Halifax council looking for feds to share costs on transit projects

Halifax council will consider on Tuesday whether to try and get federal funding to help pay for 16 transit projects the city may undertake.

The projects are expected to cost just under $60 million and the city is hoping the federal government will equally share in the costs for the work, says a staff report.

During last fall's federal election campaign, the Liberals promised to add $60 billion over 10 years into infrastructure spending.

Here are five of the proposed projects:

Study to evaluate replacing Mumford Terminal

The terminal is over capacity and needs replacement. The city is looking for $150,000 from the federal government to conduct an assessment to determine where the best location would be for a new terminal.

Improve transit security

The city would like to improve the transit fleet's camera systems "with additional camera views and collision-warning systems." The city would need $1.95 million from the federal government.

Bus rapid transit

At a total cost of $200,000, the city would like to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of implementing bus rapid transit (BRT) service. Typically, these systems involve roadways that are dedicated to public transit and thereby offer speedier service.

Electric buses

The city would like to conduct a pilot project to look at using electric buses in the transit fleet. The city is looking for $250,000 from the feds for this.

Transit priority measures

Bayers Road and Gottingen Street have both been identified as "critical areas" for introducing transit priority measures (TPMs). The city describes TPMs as "physical measures constructed into streets or modifications to traffic control that provide priority to transit buses," such as transit-only lanes and traffic signals that apply only to transit. $125,000 in federal funding would be used for analyzing and designing the TPMs for these roads.