"Dog Breakfast": Harifax business owners were frustrated as Spring Garden approached the car

For Kurt Bulger, two years have been long and frustrating.

As one of the owners ofJennifer Parker Nova Scotiaon Spring Garden Road in Halifax , his business has been a hit. Like many others, the pandemic has had a huge impact. Then came the construction to close the street for most of the year.

Recently, the latestSpring Garden Cityscape Projecthas caused his frustration.

"It's a dog's breakfast," Bulger said. "Currently there is a lot of visual confusion here. I've been here for 40 years and I don't know what's going on anymore."

Continued Read: Harifax's Spring Garden Road will soon pass and will be accessible only to pedestrians

As of Monday, Spring Queen Street From 7:00 am to 8:00 pm, Garden Road from to South Park Street is open to buses, cyclists and pedestrians only. Cars, taxis and Uber are not allowed. The purpose is to increase the reliability of the bus and support the passage of pedestrians.

But Bulger says how traffic regulations will be enforced and people in the city will follow the rules. I'm worried about whether or not.

"It will be a long learning curve," he said. "What happens when tourists visit the town? They don't know the rules. You're going to South Park now, there are lots of signs, you're going left, right, up, or down I don't know if it is. "

Sue Uteck, President of the Spring Garden Business Association, is also worried about the pilot project and the signboards it has installed.

Trend Story

"I think it would be very confusing as a tourist," she said. "During this first orientation period, we had to use construction signs ... flashing at both ends."

The Transit Priority Corridor is the first for Halifax. Elora Wilkinson, project manager for the Spring Garden Road Project, says she doesn't expect changes in driver habits overnight.

"This is a major change to a boulevard with a variety of uses," she says. "It will take some time for the education and execution to pass through the corridor."

On Monday morning, Halifax regional police officers were waiting to block the road where they were trying to get into the car. They also gave drivers a pamphlet explaining the new rules.

"Our first approach is always education, but we use enforcement as needed," Const said. Nicholas Gagnon, Deputy Public Relations Officer for the Halifax Regional Police.

Read more:The Spring Garden Road cityscape project is almost complete. This is accompanied by

As for when disciplinary enforcement begins, Wilkinson says it hasn't been seen yet.

"We need to start enforcement at some point, but the goal is to avoid it as much as possible," she said.

Wilkson added that this is a pilot project and can be canceled at any time of the year if the project is determined to be invalid. She also says they have the resources to make adjustments throughout the year.

As for Bulger, he hopes it doesn't hurt his already affected business.

"I don't know which criteria they use to see if they succeed." He said. "There are so many changes right now that we're just scrambling to keep our heads on the water."

© 2022 GlobalNews, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.