Steel Rail Blues

On March 5th Premier Rodney MacDonald announced plans to put a truckway through Halifax’s rail-cut. This would change the eight kilometer railway cutting through south and west end residential neighborhoods into a multi-use transportation corridor.

“This isn’t a new issue, but we thought this was a dead issue,’ says Halifax City councilor Sue Uteck.

But the premier says the cut could be paved with trucks up and running by as early as this year. The truckway is part of the Atlantic Gateway initiative, a series of plans to help make Nova Scotia the gateway for North America. Money for these infrastructure projects will come from the provincial and federal governments.

The federal government hasn’t said if funding is available for the truckway proposal. The premier hopes the money will come from the $2.1 billon the federal government set aside in the 2007 budget for Gateway projects over seven years.

“The projects will require 50 per cent funding from the federal government,” says Stephen Greene the premier’s deputy chief of staff.

The premier told the Nova Scotia Chambers of Commerce that the truckway would serve a number of purposes:

Trucks would enter the truckway here at the Halterm terminal.

- reduce the time it takes for trucks to go from the Halterm terminal in the Southend to the highway

- reduce traffic congestion on downtown streets

- reduce greenhouse-gas emission from trucks idling at lights

- be available for emergency vehicles and commuter buses

But MacDonald’s truckway proposal is under attack by residents, environmentalists and people who don’t think it will help the port.

A study conducted in 2006, by Marinova Consulting Ltd, rejects the idea of a truckway through the rail-cut. Although it would reduce time and trucking costs, it wouldn’t be worth the overall expenditure. Instead, the study recommends an inland terminal be constructed.

Taking trucks off downtown roads would do little to reduce traffic congestion, says David McCusker, manager of transportation and planning for the Halifax Regional Municipality.

“I mean trucks aren’t that big of a percentage of downtown traffic,” he says.

He adds that he doesn’t expect the rail cut would be available for commuter traffic.

As for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions,

“They’re really grasping at straws there,” says Tim Crabtree of Transport 2000,

“If they were really serious about reducing emissions they would haul it by rail.”

The truckway proposal will take some of the traffic off Lower Water Street. The street has become more of a residential area over the last few years with the construction of condominiums.

The premier has said very little on the issue since he announced it in early March. On April 15th, another report on the feasibility of a truckway and an inland terminal will come out.

“I don’t expect it to say anything new,” says Uteck. “It’s already been proved (the truckway) is not feasible.”