Premiers plan doesnt include Chester Spur

Plans to turn the rail cut through the south end of Halifax into a freight conduit arent expected to impact the proposed recreational use of the Chester Spur.

Dave McCusker, Halifax Regional Municipality senior staffer, says. The main issue is to get truck traffic onto the bicentennial highway and the CN mainline crosses the highway, so he expects Premier Rodney MacDonalds proposed new multi-trans corridor will provide sufficient access for trucks looking to access the 100-series highways.

Asked if the possibility for recreational use of the Chester Spur continues to exist, McCusker responded, We believe so, yes.

Halifax Regional Council held an open house on February 21 detailing the active transportation possibilities for the Chester Spur. At that time, McCusker told the Burnside News, Im pretty confident the recommendation will be to purchase.

Council decided to pass on CNs March 6 deadline to meet the $3.6-million asking price, instead supporting a number of in camera motions to pursue the matter further. One motion request[ed] that CN agree to provide Halifax Regional Municipality with first right of refusal on the full corridor for a period of three months.

Proponents of the multi-use trail point to the increased access to nature the trail would provide. The local biking community sees it as a missing link between urban Halifax and the South Shore.

But detractors worry about safety concerns. HRM staff maintains the route can be kept safe through increased usage and application of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) principles. They also point to a study in Ontario of real estate agents that indicates trails can actually raise property values.

Premier Rodney MacDonald announced plans to convert the rail cut into a multi-trans corridor to the Halifax Chamber of Commerce on March 5.

The Chester Spur splits from the rail cut behind the Atlantic Superstore on Joseph Howe drive, where it loops back around towards Northwest Arm Drive. The line skirts First Chain Lake before crossing Chain Lake Drive and runs through the Bayers Lake Business Park, ending in the Lakeside Industrial Park.

The question of what to do with the Chester Spur came to the fore in June of last year when CN offered to sell the abandoned line first to the federal, then the provincial government. When both declined, the offer fell to the city.

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