Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May and New Brunswick provincial leader David Coon are among elected officials who have received copies of Riding the Ocean’s Next Wave.
“VIA Rail’s Ocean is dying.” So begins the report recently completed by transportation consultant and advocate Greg Gormick for the advocacy group Save Our Trains in Northern New Brunswick. The new report is titled “Riding the Ocean’s Next Wave: A proposal for VIA Rail Canada’s Maritime services”, and was released in mid-August with considerable media coverage.
Gormick is no stranger to VIA’s Maritime services. He has completed reports on rail service in the region in the past, and toured Atlantic Canada as part of the “National Dream Renewed” campaign several years ago, aiming to generate support for improvements to VIA’s services across the country at a time when the future was looking particularly bleak.
His assessment of the current situation boils down, in essence, to three points: VIA is struggling to compete with discount airlines for end-to-end travel; their equipment is deteriorating; and the inconvenience of a tri-weekly schedule is simply unable to generate adequate ridership or effectively serve any part of the market. These are concerns that are generally shared by TAA. Continue reading “A New Proposal to Rehabilitate the Ocean”→
One of the last trains that ran to Sydney prior to the discontinuance of service is seen making its way across the now dormant rail line in Cape Breton. Thanks to an agreement with the Province of Nova Scotia, the tracks will be staying in place for at least another year. (Photo by Tim Hayman)
The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia (CBNS) Railway has reached a deal with the Province of Nova Scotia to keep its rail line through Cape Breton in place for at least another year. The province will pay CBNS up to $60,000 per month to cover valid expenses, including salaries, insurance, security and building maintenance directly attributed to the line between St. Peter’s Junction and Sydney. Repairs or improvements to the line will not be reimbursed under this agreement. In exchange, CBNS will not apply to abandon the line for the next year. It’s not yet clear whether this agreement would be extended on an annual basis.
From the provincial news release: ““This agreement preserves the existing rail line, which is a key component of the proposed container terminal in Sydney,” said Geoff McLellan, Minister of Business. “Government continues to work together with businesses, community and municipal leaders on economic development related to Cape Breton. Strong transportation links are a key component of building a stronger economy.”
From CBNS, in the same release: ““We are pleased to work with the Government of Nova Scotia to allow economic development initiatives like the proposed container terminal unfold,” said Louis Gravel, president of Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway. “We would like nothing more than to one day see a thriving operating railway between Port Hawkesbury and Sydney.” ”
Any action from the province to help maintain this rail line is valuable, and it maintains the possibility that it may once again see trains at some point in the future. Losing the right of way and basic railway infrastructure would all but guarantee that trains would never again run across Cape Breton. However, this agreement will not do anything directly to restore service on the line, nor does it seem to suggest that there is any thought of re-opening the line unless the proposed container terminal in Sydney goes ahead.
Regardless, it is a better outcome for the time being, and provides both a glimmer of hope and an indication that the province has some level of interest in preserving the rail link for the future.
The province of Nova Scotia announced earlier this year that it will construct a new 4-lane highway between Burnside, the largely industrial park area on the northwest edge of Dartmouth, and Bedford. The goal of this project is to provide a more rapid traffic flow into Burnside, and theoretically alleviate congestion. However, opponents of the project have pointed to the repeatedly demonstrated fact that such highway projects inevitably lead to worse congestion in future years, as they draw more vehicles into the area and fail to provide any alternatives to more car traffic (i.e. improved transit service).
The Environmental Assessment for this project was recently open to public comment. TAA board member Clark Morris prepared the following comments on that assessment:
Clark Writes:
I recommend that people read the environment assessment for the proposed Burnside connector http://www.novascotia.ca/nse/ea/highway-107-burnside-to-bedford/Registration_document.pdf to see if truly meets today’s needs. Even though the official comment period is closed as of August 6, no work has started on the project so there is time to contact your local MLA and the Department of Transportation. I have submitted the following comments to EA@novascotia.ca.
The current environmental Assessment for the Burnside Connector is inadequate for the following reasons.
1. The description of alternatives states there are no effective alternative transportation modes to the proposal and does not state what alternatives were considered and rejected. Without this information no judgment can be made as to the validity of the statement. Was Halifax Transit consulted before publishing this? Were advocacy groups such as Transport Action Atlantic or Ecology Action consulted? There also have been changes in public policy regarding the desirability of encouraging the use of transit instead of private vehicles.
2. Making Burnside safe for pedestrians and transit users should have been a higher priority than a connector between the Bedford Commons and Burnside. This could reduce vehicle traffic on Magazine Hill by making transit more feasible. Sidewalk technology is well known and understood.
3. No analysis was done on whether the additional vehicle capacity would cause other problems in the Burnside area.
4. Halifax Regional Municipality is interested in increasing the share of travel by public transportation and decreasing the share by automobile. A 2 lane busway in place of the proposed extension could be a less expensive alternative and serve various public objectives better. More ambitiously, major improvements to the CN line to Burnside so an all day frequent service (every 15 or 30 minutes) could be run between Dartmouth and the Windsor Junction area while allowing for a doubling of current freight traffic could be a better alternative with more far reaching positive effects. This could be combined with a rail line on the proposed right of way from the Bedford Commons area to the Rocky Lake – Dartmouth Line of the CN near Ackerley Boulevard.
As a highway project there are concerns that are unanswered by the document.
1. This project provides no connection to Highway 101 and using a route from Highway 1 East exit 1H to Highway 102 Exit 4C to Duke Street to the connector will increase the problem of traffic from Highway 1, exit 1H crossing traffic from Highway 102 North exiting at exit 4B for Highway 1 and 101 West. This plus the use of Duke Street which currently has traffic lights and in the future traffic circles calls into question the value of this as a route to connect Highways 107 and 101.
2. There are problems reported with Oversize loads using some of the existing traffic circles or roundabouts at exits. Given that exit 4C on Highway 102 is serving the Beford Industrial Area and that all of the exits on this project are serving industrial areas, these plans should clearly state how the maximum permissible size overloads will be accommodated. It also should be clearly stated whether there are any proposals for increasing these limits and whether the proposed traffic circles can accommodate those loads.
3. If the rest of the connector has some form of median barrier, why is a median barrier not of value on Duke Street?
4. Why is there no mention of a possible future connection to Highway 101 such as the Second Lake Connector Highway or a future direct connection to the Bedford Bypass?
This connector highway may no longer be a relevant solution to the transportation problems of the area and the materials available online give no confidence that this has even been considered.
Clark F. Morris Bridgetown, Nova Scotia
Others have also written about their concerns with this project. Two examples:
