Folks, I have heard from a number of residents over the past week weeks of increasing concerns about racing of cars and motorcycles on and around the Larry Uteck corridor of West Bedford.
Why I haven’t responded directly in the Larry Uteck Community group on Facebook
I have mentioned to residents before that I am not permitted to reply or post in the Larry Uteck Community group on Facebook from my official council account. It is a limitation of the administrative settings applied to the group. Even though I am a member of the group and I can see my official account tagged in comments, I’m unable to respond there. For this reason, I am making this post on my own official page and I welcome members of that group (or any other group) to share this post for visibility.
Where things stand now
West Division of Halifax Regional Police are aware of the concerns expressed. I have spoken with our Division Commander, I speak weekly with our Community Relations and School Resource officers, they have heard from the public calling the non-emergency police line, and they have received reporting from 311 – and I have amplified these concerns with what I have heard from residents directly through official channels, as well as on Facebook.
Our officers take the safety concerns of the public seriously, and while many have indicated that they do not see a police presence in the area, I assure you they are in the area. I had the Division pull some stats for me to share with the public, and I hope to make reporting like this routine. West Division has responded to more than 5,200 calls since January, made 875 traffic stops and issued 438 traffic tickets.
At my urging and in response to calls from the public, a “priority” ticket has been in place for the Larry Uteck area since before the summer began. What this means is that when patrol officers are completing reports after the conclusion of a call, they will make an effort to do so within this area so that they may be a visible presence in the community while also keeping an eye out for activity requiring intervention.
In response to the most recent apparent “surge” in what may be considered racing on the corridor, I have learned that the West Division sergeants have received additional direction this week from the Division Commander to increase patrols in the area and they have targeted the times of day identified by calls and feedback from the public – generally in the late evening and night when traffic is non-existent and the temptation for these individuals seems highest.
Community officers have actively reached out to young people in “souped up” vehicles when they have been parked in areas along Larry Uteck to speak with them and emphasize that this is a residential area, and to refrain from revving engines, or any other of the dangerous behaviour that has been observed.
HRP’s dedicated traffic team is under resourced at present, and normally tasked with traffic patrol more so during the day than the evening. This leaves intervention for this sort of activity to the patrol unit that must respond to every emergency call. When call volume is high, the available time for officers to monitor this activity is greatly reduced, especially if calls are complex or require multiple officers to respond. They are doing their best to put the resources where they are needed.
I spoke with our Community Resource Officer this afternoon (Fri, Aug 28 2026), and he is personally going to conduct some additional and focused late night patrols this weekend, and brief his leadership team and me on what he observes.
Traffic calming by alternative means
I’ve certainly heard residents’ requests for traffic calming measures. Unfortunately, because Larry Uteck is considered an artery, it is considered ineligible for traffic calming measures (the common one being speed humps). For this reason, early this year I officially requested the traffic team to consider a speed limit decrease on the northwestern portion of Larry Uteck, and I continue to pursue it. At present, from the Bedford Highway to highway 102, the speed limit is 50kph. But once you cross the highway, it’s 60kph all the way to Bluewater Road (yes, past West Bedford School, but it does have a posted school zone, which reduces it briefly to 40kph). Then at Bluewater Road it increases to 70kph all the way to Hammonds Plains.
This road used to be a country road. I don’t believe it fits that description any longer and it’s for this reason I continue to advocating a pre-emptive reduction. This is something the municipality has the power to do without an approval from the province (unlike neighbourhood reductions below 50kph). Assessments take some time, but I’m optimistic that if residents voice support for this approach (send me or 311 an email), it could happen.
Motorcycles and procedures
With respect to motorcycles – they can be among the worst offenders when it comes to noise, often even when they are not speeding. There are limitations on the response available. Halifax Regional Police has a firm policy not to pursue a speeding motorcycle. It represents a significant risk to the public to do so. Motorcyclists know this, so some will speed to get away but if they are not being pursued, they are less likely to maintain a high rate of speed. Police similarly have rules of engagement with respect to speeding vehicles, but they have some additional discretion to make the safest choice for the public.
The noise bylaw
The noise bylaw (N-200) has its limitations as well. There is no prescribed measure of “loudness” apart from the subjective disturbance to the resident. And this is a responsive rather than proactive measure – in other words, residents must call 311 or the non-emergency police line (when after 311 hours) to register a noise complaint. When the source is a moving vehicle, it’s obviously unlikely that a compliance or police officer would arrive before the vehicle is long gone. If they are revving the engine in a driveway, that’s a different matter. The more common complaint is a moving car, truck or motorcycle with a loud exhaust. The municipality has studied (staff report for consideration of bylaw V-300, not enacted) whether a specific decibel measure could be used for noise bylaw enforcement with respect to vehicle noise and concluded that the legal framework for proof would present significant challenges in a court of law and would weaken the noise the bylaw. Leaving it somewhat subjective provides more flexibility for enforceable action, even though a moving vehicle presents the challenges above.
My hope is that noise for vehicles may be addressed at the source through changes to vehicle inspection standards to include some form of noise testing (currently muffler testing is focused upon safety and environmental criteria). Another option would be to pass legislation that makes certain types of after-market modifications illegal – some jurisdictions have done this but I’m not familiar with how successful this has been. Either option would involve changes in the Motor Vehicle Act and other legislation in the hands of the Province of Nova Scotia.
The effort to address speeding
In addition to the enforcement actions described above that require available resources from our police force, another area I believe could make a difference is targeted use of speed cameras and red light cameras. Both would have a broader impact on driver behaviour if successfully implemented. This too requires action from the provincial government, in that presently electronic enforcement is not permitted under the Motor Vehicle Act, and the Summery Offence Act also doesn’t provide a provision to charge the plate holder as opposed to the driver of the vehicle. Both updates would have to happen in coordination with one another to enable municipalities like HRM (or any other municipality in the province) to consider implementation of electronic enforcement. There are budgetary hurdles to get over with respect to electronic enforcement as well, but since it is a revenue generating expense, the hope would be that it would pay for itself over time.
A work in progress
I write this thorough post to communicate this message: we hear you, I support you, and the team is and will continue to work on it.
Should you have any questions, please reach out to me at jean.st-amand@halifax.ca.