The fourth version of the 500-stall, 8-storey parking garage planned for the north side of the NS Museum of Natural History is flipped in orientation requiring a larger easement from HRM and chewing up more of the Halifax Common.
Rick Howe interviews FHC’s Peggy Cameron about the group’s letter to Premier McNeil asking that he cancel the plans for parking garages on the Halifax Common. There are other, better solutions.
Outgoing Premier McNeil
December 17, 2020
Dear Premier McNeil,
As you leave your role as Premier, we write to ask that you reconsider the decision to build a $30 million dollar, 8-storey, 500-stall parking garage on one of the last remaining public open green spaces on the Halifax Common. Approximately 20% of the Common is used as parking, almost all for provincial health care facilities.
The 1000-stall parking garage planned for the former CBC building site will certainly provide enough parking for years – build it first and the parkade on the Museum of Natural History grounds becomes unnecessary. The decision for the Museum property parking garage taken by Minister Lloyd Hines, requires careful second sober thought.
Construction work for a controversial parking garage by the NS Museum of Natural History exposed an ancient pipe where Freshwater Brook flows. Rick Howe interviews Peggy Cameron who sees this as a perfect opportunity for a re-think on the controversial $30 million, 8-storey, 500-stall parking garage planned for one of the few public, open green spaces left on the Halifax Common.
Cyclist sees “Restore Freshwater Brook” as a better new reality.
A pedestrian walks past Restore Freshwater Brook signs that dot the lawn off Summer Street and Bell Road on Tuesday afternoon. The group Friends of the Halifax Common want portions of the underground brook daylighted or exposed again. – ERIC WYNNE/CHRONICLE HERALD
The brook, initially called a river, ran from what is now near the corner of St. Albans Street and Clifton Street in north-end Halifax, across the peninsula, through the Halifax Public Gardens, Victoria Park, past Fenwick towers and the Sobeys parking lot on Queen Street to the confluence of Barrington and Inglis streets. Continue reading
FHC Centre Plan Submission May 2016 emphasizes the importance of public open space. As HRM’s population grows we need to protect and expand access to green land and blue sky, not just on the Halifax Common but throughout the city.
Below’s a summary of FHC requests for how the 1994 Halifax Common Plan be respected.*
Continue reading
Halifax Map by Captain Charles Blaskowitz in 1784
How can understanding former uses and natural features of the Halifax Common help us deal with contemporary concerns and future challenges?
To learn more come & hear guest speaker Kevin Hooper Tuesday April 12, 6:45 pm – 7:45 pm
Room 301, Halifax Central Library, Spring Garden Road
A refreshments break at 8:45 pm will be followed by FHC AGM at ~ 8 pm.
Details: Kevin Hooper investigates the Halifax Common’s social and environmental history and makes the case for reintroducing functioning wetland ecosystems to deal with the challenges facing conventional stormwater management.
Among other topics this presentation will detail; the near complete loss of historical watercourses on the Halifax Peninsula; the evolution of the Halifax Common from 1749-2016; the critical role of wetlands in nature; and, the innovative ways that engineered wetlands are being applied for the purposes of sustainable stormwater management.
Bio: Kevin Hooper, B.A., M.U.R.P., originally from Moncton, N.B., has lived and worked in Halifax since 2006. Following an undergraduate degree in the social sciences Kevin did a Masters in Urban and Rural Planning at Dalhousie University with a focus on environmental conservation, social equity, and community design. He has contributed as a research assistant on several projects relating to climate change adaptation for small communities and currently works as a planning consultant.
He is the father of three young children and the very lucky partner of the most wonderful woman in the world.