Proposed emergency exits for Upper Tantallon neighbourhood in wrong spots, residents say

Josh Hoffman · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Some residents of a Halifax-area neighbourhood that was evacuated during a dangerous wildfire 2 years agone accidental projected exigency exits won't marque everyone safer.

A unit study going to Halifax determination assembly connected Tuesday presents 4 options for an emergency-only egress from the Westwood Hills subdivision to Highway 103, and 2 suggestions for a roadworthy connecting the vicinity to an adjacent subdivision. 

"My archetypal reactions are disgust," said Nick Horne, who has lived successful Westwood Hills for 17 years. "I consciousness that HRM has ignored the needs of the community."

Calls for an exigency exit successful the subdivision person grown aft a wildfire successful the country successful May 2023 forced hundreds of radical to evacuate. Westwood Hills lone has one mode successful and 1 mode out. 

Residents who fled their homes erstwhile the blaze started said postulation congestion caused by a bottleneck near them trapped and fearing for their lives.

The occurrence grew to 788 hectares, dispersed to neighbouring communities and yet destroyed much than 150 homes successful Upper Tantallon and Hammonds Plains. 

Horne said the 4 projected locations are excessively acold distant from the galore residents successful the apical fractional of the subdivision.

"The highlighted projected options are the shortest, lowest-cost options and inactive trap two-thirds of the community," helium said.

Connecting to aged logging road

The extremity of the exigency exit is to get arsenic galore radical to Highway 103 arsenic accelerated arsenic possible, the study says.

The study recommends the enactment astatine Hemlock Drive, which is the shortest region betwixt the neighbourhood and road astatine astir 500 metres. It would outgo the least. 

The furthest way would beryllium from Rockfield Drive at astir 1,650 metres. The astir costly way is from High Timbre Drive. The options scope from $1.4 cardinal to $10 million.

Horne said residents privation an egress disconnected Wright Lake Run that could pb residents to Pipeline Road., a erstwhile logging roadworthy nearby, that connects to Highway 103 and Highway 101.

A caller upwind workplace being built astatine Melville Lake volition amended infrastructure successful the country and make an accidental to enactment successful an exigency exit astatine that broadside of Westwood Hills, Horne said. 

"This is the lone corridor that volition let egress for the rear of the neighborhood," helium said.

Some residents participated successful a video league telephone connected Friday to explicit their frustrations to Coun. Nancy Hartling astir Wright Lake Run being near retired of consideration.

"What I cognize is that [option] was taken disconnected the array precise aboriginal connected for information reasons, but that, for Westwood Hills, isn't bully enough," Hartling said successful an interview.

She said she volition inquire for much answers at Tuesday's assembly gathering and astir opportunities to piggyback disconnected of caller infrastructure related to improvement successful the area.

Hartling volition besides petition an amendment to the recommendations successful the study to commencement assemblage consultation with residents in that country immediately, she said.

She antecedently said an exigency exit won't beryllium enactment successful earlier this year's occurrence season, but Horne said determination needs to beryllium a route disposable successful the interim.