District 8 Update #35 – Rapid Housing Initiative, Windsor St Exchange Project, Saint Patrick’s Alexandra community feedback, Remembrance Day + more!

Hello all,

Thank you for your patience regarding getting my first e-news there are some exciting and important initiatives taking place and I wanted to make sure they were included.

Federal Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) HRM’s $8.6 million
The Federal Government has launched a new Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) that invests $1 billion to create up to 3,000 new permanent, affordable housing units across the country.

HRM has been identified for immediate funding of $8.7 million to meet housing targets and create new permanent affordable housing units for a minimum of 20-years. Municipal staff have reached out to affordable housing providers to identify partners and establish projects that could benefit from this new funding initiative.

More information on this here: https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/regional-community-planning/affordable-housing

Windsor Street Exchange Project and potential community benefit Africville
The redesign of the intersection of Bedford Highway, Windsor Street and Lady Hammond Road is included within the Windsor Street Exchange Project. The project is in the early planning process with design and is expected to take 18 months and construction expected to take another 2 years to complete.

As part of the The Windsor Street Exchange Project , Halifax Regional Municipality would like to explore potential community benefits for the Africville community as it is in close proximity to the large project. individuals interested in lending their voice to this conversation are asked to complete an online survey available here.

In addition to the survey, there will be 2 virtual public meetings where community members are invited to speak and provide feedback. The first session will be on Thursday, November 12^th from 6:00 – 7:00pm. The second session will take place on Friday, November 13^th from 12:00 – 1:00pm. Community members and interested individuals can sign up to speak by emailing sorokam@halifax.ca.

More information about the sessions can be found here: https://www.shapeyourcityhalifax.ca/windsor-street-exchange-project

The Saint Patrick’s Alexandra site community feedback
An online survey is now available for community feedback until November 30^th,2020 regarding changes to The Saint Patrick’s Alexandra former school site related to Centre Plan package B. The goal of the survey is to build on previous community consultations and invite additional community feedback on whether Centre Plan policies and zoning should be changed to better support the community’s values related to housing, scale of development, heritage, open space, and potential public benefits. All feedback will be presented to Regional Council, the decision-making body for Centre Plan.

Printed copies are also available upon request and will be also available at the locations listed below. If you would like receive copies, please let me know and we would be happy to provide you with copies.

Halifax North Memorial Library (2285 Gottingen Street, Halifax)
George Dixon Community Centre (2505 Brunswick Street, Halifax)
Bayers Road Customer Service Centre (7071 Bayers Road, 2nd Floor Towers, Halifax, NS)
Alderney Gate Customer Service Centre (40 Alderney Drive, 1st Floor, Dartmouth, NS)

Staff will report back to the community in December 2020, or January 2021 to outline refined options that could be recommended to Council. This follow up may take the form of a virtual meeting, or other engagement, depending on the community feedback received through the engagement process. Information and feedback can be sent to planhrm@halifax.ca.

HRM Bus Purchase
I have also received many emails and calls from residents wondering why HRM plans to purchase up to 150 diesel buses. Councillor Sam Austin’s wrote a detailed blog on this issue and I recommend taking a read. Councillor Austin’s Blog

List of events and notices – here’s what is included:

Update:

Response to COVID-19: Halifax Mobility Response – Streets and Spaces
Centre Plan Package B Engagements
Remembrance Day service adjustments and ceremonies

Items of Interest:

HRM Budget Survey
RoadWorks Map (Sidewalk/street Closures & Disruptions)
Sign up for hfxALERT
Road Safety Dashboard
Halifax Water Board Reports
North End Business Association
Quinpool Road Business Association

Contact me:
Phone: 902-579-6975
Email: Lindell.Smith@halifax.ca
Website: www.LindellSmithHfx.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindellSmithHFX/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindellSmithHFX

311 – HRM’s Call Centre
HRM’s call centre is open 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, 9am-5:30pm weekends to respond to routine inquiries and complaints from HRM residents. Please use this service since it helps HRM keep track of issues that are of concern for residents (missed solid waste pickup, sidewalks not cleared, transit info or complaints, etc.) For more information please visit http://www.halifax.ca/311/

Please send your feedback on issues before Community Council and Regional Council – and on any municipal issue. If you would like to send your comments to all Regional Councillors please email the Clerk’s Office (clerks@halifax.ca) so that your comments are shared and are part of the public record.

If you would like to send events or information to be possibly included in my e-newsletter, please email with the subject line “E-Newsletter”

Update:

Covid-19 Related Information

Response to COVID-19: Halifax Mobility Response – Streets and Spaces
The first phase of the Halifax Mobility Response plan began earlier this week with the widening of sidewalks in high traffic areas, traffic signal modification and the implementation of temporary loading spaces for businesses in downtown Halifax and Dartmouth. Learn more about these changes, here.

HRM Meetings/Updates

Centre Plan Package B
HRM is currently in the process of completing Centre Plan Package B is the second part of the Centre Plan that will replace all of the existing established residential zoning in Dartmouth inside the Circumferential, and Peninsula Halifax, create new zoning for Park and institutional areas, and update the Downtown Halifax Plan.

To still be able to gather feedback from residents, the Centre Plan team has created a series of surveys. Fill out the surveys and provide feedback here.

Virtual Meetings
Interested in planning issues in your neighbourhood? Join Centre Plan planning staff for one of three virtual public consultation meetings using Microsoft Teams Live Event:

Monday, November 16^th from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon.
Monday, November 23^rd from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, November 26^th from 12 noon – 1:30 p.m.

Here’s how you can participate:

Watch the live event online and participate through the online chat
Call into the meeting and listen via your phone.
Register to speak through the phone lineby 3 p.m. the day before each meeting.

View the participation instructions.

Planning staff are also available for small virtual meetings with neighbourhood groups. To schedule a meeting in November or December, please e-mail planhrm@halifax.ca.

Neighbourhood Walks
Walk ‘n Roll Halifax invites residents, community leaders and local organizations to join guided tours throughout the Regional Centre to raise awareness about Centre Plan Package B and collect input from residents. The Centre Plan is a planning process for peninsular Halifax and Dartmouth within the boundaries of the Circumferential Highway that will help shape the future of development.

The focus of these 2020 walking tours (first series held in 2016) will be on low-density established residential neighbourhoods. Please take advantage of this opportunity to share information about your neighbourhood with your neighbours and the Centre Plan team. Participate to learn, first-hand, about the proposed changes and to provide your feedback & comments to the planners.

To ensure compliance with the Public Health orders, groups will be limited to 8 participants on each tour, plus a Walk ‘n Roll facilitator and a municipal planner. Registration is required; more info to follow on that.

The walks will be scheduled shortly; please check back in to see the schedule and select one that interests you.

You can also book a walk at a time and location to suit you, if you are part of a community group or club or organization and have 5-8 interested participants. Please contact planhrm@halifax.ca to make a booking.

Unveiling of the new 2SLGBTQ+ art installation at the Halifax Common (Chris Stoodley/HalifaxToday.ca)

Community Events:

Remembrance Day service adjustments and ceremonies
Due to COVID-19, Remembrance Day ceremonies across the municipality will be greatly reduced this year. Please check with your local legion to learn if the ceremony has moved to a virtual platform. The Remembrance Day ceremony at the Grand Parade is closed to the public.

The Royal Canadian Legion in Nova Scotia is asking the public to please stay home on Remembrance Day and take a quiet moment to reflect what our veterans, both past and present, have sacrificed for the peace and security of Canada and around the world.

https://www.halifax.ca/home/news/remembrance-day-2020-municipal-service-adjustments

Items of Interest:

HRM Budget Survey
Halifax Regional Municipality is inviting residents to help shape the next municipal business plan and budget by participating in a public survey available online from Thursday, Nov. 5 to Thursday, Nov. 26. For many, financial priorities have had to shift during COVID-19. The goal of this survey is to understand where you would like to see investments into municipal programs and services in the 2021/22 budget.

This survey is being conducted online. Input regarding spending priorities will inform decisions regarding municipal service levels when developing the next budget.

For more information and to take the survey, please visit halifax.ca/citizensurvey

RoadWorks Map (Sidewalk/street Closures & Disruptions)
View the RoadWorks map to see current and upcoming sidewalk and street closures.

Sign up for hfxALERT
hfxALERT is our mass notification system for the municipality, keeping residents informed about emergencies and operations updates. Sign up here

Road Safety Dashboard
Provides residents with updates regarding the actions outlined in the Strategic Road Safety Framework. Track the progress the municipality is making as we work together to accomplish our Toward Zero goal.

https://www.halifax.ca/transportation/streets-sidewalks/road-safety/road-safety-dashboard

Halifax Water Board Reports
Please find below the link that will take you to the location where all of the Halifax Water Board meeting reports are posted (with the exception of In-Camera reports

https://www.halifax.ca/home-property/halifax-water/about-your-water/board-commissioners

North End Business Association
For an update on what is happening with businesses in the north end please visit the North End Business Association http://gonorthhalifax.ca/ and sign up for their monthly email.

Quinpool Road Business Association
For an update on what is happening with businesses on Quinpool Road please visit their website: www.quinpoolroad.ca/

https://quinpool.shop/

My other Committee and Board commitments:

Regional Council
https://www.halifax.ca/city-hall/regional-council