Latest news with #traffic congestion
CTV News
21-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
More split opinions over Halifax bike lane project
As the debate over whether Morris Street in Halifax should be made a one-way for bike lanes continues, the owner of a bookstore located on the street, has a strong stance on the matter. 'I think it's a good idea. The last council debated it, did all sorts of research, took in input from the port, from the hospital, from everyone around. And they passed it, I think it's a good idea,' says Chris Green, the owner of Atlantic News. A focal point in the debate seems to be whether making Morris Street a one-way will increase traffic congestion. Green says it's obvious the change will only help that concern. 'If you improve bike lanes, (that means) more people rid(ing) bikes, less people in cars. So, it will help congestion,' he says. But Dave Buffet, the president of HRM'S Taxi Association, calls the plan a 'failed experiment,' and says his drivers aren't happy about it. 'We get complaints all the time, (saying) 'Dave, what are they doing and can we do anything about this Dave? Can we fight them on it?' says Buffet. 'I think it's a really poor idea. I think it should have been tested on the drawing board, so to speak.' Buffet argues people will face delays getting to their destination, as drivers face delays getting to them. 'We're potentially going to drive by more passengers and say 'oh gosh, I missed that address. Now I've got all the way around the block,'' says Buffet. 'That could easily add another five minutes to the wait time, which is significant. That could be 50 per cent more than if we hadn't missed it.' Meanwhile, from a business standpoint, Green isn't worried about the project affecting his store. Though even he admits it will take time for everyone to adjust. 'Any sort of change at the beginning will cause ripples, certainly, but I think in the long run for this city, it's a good idea.' For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
19-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Halifax mayor says its premier's job to intervene when council is wrong
Tim Houston is "entirely within his mandate" to get involved in the decisions of municipal governments, said Halifax's mayor Friday, two days after the premier threatened to overturn a decision by regional council. In an interview at Halifax City Hall, Andy Fillmore said he expected Houston to speak out on council's decision to turn Morris Street into one-way traffic to make room for a two-way bike lane. "We have to remember that in Canada, municipal governments are creatures of provincial legislation. We only exist because of the provincial governments have created legislation to give us the powers to do the things we do," Fillmore told CBC Radio's Mainstreet. "Planning powers, traffic authority powers, policing powers, etc., all are at the mercy or the grace of provincial legislation. So it's entirely within any premier's wheelhouse to adjust or to give direction. That's their job." Houston posted a letter to social media on Wednesday addressed to the mayor, regional councillors and the chief administrative officer saying he had serious concerns about the plan for Morris Street. The letter, signed by Houston, said the change would "contribute to traffic congestion, create unnecessary public safety risks and potentially jeopardize port activity." Houston said his government would "be forced to act" and overturn council's decision if it doesn't reverse course by Aug. 6. — the day after its next council meeting. If council doesn't budge, Houston said the province would use Bill 24 for the first time. The bill, which was passed this spring, allows the public works minister to override decisions by municipal councils related to transportation. Fillmore said he agrees with Houston's concerns and believes the change would hurt truck traffic to the Port of Halifax and delay ambulances. The mayor voted against the bike lane design last week, but he was overruled by the majority of regional council. Ahsan Habib, a transportation professor at Dalhousie University, said a public conversation about traffic congestion is important — especially with Nova Scotia's growing population. "We are a growing city. We are trying to double our population both in the city at the same time as the province and we need to improve our transport infrastructure. The question is how," Habib said. Habib said whatever the solution ends up being, there will always be a compromise. "In my opinion, we need to build many more bike lanes, many more public transit services and also make sure our roadways are efficient to carry other traffic cars." But critics have said they don't believe Houston's intervention is actually about Morris Street. Rather, they believe the premier wants to paint council as dysfunctional to grant Fillmore strong mayor powers. That could allow Fillmore to make decisions without the majority of council and set the budget. Fillmore has previously said strong mayor powers could improve the current system that is slowing progress on issues he was elected to tackle. On Friday, however, Fillmore said he disagrees that Houston is using Morris Street as an excuse to grant strong mayor powers, because those powers would only come after a pattern of bad council decisions. "I'm interested in them [the province] improving my accountability to voters," he said. Fillmore cited two examples of what he considers poor council decisions: Morris Street, and the back-and-forth over the Windsor Street exchange redesign, which saw council approve a plan in February that it had rejected just a month earlier. The mayor said he believes the provincial government would have intervened in the road's overhaul had council not reversed course.
Khaleej Times
15-07-2025
- Automotive
- Khaleej Times
One driver, one car: How UAE's growing solo driving is making roads busier, more hostile
The increase in traffic congestion has not only contributed to 'higher levels of stress and frustration but also led to more rude or aggressive behavior on the road, which carries the risk of accidents.' The is the finding of the latest survey by RoadSafety UAE, commissioned by Al Wathba National Insurance, examining the emotional state and behavior of UAE motorists. In the survey, eight out of 10, or 82 per cent of the respondents said they have witnessed ' rude or aggressive behavior very often or sometimes' on the road. 'From a road safety perspective, traffic congestions should be avoided. UAE motorists notice a lot of rude or aggressive behavior in traffic jams and hence, the awareness for polite and caring manners must be raised,' noted Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE. Almost half of the respondents (47 per cent) feel frustrated, annoyed, very stressed or anxious. 'These feelings are more pronounced among female and younger road users,' the survey noted. Only 29 per cent can deal with the traffic congestion 'as they state to be indifferent and used to it, or they stay calm and relaxed.' Moreover, 19 per cent state they feel bored or restless. Interestingly, however, a small minority of 5 per cent of the respondents even enjoy the downtime during traffic jams. The report is the second part of the survey conducted in June this year revealing the extent of road congestion. Nearly 90 per cent or 9 out of 10 motorists in Sharjah and Dubai said they typically experience traffic congestion. Around 80 per cent of respondents also noted they witnessed more traffic congestion this year than last year, with Dubai topping the list at 85 per cent. 'Unfortunately, only a small number of 18 per cent 'hardly ever' witness aggressive behavior, and in Dubai this number dips further to only 15 per cent. More than one-third of respondents 'very often' notice rude or aggressive behavior, and almost half of the respondents notice this 'occasionally', the survey reiterated. Crux of the problem Simply put, there so many cars on the road. The survey revealed the dependency on cars is very high, as 92 per cent of respondents state they depend daily on it by utilising their own car, bus, minibus or taxi services. 'Only 8 per cent use mass transportation by metro or alternative means like e-scooter, bicycle, eBike. Moreover, 60 per cent of respondents depend on daily transportation in their own car, which is the highest mention by far. Of the majority of road users taking their own car, more than half (54 per cent) travel alone in their car. In Sharjah, 62 per cent of motorists usually travel alone, 'which might be a contributing factor to the problem of daily traffic congestion,' the survey noted. What must be done? The survey underscored the need to reduce the number of vehicles on the road. 'One opportunity is to gradually increase the number of people per car.' 'In Dubai, 43 per cent of motorists usually carry one or two passengers. It would be interesting to understand the reasons for this and how other emirates and especially Sharjah can learn from it", the survey noted.
