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The Halifax Urban Greenway

The Halifax Urban Greenway is a concept for an urban walking trail in peninsular Halifax following the Canadian National Railway cut from Chebucto Road to Young Avenue.

Over the next few years, the community will be working with HRM to develop urban hiking and biking trails linking the Armdale Rotary with Point Pleasant Park. Where feasible, it is hoped that the trail will be able to be developed along the railway cut alignment.

The CN Railway Cut

Working railway alignments are usually a source of industrial blight, to be avoided at all costs. However, any line servicing the Ocean Terminals on Halifax Harbour in the South End required a massive cut through the bedrock to get a train from sea level on Bedford Basin to sea level on Halifax Harbour.

With a depressed rail line, vegetation could survive and grow. Today, a river of greenery flows through the city along the railway. The vegetation and continuous tree canopy is a haven for birds, wildflowers and other flora and fauna.

Project Benefits

Green space and natural habitat running through the city will be preserved. People from the city and beyond will be able to walk, bike and jog the trail. There will be newly created parkland.

The Greenway will link public parks and water access points to the Northwest Arm. The map at right shows the location of these.

Major destinations along the cut are Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University and Point Pleasant Park. It is hoped that someday the Greenway will link up to other trails heading along the waterfront on its south-eastern end and towards Bedford Basin on its north-western end.

The Halifax Urban Greenway Association

The Halifax Urban Greenway Association is a community organization that has been set up to work with HRM, the universities, volunteers, business, corporations, and foundations to plan for the preservation of the Greenway and its development for public access.

Put yourself in the picture as a future user of this unique open space resource. Provide comments on the project by clicking on "Comments" in the menu on the left. Selected responses will be posted on this Web site.

This is an exciting project for metro, promising great benefits. It will only proceed with community support from people like you.

Halifax Urban Greenway Proposal

The full text, photos, drawings and maps of the proposal are available for download.