‘A Dog’s Breakfast’: Halifax Business Owner Frustrated Over Spring Garden Closing to Cars – Halifax | Globalnews.ca

It’s been a long and frustrating two years for Kurt Bulger.

As one of the owners of Jennifer’s of Nova Scotia on Spring Garden Road in Halifax, his business has taken a beating. Like many others, the pandemic has had a significant impact. Then came the construction that closed the street for much of the year.

More recently, Spring Garden’s latest streetscape project has been the source of his frustration.

“It’s a dog’s breakfast,” Bulger said. “There’s so much visual clutter down here right now. I’ve been coming here for 40 years and I have no idea what’s going on anymore.”

Starting Monday, Spring Garden Road from Queen Street to South Park Street is open to buses, bicyclists and pedestrians only from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. No cars, taxis or Ubers allowed. The purpose is to make buses more reliable and help with pedestrian traffic.

But Bulger worries about how traffic restrictions will be enforced and whether those in town will follow the rules.

“It’s going to be a long learning curve,” he said. “What happens when tourists visit the city? They don’t know the rules. You go down to South Park right now, there are so many signs you don’t know if you’re supposed to go left, right, up or down.”

Sue Uteck, president of the Spring Garden Business Association, is also concerned about the pilot project and the signage that has been put up.

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“I think it’s going to be very confusing as a tourist,” he said. “For this initial orientation period, we should have used construction signage … flashers at each end.”

The priority transit corridor is the first for Halifax. Elora Wilkinson, project manager for the Spring Garden Road Project, says she doesn’t expect drivers’ habits to change overnight.

“This is a substantial change on a main street that has many different uses,” she says. “It’s going to take time for education and enforcement to work their way through the corridor.”

On Monday morning, Halifax Regional Police officers were on hand to block the road for vehicles trying to enter. They were also handing out pamphlets to motorists explaining the new rules.

“Our first focus is always education, but we will use the app as needed,” Const said. Nicolas Gagnon, Halifax Regional Police Acting Public Information Officer.

As for when the punitive enforcement will begin, Wilkinson says that remains to be seen.

“At some point we will need to start enforcing, but the goal is to try to stay away from that as much as possible,” he said.

Wilkson added that since it is a pilot project, they will be able to cancel it at any time during the year if they feel the project is not effective. She also says that they have the resources to make adjustments throughout the year.

As for Bulger, he hopes it doesn’t result in another blow to his already affected business.

“I’m not sure what criteria they’re using to see if it’s a success or not,” he said. “There’s been so much change now, we’re just fighting to keep our heads above water.”