Infrastructure crisis in Halifax

Bike lanes are back on the menu as city grapples with debt

by Matt Stickland

Last Tuesday, Halifax’s city council had a notably thoughtful debate. It was after 9 p.m. when councillors started debating deputy mayor Tony Mancini’s motion on bike lanes. Mancini’s motion asks city staff to take a look at bike lanes and find out why they have increased so drastically in cost. The motion also includes clauses to explore alternatives to our current plans and try to secure outside funding.

Mancini argued that his motion was not meant to delay completing the bike network. He told his peers that of the 60% that’s been built, Halifax only paid $6 million of the $16 million total cost. Even though everything is more expensive now, the jump to almost $80 million for the rest of it seems too steep for bike infrastructure. He wants to ensure Halifax is actually getting the best bang for its buck.