Bus tour heightens awareness of Burnsides issues

The Greater Burnside Business Associations second annual bus tour and barbecue with Mayor Peter Kelly not only served to highlight some of the areas of concern within the Park, but also the growing influence of the Association itself.

The event began with a bus tour through the Park, with special attention given to areas in need of upgrading. Perhaps as revealing as the areas of the Park visited during the tour was the make-up of the audience on board the bus. Participants in the tour included at least five municipal councillors; Trevor Zinck, the areas MLA; Ross Cantwell of Colliers International; Lori Patterson, acting head of Metro Transit; Valerie Payne, president of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce; and Michael Wile, HRMs business parks manager, among others.

Older areas of the Park were singled out for their narrow streets and crumbling infrastructure, as well as a general lack of modern amenities and growing transportation problems. A lack of left hand touring options, a poorly located public scale for the trucking industry and congestion hot buttons, such as Tim Horton drive-thru locations, were all discussed.

The tour also focused on safety concerns for pedestrians and bicyclists, and inadequate transit service.

The news wasnt all bad, though. A number of improvements are underway and the tour also pointed out these gains. These included such items as: new sidewalks along Windmill Road are planned for 2009; a pedestrian overpass across Highway 111 was ready to begin construction; Metro Transit is looking at locating a new bus terminal in the Park; and Wright Avenue is now complete all the way through to Highway 118.

Kelvin Sams, chair of the GBBA, singled out Wright Avenue for special mention.

The opening of the final stage of Wright Avenue now gives Burnside six entrance and exit points. Thats a 50 per cent increase in the last two years.

Sams message highlighted the progress made on long-standing issues since the GBBA engaged municipal council in direct dialogue.

Its been said its hard to get things done in Burnside because we dont vote. I have to disagree with this. Everyone of us has a vote all we have to do is make it known to our own local councillors how important the infrastructure of Burnside is to us, Sams says.

One issue Sams drew particular attention to is the need for improved transit service throughout Burnside. Transit service is a perennial sore spot for many employers in the Park since their staff relies on it heavily for commuting. In fact, one of the major developers in the City of Lakes area Armour Group recently circulated a petition calling for improved transit service. It received widespread support.

The GBBA is therefore engaged in an effort to assist Metro Transit acquire more detailed information on ridership to and from Burnside. A transit survey was drafted and is currently being circulated. Information gathered from the survey will be used to reassess current service levels and realign routes as required.

Anyone interested in providing their input can click here to find a copy of the transit survey. Please fill it out and send it to the indicated fax number so your voice can be heard.

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