With Council approval of the municipal budget for 2026/27 as of March 31 2026, there are a variety of investments that will be made in district 16 this season that I thought everyone should know about. Here’s a roundup of the most notable items by broad category:
Road & pedestrian safety
Traffic calming is coming to three areas in the district:
- Nottingham St (continuing from Redden to Union, completing the loop)
- Meadowbrook Dr (from Sunrise to Bedford Highway)
- Rockmanor Dr, Redbank Rd and Oakmount Dr
- Holland Avenue from Landburg down to Bedford Highway
Existing crosswalk upgrades to Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB)
- Roundabout at Broad/Brookline closest to Irving gas station – a much needed safety improvement for a busy pedestrian area
Road Resurfacing
- Rockmanor Drive (Oakmount)
- Rosewood Court (Oakmount)
- Larry Uteck from Broad (S) to Broad (N)
- Duke Street from 20 Damascus Road to Rocky Lake Drive
- Rocky Lake Drive from civic 436 to Quarrystone Drive
- Hammonds Plains Road from civic 850 to 1220 (bridging Districts 16 and 14)
Paved pathway rehabilitation
- Pathway at Oakmount House Park connected to Rockmanor Drive (in concert with planned road resurfacing and traffic calming installation) will be rehabilitated
Guiderails
- A planned guiderail on Main Street will be completed
Sidewalks/Multi-use Pathways
- The long-awaited Multi-use path connecting the two roundabouts on Larry Uteck between both ends of Broad Street will be installed this season, at the same time resurfacing of the roadway is completed
- The first phase of a redesign and engineering of a replacement for the waterfront boardwalk in DeWolf Park will occur this year due to the deteriorating condition of the bricks. Construction would be anticipated in a future year. Part of the project will include a widening of the public area that passes behind the townhomes between the centre of the park and the pathway to Shore Drive.
Facilities & Recreation
- Expansion of the parking lot at Greenfoot Energy Centre (taking some pressure off the surrounding streets for larger events)
- Scheduled replacement of playground equipment at Bedford South School
- A planned reimagining of the Transom Drive Park is due to be presented to the Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee on April 16, giving the public an early glimpse of what is envisioned for future construction
- I’m using some district capital to add a bicycle maintenance and tire inflation station to the pump track at Wowkwis Park on Brookline Drive. The park will; also receive its permanent sign and some other finishing touches not completed in the fall
Transit
- Council approved the budget for 10 new buses to help Halifax Transit jump start implementation of its Core Service Plan to shore up reliability and scheduling on key routes, which will ultimately benefit everyone as ridership improves on those corridors and furthers Halifax Transit’s plans to give residents strong choices to get around the municipality.
- Not yet implemented, but I wanted to alert residents to planning that is in motion as part of the Core Service Plan to bring a new route 95 directly connecting West Bedford to Bayers Lake – an efficient and time saving route for residents to get to work or shop without a car or a long multi-transfer route to get there
Public Safety
- Council voted to increase the budget for our communications team to prepare and launch a multi-modal transportation safety campaign to aid in awareness and drive changes in behaviour for all users of our public transportation spaces
- Council voted to increase the size of the parking compliance team at HRM. This had a positive effect on the budget, as more complete enforcement winds up bringing in revenue that exceeds salary costs. This will mean stronger enforcement of existing parking by-laws, from metered to no-parking zones across the municipality. It’s less likely to have a significant impact within the suburban or rural areas as it will downtown, but I felt was still worth pointing out.
- 10 firefighters were approved by Council to fill positions in Middle Sackville to provide an effective firefighting force arriving on scene more quickly without needing backfill from Bedford, Lower Sackville and Hammonds Plains
The new fire station at the corner of Hammonds Plains Road and Science Park Drive is due to be completed and operational in the fall, and early the following year after full installation is complete will become the new headquarters of Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency. This is the first net new station in the fire service since amalgamation, and strengthens service in a radius that supports not just Bedford but the growing areas of Hammonds Plains, Clayton Park, and Lower Sackville, while the HQ supports the entire constellation of fire stations across the municipality.