Council motion proposing bike lane 'pause' could impact neighbourhood, councillors say

A motion recommending a “temporary pause on awarding new bike lane design and construction contracts” will come before the Halifax Regional Council on Tuesday, June 10, according to a memo from Mayor Andy Fillmore and subsequent reporting on the measure.

Fillmore, who wrote in the memo that he would bring the motion forward, cited frustration from residents and businesses over increasing traffic, provincial plans to build rapid transit, and an overall failure to achieve the goals of HRM’s Integrated Mobility Plan “to deliver a balanced and efficient mobility system.”

The motion “would definitely impact projects in Dartmouth,” Sam Austin, councillor for District 5 (Dartmouth Centre), told the Post. According to Austin, the “immediate causalities” in and around South Dartmouth would include the Sawmill River Trail extension between Lake Banook and King’s Wharf along Prince Albert Road and the Harbourfront Trail extension between Parker Street and Old Ferry Road.

Plans to connect the Harbourfront Trail to the Shearwater Flyer Trail, reported on by the Post in the June issue, “would be in jeopardy,” Austin said.

Councillor Becky Kent of District 3 (Dartmouth South – Woodside – Eastern Passage) expressed concerns about the motion, saying that many areas of District 3 are on the cusp of being critical active transport corridors and that she has always supported bike lanes and active transport.

“This motion is reckless and surprising coming from a former Member of Parliament who publicly presented support for $400,000,000 federal dollars to support infrastructure for these modes of transportation,” Kent told the Post.

“There are many other reasons not to support it,” she said, “that I will be putting forward in debate [on the motion]. I won’t be voting for a motion like this as it stands right now.”

Austin also strongly expressed his opposition to the motion in his comments to the Post and in a public letter he sent on the afternoon of Friday, June 6. He wrote in that letter that the proposal offered “no evidence or data to support such a major change.” Austin cited Halifax’s significant population growth as the source of worsening traffic in the city.

Fillmore did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for clarification on evidence that bike lane projects were contributing to congestion. In an interview with the CBC, however, Fillmore defended the motion and said it was responding to a “very unfortunate backlash that is very real in our city right now” and pointed to increasing project costs, as well.

Fillmore said the municipal bike network, initially slated to cost $25 million, had ballooned to $93 million, with $16 million already spent.

“That leaves $77 million yet to be spent,” Fillmore told the CBC. “Only $8 million will come from provincial and federal sources, and that leaves an unexpected $69 million to be funded through the municipal tax rate.”

In his public letter, Austin said that other overbudget projects had come to council since the 2024 election — the Windsor Street Exchange, the Eastern Shore Lifestyle Centre, and Dutch Village Road — but only the bike network had come under the mayor’s scrutiny. Austin compared the bike network budget to other projects, suggesting the projected 2026-2028 costs of the bike network were one-third of the amount budgeted for the Windsor Street Exchange project and the equivalent of one year’s paving budget.

With Fillmore planning to bring the motion forward on Tuesday, residents for and against the proposed pause have a limited window to provide feedback to their councillor. South Dartmouth residents are represented by either Austin or Kent, depending on their location; residents can look up their councillor with the city’s District Look-up tool. Austin can be contacted at sam.austin@halifax.ca and Kent at becky.kent@halifax.ca.