Assessing Halifax's Bicycle Infrastructure Development

The task involves an in-depth review of Halifax's bicycle lanes and trail systems, with an emphasis on their evolution from sparse beginnings to a more interconnected network that supports sustainable transportation. The study will cover different trails such as the Chain of Lakes Trail, Salt Marsh Trail, and the Dartmouth Waterfront, as well as other resources provided by Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). Through bibliographic references, the assignment aims to understand the impact of these developments on urban planning and active transportation within the city. The analysis will include both primary data collection and secondary research based on existing literature and municipal records.

Running head: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Public Administration
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Memorandum...............................................................................................................................2
Title: Implementation of bicycle lanes in the Halifax region of the Nova Scotia Province of
Canada.............................................................................................................................................2
Summary......................................................................................................................................2
Outcome...........................................................................................................................................3
Timing and financial impact of the implementation of the project.................................................3
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................3
Current situation and purpose of this request...............................................................................4
Background..................................................................................................................................4
Key issue......................................................................................................................................5
Jurisdictional review....................................................................................................................5
Assessment of alternatives, risk assessment and mitigation........................................................5
Proposed action and timing..........................................................................................................7
Financial impact...........................................................................................................................7
Government-wide implications....................................................................................................8
Consultation.................................................................................................................................8
Efficiency/productivity................................................................................................................8
Policy lenses.................................................................................................................................9
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................9

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References..................................................................................................................................11
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................13
Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................16
Appendix 2.................................................................................................................................17

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Memorandum
To the Executive Council
Number:
Dept:
Date:
Title: Implementation of bicycle lanes in the Halifax region of the Nova Scotia Province of
Canada
Submitted by:
Prepared by:
Reviewed by:
Deputy Minister:
Summary
The public administration is a vital segment of the government of any country. The
public administration caters to a number of departments such as road, water, infrastructure along
with planning and budgeting. In the current topic, a memorandum has been to address the
provincial cabinet of Halifax, which is located in the Nova Scotia region of Canada. One of the
important reforms which had been recently applied by the cabinet is the introduction of bicycle
lanes.
The objective of the pilot project can be broken down into a number of components such
as – testing best practices in cycling infrastructure, enhance the safety standards of a separate
bike lane and encourage people from all age group to ride cycles.

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Outcome
The successful implementation of the project can help in lowering the amount of
pollution to a great extent along with encouraging more positive health within the individuals.
The bicycle lanes can have an overall positive impact on the economy of the region. The bicycle
lanes and bicycle parking can increase the capacity of the roads. It also provides more space for
moving around and conducting small time business to people.
Timing and financial impact of the implementation of the project
The timing plays an important role in the implementation of the proposed action. In the
winter months, the narrow bicycle lanes are snowed heavily leading to difficulty in riding.
Therefore, the government has to spend 650 million on an additional basis across Canada for the
clearing of the roads and redirecting the traffic (Heinen, Maat & van Wee, 2013). In this respect,
sufficient comparisons could be made with some other countries and the regulations
implemented by their respective governments.
Recommendation
The memorandum planning can help in highlighting the areas of interest to the
government and the concerned departments. In this regard, an online poll could also be generated
for gathering collective reviews regarding the implementation of the pilot project which gives
further support to the drafting of the joint memorandum.

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Current situation and purpose of this request
The bicycle lanes had been implemented as a pilot project by the cabinet of Halifax due
to provide a safe riding infrastructure for the bicycle lovers and enhance the cycling within the
community. The aim was to reduce the traffic on the roads from the riding of the four wheelers
alongside providing more free spaces for moving around. As commented by Hatzopoulou et al.,
(2013), the implementation of the method would also help in controlling the levels of
environmental pollution. The policy had been implemented on a short scale to accommodate the
changes which may be required to the make the infrastructure more error free.
Background
In the current scenario, the riders have been pushed into bottlenecks where they do not
have sufficient space and freedom of riding. Therefore, the memorandum aims at finding out the
possible solutions to give the riders a best in class riding experience along with reducing the risk
of accidents. Some of the other issues which have contributed towards the development of the
current situation are poor road habits among riders. In this respect, sufficient evidence had been
collected from a study conducted on a busy road of Nova Scotia. There were CCTV cameras
installed which recorded that 20 % of the cyclists would cling to their phones while turning the
lanes, 80% of the cyclists would simply overtake the other riders without looking for the safety
signs, while 5 % of the riders would go in the direction ("Consultation | Government of Nova
Scotia", 2017). The four blocks long bicycle lanes are narrow enough for accommodation of the
scooters along with the bicycles. However, such lanes are often used for driving scooters which
leads to cramped condition owing to larger engines. Additionally, the lanes also become
inaccessible during the winter months owing to dense fogging which leads to accumulation of
accumulation of ice.

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Key issue
The key issues are mainly attributed to the safety and health issues, which could be
encountered by people eventually due to the implementation of the bicycle lanes. The safety
issues here arises due to the overcrowding of the narrow lanes which leads to crammed situation
and gives way to fatal accidents. Additionally, the lack of billboards at the sharp turns could also
result in head-on collisions. Reports and evidence have recorded 1000 such annual incidents
where injuries have been inflicted upon people for being subjected to accidents for driving in
narrow lanes (Burke & Scott, 2016).
Jurisdictional review
The jurisdictional review helps in comparing the infrastructure of the province in
question with that of other regions within the same or different country. Thus, sufficient changes
need to be brought about in the rules for traffic regulation within the busy roads. However, a
paradigm has been brought within the current set of regulations where the designers need to
ensure that left turn arrow protection is provided for the shared length of path. This is
particularly true in case of high left turn traffic volume, where bicycle lanes are adjacent to the
heavy traffic lanes. The motorist might miss observing the cyclists travelling by the narrow lane
resulting in collisions (Flynn, 2016).
Assessment of alternatives, risk assessment and mitigation
The traffic control during the winter months becomes a problem for the Halifax province.
The government in its statement of the mandate had previously mentioned the urgent need for
prior information and awareness being sent out to the general public regrading the cleaning
work. This further helps in re-directing the traffic towards the proper roads and channels though

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further gaps have been discovered in due course. This calls for the incorporation of billboards
throughout the length of the roads with indicative signs of warning or danger ahead. As per the
estimates, $ 2.4 could be saved per km cycle, which could be spent for more meaningful
purposes such as health and basic public necessities. A 30 % reduction in the level of motor
vehicles emissions could save almost 200 lives and 900 million dollars which could be
contributed to health benefits("Toronto vows to improve winter bike-lane maintenance", 2017).
Option Risk probability
(H/M/L)
Impact (H/M/L) Risk level
(H/M/L)
Mitigation
Winter snow high Result of injuries
and traffic
congestion
high Implementation
of road clearing
projects through
advance
promotion and
notification
strategies
Collisions with
heavy vehicles in
adjacent lens
high Results in huge
number of
casualties
annually
high implementation
of unidirectional
bicycle lanterns
Table 1: Risk assessment and mitigation plan
(Source: author)

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Proposed action and timing
The timing of the proposed action plays a crucial role as the proposed plan needs to be
approved form the house of assembly. The cabinet of Halifax meets once a week at 8:30 am on
every Thursdays. There is no special reason for the specific data and time; however, it is tradition
and had been followed by and large till date. Thus, since the cabinet is meeting on a weekly basis
the proposed action could be escalated to the cabinet without delay and adequate support sought
for the same.
Financial impact
The federal government time and again contributed a huge amount of money for the
improvement of the transit infrastructure. Some of the contributions towards the development of
the pilot projects and the additional requirements have been stated over here. In this respect, the
federal government has promised to pay $ 1.49 billion in total towards transportation
infrastructure. The majority of the money was to be spent on the handling and management of
the troubled transit system of Canada. The money allotted in total was to be divided into
respective pilot projects such as building and maintenance of subway tracks and railway stations.
As commented by Zhang et al., (2015), the proposed implementation of the bike lanes would
need much planning and changes within the street infrastructure. The year wise contribution
towards the development of each specific pilot project had been discussed over here such as
Eglinton connect streetscape improvements and cycle tracks in the month of September 2016 and
would require a total of $8, 900 dollars. Additional $250, 000 was to be spent for surface transit
improvement along with bicycle parking stations to be built at 40 TTC worth $425, 000 ("About
the Ministry", 2017).

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Government-wide implications
In this regard, a joint memorandum could be submitted by the local municipal
corporation and the Dalhousie University. A collaborative effort in this regard is needed by the
state and federal level governments and the various inter public works government. The
incorporation of additional water outlets could help in draining out the excess water. Similarly
during drilling of the roads for setting up of wider intersections care needs to be taken not to
disrupt the water pipes located below (Garber & Hoel, 2014). This needs to be ensured by equal
participation and support from the local government inspection and public works department.
Consultation
The Nova Scotia office of aboriginal affairs coordinates the consultation process of the
province with Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia. It helps in establishment of the best practices with
respect to the asserted rights provided to each and every individual resident within the province.
Thus, for the implementation of pilot project adequate consultation with the department of
aboriginal affairs is required. It helps in the estimation of the statistics about the amount of
money which would be required for the incorporation of wide bicycle pavements throughout the
province and adjacent regions. The joint memorandum was drawn in this case also help in
getting approval from the government on additional tenders and taxes spent towards the
settlement of the project ("Consultation | Government of Nova Scotia", 2017).
Efficiency/productivity
The implementation of the bicycle lanes helps in increasing the productivity of the state
infrastructure by providing separate lanes for the smaller vehicles. This helps in maintaining the
vehicular traffic along with providing safe and enjoyable riding experiences to the bikers. The

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integration of such programs calls for greater accountability on the part of the government for the
prevention of accidents (Lefèvre, Vasquez & Laugier, 2014). The federal government is
presently focussing on alternate options for the prevention of vehicular collisions. One of the
options which could be applied as an alternative over here is implementation of unidirectional
bicycle lanterns which helps in controlling the bicycle traffic within the narrow lanes of the
Halifax community. Another cost-effective method which could have been included over here
include placing of billboards throughout the length of the roads. This would be more cost-
effective than the amount of money spent on drilling and making the roads wider.
Policy lenses
The policy lenses help in analysing the impact of the newly implemented plan upon much
wider assets. In this respect, the implementation of the bicycle lenses can contribute both
positively and negatively towards the economy of the state. The negative influences may be due
to the additional costs spent upon the maintenance of the bicycle lanes and sideways integration
of the safety standards (Wang, Akar & Guldmann, 2015). The implementation of the bicycle
lanes can contribute positively towards the environment by reducing the emission of waste gages
or pollutants which can increase the rate of global warning. The implementation of the bicycle
lanes can save a greater part of the share spent in buying petrol and diesel for the automobile
engines. The additional share could be further used in improving the health of the community as
a whole.
Recommendation
The bicycle lanes have been taken as a promising objective and have been steadfastly
being incorporated within the road infrastructure of the country. The integration of the bicycle

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lanes is an environmentally friendly measure and helps in the controlling the increasing rates of
pollution. Thus, for the implementation of the bicycle lanes sufficient policies and support from
the federal and state level government is required. In this respect, the Halifax province might
conduct a study with the Dalhousie University in order to provide a joint memorandum to the
state government for gathering sufficient support and funding for the pilot project.
Respectfully submitted,
Halifax, Nova Scotia [Originally signed by] Minister of:
Date: