lane doesn't enactment good for Robie because there is high-volume postulation successful some directions passim the day.

"There's not a batch of alternatives peculiarly successful that area, fixed the width of the street," Connors said.

The unit study besides said Robie isn't a bully acceptable for reducing wide postulation to a one-way lane due to the fact that determination isn't a adjacent parallel thoroughfare wherever postulation could travel the other direction. It said Windsor Street is excessively acold away and doesn't person capable connections to Robie.

Connors besides said widening the thoroughfare allows for the anticipation of autobus lanes done the centre of the thoroughfare successful years to come, which would marque autobus trips adjacent faster. Those median autobus lanes could besides yet beryllium upgraded to airy obstruction transit.

"I'm really rather satisfied with the accusation you've provided and the absorption we're going in," Coun. Shawn Cleary said.

He and others noted that lands on Robie Street person been rezoned successful caller years to let taller high-density development. Those projects, and the pending Young Street maturation area, beryllium connected accelerated transit to determination ample populations much quickly.

Halifax unit volition bring a plan for the autobus lanes connected the northbound extremity of Robie Street to councillors successful the coming months.

Construction connected this northbound conception of Robie is expected to commencement successful 2028, and instrumentality astir 4 years. Designs for the remaining sections of Robie southbound of Cunard are expected successful 2026 and 2027, with operation starting astir 2030.

The full cost for the Robie Street transit project, including onshore acquisition and construction, presently sits at about $149 million.