Writing on behalf of FHC and Robie St residents, Peggy Cameron and Howard once again ask Mayor Fillmore for a meeting. The first request was on November 4th 2024 with multiple follow up inquiries.
We worry that details on HRM’s plan to spend at least $75m to acquire property and demolish buildings to widen Robie Street for a bus lane are not fully vetted with residents or Council. The plan from 2018 or 2019 needs to be re-examined for its merit and to reassess using scarce public money to wreck our Robie Street neighbourhood from North to Cunard Streets. (Map details: https://shorturl.at/tCDHU )
Recent email communication from Councillor Cleary to residents continues to confuse or mislead. We worry other Councillors may also be unaware of misinformed. We again clarify why the Mayor & Council must optimize spending public money on reallocating existing road space, more buses, more drivers with better salaries, lower fares, better public safety and services such as bus shelters with seats and sidewalks and trees for shade and comfort. And stop the plan to wreck our Robie St neighbourhood.
Details below
To clarify, are you and Councillors aware of the following?
1. One of three lanes on Robie between Cunard and North is restricted to buses headed north, 6am – 6pm. Because of bus infrequency it is mostly empty. That makes the reallocation of the use of these three lanes using traffic signals ideal. (Map details: https://shorturl.at/tCDHU )
2. Data shows even for public transportation, widening roads does not reduce traffic or congestion. Existing space used by private vehicles will be occupied by private vehicles so long as it remains available. Even if transit use increases, private vehicles will increase with population growth as long as there are these lanes.
https://www.nber.org/papers/w15376
3. Although NS DPW is rapidly buying Robie St properties it is HRM, not the province that is the lead in the plan to spend public money to purchase and demolish at least 10 multi-unit buildings and spending the major portion of the budget. (See slide from FHC FOIPOP to HRM below.)
4. Buildings to be demolished contain multiple affordable housing units where renters have afforded to live for decades and that the purchase is for demolition. All governments know the most affordable housing is that which already exists.
5. Three of the Robie St. buildings proposed for demolition are recently upgraded with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent. One is the 7-unit Tweak housing at the corner of Robie and Charles – there is nothing sustainable or sensible about destroying buildings, carting them to the land-fill and displacing residents. Wrecking our neighbourhood cannot be misconstrued as part of any climate action plan or emission reduction strategy.
FHC supports better public transportation. We believe that it plays unique and important roles in an efficient and equitable transportation system. We fear that HRM’s transportation planning process is over investing in big planning and under investing in transit expenditures that could immediately improve and optimize service. Our suggestions have included: reallocating existing road space, more buses, more drivers with better salaries, lower fares, better public safety and services such as bus shelters with seats and sidewalks and trees for shade and comfort.
HRM aging demographic needs better public transportation services. Municipally, provincially, nationally and internationally every economic trend indicates rising costs and increased affordability concerns will continue. Budget decisions by HRM should be supportive of increasing public transit demands and to maximize the benefits of serving those demands.
HRM’s own 2025 budget deficit, the knowledge that a single bus costs $1m or that the federal government’s recent announcement of $55m for HRM public transit is really only $5.5m/year should underscore the scarcity of public money and need for efficient use.
The planned destruction of our Robie St neighbourhood, its multiple affordable housing units, its majestic tree scape does not fit in either a necessary, successful or sensible plan. Cancel it.
We look forward to meeting with you.
Best wishes,
Peggy Cameron and Howard Epstein