The verbatim of Councillor Mosher's statement at the January 5, 2009 meeting of Chebucto Commuity Council:

At the September meeting of Chebucto Community Council, I brought forward resident concerns about St. Margaret’s Bay Road being a designated truck route. Councillor Russell Walker seconded the motion and supported my request to investigate and assess a request to no longer allow trucks on the St. Margaret’s Bay Road. We wanted to look at the specific volumes, a safety analysis and determine where else the trucks could go.

At the Council meeting I brought forward and summarized the concerns of residents including, but not limited to: concerns that the roadway between the rotary and the J. Albert Walker connector is of a narrow and winding nature , with residences located very close to the road, that the existing sidewalks abut the street with no grass or buffer area from the road, and in some areas there are no sidewalks - forcing residents to walk in the ditch area of the roadway. In addition, I added that the geometry is such that there are areas where the road is relatively step which could lead to safety concerns, particularly in certain weather conditions. These concerns were encapsulated in an advertisement that Halifax Regional Municipality placed to obtain comments on the Chebucto Community Council motion.

Subsequently, HRM staff obtained feedback from residents and businesses and also conducted an analysis of the truck traffic and the history. It was determined that the road was designated a 24-hour truck route in 1972 even thought there are homes and businesses located very close to the roadway. The road which has been in existence since at least 1860 and is designed as a main arterial road and this was confirmed in Council’s Regional Plan.

The detailed analysis determined that there were 150 trucks per day, including local service vehicles which would be on the road regardless of a truck route designation; this represented 1 % of the total vehicular volumes on the St. Margaret’s Bay Road.

Based upon the staff analysis and history, unfortunately there is no suitable alternative at this time. Although I sympathize greatly with all residents living on this road, I see no other feasible or practical option. St. Margaret’s Bay Road is a main arterial road, other alternatives could force trucks on streets that are classified as local or collector roads. In addition, the analysis indicates that if alternative routes were chosen, the total kilometers traveled would be far greater. This would increase green house gas emissions and not be a positive change for our environment. The goal is to take as much traffic off our roadways and this route allows for the most direct access to Lakeside Industrial Park.

In addition, staff have determined that despite the concerns that I brought forward regarding the geometry of the roadway, they feel that the road is capable of handling the truck traffic with reasonable safety. Over the past several years we have added some new sidewalk sections and a push button crosswalk for safety. Last year I put forward more requests to add more sections of sidewalk on this street to further enhance pedestrian safety.

Should truck traffic volumes increase appreciably or other facts change, I would be happy to bring this back to Chebucto Community Council for a further analysis. However, at this time, unfortunately I will have to agree with the staff recommendation and keep the status quo."