from Councillor Kathryn Morse
DUTCH VILLAGE ROAD UPDATE
The redevelopment of Dutch Village Road will begin this spring in late April or early May. The plan is to start construction at the Westerwald end. This $10 million project will include: adding a much-needed sidewalk on the west side of Dutch Village, installing standard bus stops, and switching the current nose-in parking spaces to safer parallel parking spaces. Street trees and landscaping will be completed in 2026. Dutch Village Road will remain open to foot and vehicle traffic throughout the redevelopment. The project is anticipated to take about a year to complete and will be managed by Dexter Construction. More details are available on our website halifax.ca.
DEVELOPMENT UPDATES
Two additional Housing Accelerator Fund sites are under consideration in District 10. 117 Kearney Lake Road and 380/390 Bedford Highway may be redeveloped as housing. Due to road capacity and other concerns, HRM planning staff confirmed they will only allow a maximum of 7 storeys at the strip mall site on Kearney Lake Road and 4 storeys at the Bedford Highway site.
BUDGET UPDATE
At City Hall, debate continues on HRM’s $1.3 billion municipal operating budget. The operating budget includes the cost of municipal services such as police, fire, snow clearing, garbage collection and transit. We completed our detailed review of each department budget in February, and on Wednesday, March 19, we will be discussing any “overs” and “unders” that have been identified on the Budget Adjustment List. You can provide your feedback by signing up to speak to the budget committee or submitting correspondence to clerks@halifax.ca. Final budget approval is expected to take place at the Tuesday, April 8 meeting of Regional Council. Check out halifax.ca/budget for more information on the process.
TURNING ARROWS INSTALLED
Left turning arrows have been installed at Dunbrack Street and Willett Street, a growing part of District 10. On the green arrow, drivers approaching the intersection from Dunbrack now have the rightof-way to make left turns. The new turning arrows will reduce potential conflicts with pedestrians and other vehicles. There is also a yellow arrow to warn drivers not to enter the intersection.
This change was made based on safety assessments at Dunbrack and Willett. Data showed the highest risk involves vehicles making left turns from Dunbrack Street, which has higher permitted speeds (60 km/h) than Willett Street (50km/h). HRM traffic safety staff will continue to monitor the intersection. Left turning arrows are planned for the Willett Street approaches to this intersection and will be installed at a later date.
COMMUNITY GARDEN APPLICATIONS OPEN
Interested in starting a community garden? The municipality’s Community Garden program allows residents to operate a community garden on municipally-owned property. The program is intended for small scale operations by a group, on a non-profit basis. Applications for 2025 are now open and will close on March 30. To review the program handbook and fill out the fillable online forms, visit halifax.ca/parks-recreation/parks-trails-gardens/gardens/community-gardens
ACCESSIBILITY STRATEGY
I’m happy to share that Halifax Regional Council has approved the 2025/28 Accessibility Strategy, representing an important step in our continued commitment to a more accessible region. This strategy focuses on removing barriers in key areas like transportation, buildings, communication, services, and employment, ensuring everyone can fully participate in our community. There’s still work to do, but this plan gives us a clear path forward.
