Stop the Chebucto Road Widening

We the undersigned are strongly opposed to the widening project proposed for Chebucto Road on the two blocks on either side of the Mumford Intersection. We demand that immediate action be taken before the summer construction on this project begins.

Beyond the travesty it would represent for the neighbourhood directly affected, the project is an affront to the values of many Haligonians and their vision for their city, is out of step with the city's own regional plan, and won't even achieve reduced commute time (it will simply allow more commuters to pass through the road).

Budgeted at $3.9 million, the project removes the yards of at least six residents, entirely destroys the house of one family, and reduces the property value of all in the vicinity.

We believe Halifax should follow the example of more progressive cities in dealing with congestion issues through such measures as High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, congestion charges, and improving public transit and active transportation.

The congestion problems this city faces on the peninsula - traffic and parking issues - will not be solved by increasing road capacity, they will be worsened.

It will make the street less pedestrian friendly by removing a sidewalk on the west side. It will also take away the possibility of adding the bicycle path proposed in the active transportation plan. This is of concern to the many residents who would like to see the city become more bike friendly.

Faced with all of these negatives в the destruction of a neighbourhood, increase in peninsular congestion, encouraging environmentally unsustainable transport, hindering environmentally sustainable transport, a cost of $3.9 million - and little to no benefit (the bottleneck simply moves up the hill) we, the voting citizens of the HRM, urge Council to find an alternative.