[Halifax] Cowie Hill Projects (Cowie Hill Road) | ? M | 17&8 , 16&10 FL | Proposed

[Dmajackson]

Two major new proposals comin forward for Cowie Hill and Ridge Valley Road. Both Hazelview Investments (owner of Terrace View) and Universal Properties (owner of Ridgeway Towers) are proposing to infill their lots with new high density residential buildings. Both sites would have two new buildings constructed with a total of ~478 units. The projects are seeking initiation for the MPS/LUB amendments required to allow for this amount of density.

Case 23600 Initiation Report

[someone123]

Interesting. There are a couple old apartment buildings around there that are really visible because of the hill.

I always found that this area was fairly devoid of services (mostly shops and mixed use) and underdeveloped for where it is. Spryfield has a bit more but used to be pretty run down and is 2 km away.

I'm not sure there is an appetite for new car bridges or tunnels but I often thought this neighbourhood could be transformed with some active transportation infrastructure. One piece would be a small, attractive bridge or gondola over the Northwest Arm, which would partly be justified as a way to connect recreational areas on either side. Another would be some better pathways to improve connectivity around these roads. Many of the residents of this area are lower income and don't necessarily all have cars anyway. Allowing for options like electric scooters combined with buses could in theory be a game changer for a lot of people. Actually this particular site would just be walking distance to Dalhousie with a pedestrian bridge.

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by someone123

Interesting. There are a couple old apartment buildings around there that are really visible because of the hill.

I always found that this area was fairly devoid of services (mostly shops and mixed use) and underdeveloped for where it is. Spryfield has a bit more but used to be pretty run down and is 2 km away.

I'm not sure there is an appetite for new car bridges or tunnels but I often thought this neighbourhood could be transformed with some active transportation infrastructure. One piece would be a small, attractive bridge or gondola over the Northwest Arm, which would partly be justified as a way to connect recreational areas on either side. Another would be some better pathways to improve connectivity around these roads. Many of the residents of this area are lower income and don't necessarily all have cars anyway. Allowing for options like electric scooters combined with buses could in theory be a game changer for a lot of people. Actually this particular site would just be walking distance to Dalhousie with a pedestrian bridge.

I cannot ever see any connections to the Peninsula for the very reasons stated in your comment. Spryfield and the South end are literally Worlds away. South end Halifax is in the top 25 for net Worth Neighborhoods in Canada and Spryfield to be kind is not.

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

I cannot ever see any connections to the Peninsula for the very reasons stated in your comment. Spryfield and the South end are literally Worlds away. South end Halifax is in the top 25 for net Worth Neighborhoods in Canada and Spryfield to be kind is not.

The South End is also a citywide destination, though. Universities, hospitals and other institutions, recreational amenities, and downtown/SGR nearby. I bet South Enders would appreciate being able to get to Sandford Fleming Park without driving all the way around the rotary as well.

I don't think it makes sense to imagine that because the relative income levels of the two areas are different, no one would be interested in connecting the two. I also don't think we can expect Spryfield to remain a lower-income area--given the way real-estate prices are going, a reasonably central area like it is destined to become more middle-class. A quick pedestrian connection to the peninsula wouldn't hurt that process either.

[Keith P.]

If a transportation connection from the South End to the Cowie Hill side were ever to be made it should have happened 50 years ago with an Arm Bridge of some sort. I will never forget watching a Council meeting a couple of decades ago and seeing the Councillor for the area get up on her hind legs and bray that the view down the Northwest Arm from the Armdale Rotary was far too beautiful to be sullied by a bridge or transportation structure of any sort in her lifetime. Just imagine if such a thing had been built way back when it was first proposed following WWII or in the '90s when it resurfaced before being torpedoed again by elite Southenders. And I'll say it: talk of gondolas as a viable transportation solution is simply silly.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

In terms of a piece of AT infrastructure that would get substantial use, a pedestrian / cycle bridge over the Arm would likely rate highly. I have to agree with Keith on the idea of a gondola. Not that a gondola couldn't get the job done but we're in the ferry business here already and it doesn't make sense to take on a different tech when a ferry could get the job done. I wonder if there is worry that any alternative to buses would negatively affect bus revenue?

[atbw]

Speaking from a South End perspective, having that kind of AT access to that area would be great. That would bring things like Dingle Park/Frog Pond and the McIntosh Run mountain bike trails into easily ridable distances for folks in the South End, while easing the commute for folks riding in from Spryfield area. At the very least it would make it so that you can get off the peninsula onto the mainland without having to ride through the rotary.

I do wonder about height constraints though, with all the sailboats in the arm.

[OldDartmouthMark]

A gondola would probably offer sufficient value as a novelty as well as practical AT conveyance, and would be less intrusive on the skyline than a bridge. It could become an attraction unto itself, just by virtue of being the only such conveyance in the Halifax region.

It might also be considered 'less permanent' for doubters, in that it would be easier to remove than more-permanent infrastructure. Not sure on the relative costs of operation and maintenance, though. One advantage of a bridge is that it doesn't require energy (except lighting) or maintenance of constantly moving mechanical parts (one also wonders about the risk of becoming stranded over the water during a breakdown or power outage).

I still think that Halifax missed the boat (so to speak) when it didn't build a bridge during the post-war period when such an idea would have been more tenable. I agree with Dartguard that there would be a lot of push-back from people in positions of power and political influence for this to easily happen today.

Ferries are fine, and perhaps would more acceptable to the south end locals, but also have their limitations, mostly in capacity and scheduling limitations. From a climate change point of view, they also require energy to operate, like a gondola, and thus would appear to be a lower choice (on a philosophical level) for promoters of AT, as compared to a bridge.

[Maiasaura]

I've browsed here a few times over the years, but I'm signing up to follow this project. I don't know much about the planning process, but I live in the neighbourhood and I like the proposal. For whatever noise and inconvenience it brings, I'm pro-density. What happens next? Is there a public consultation? I don't want the NIMBY voices to be the only ones heard on this.

[Antigonish]

Originally Posted by Maiasaura

I've browsed here a few times over the years, but I'm signing up to follow this project. I don't know much about the planning process, but I live in the neighbourhood and I like the proposal. For whatever noise and inconvenience it brings, I'm pro-density. What happens next? Is there a public consultation? I don't want the NIMBY voices to be the only ones heard on this.

I would expect there to be, you should go and voice your support for it. Welcome to the forums!

[OldDartmouthMark]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't imagine that there will be a lot of NIMBY pressure in the Cowie Hill area. That seems to be more concentrated in some areas of the peninsula, but even then when I read the complaints about NIMBYs I tend to think that their power is overestimated a little. Stuff still gets built, maybe to the point where no one person gets everything they want, but it's not like there's a lack of construction activity in Halifax these days...

Welcome to the forum, by the way. I look forward to reading about the goings on in your area, as I don't get out that way as much as I'd like to. Best of luck in getting your voice heard!

[Maiasaura]

Do the new rules encapsulate the variances in this application?

https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax...celerator-fund

Can this project go ahead now?