EHS moving backup LifeFlight landing pad to CFB Windsor Park

There will be more helicopter traffic in Halifax's West End beginning this fall.

Emergency Health Services (EHS) has served notice to residents in the area that it will begin using Canadian Forces Base Windsor Park as its temporary backup helipad in the fall for the LifeFlight critical care helicopter.

"We expect the helicopter will make about 95 landings per year on the temporary helipad," a postcard sent to residents said.

"We know some residents may be inconvenienced by the sound of the helicopter. This helipad is temporary. We're working to find a permanent backup location close to the IWK and QEII hospitals."

EHS uses its ground-based backup site when rooftop helipads cannot be used for reasons such as weather, construction, maintenance work or operational considerations.

Last month, the rooftop landing pad at the Halifax Infirmary could not be used after several water main breaks affected fire suppression services. The services have since been fully restored.

In a statement, EHS LifeFlight senior manager Colin Flynn said the move to Windsor Park is necessary because the company's lease on its backup landing pad at Point Pleasant Park is expiring this year and will no longer be available.

"The property where the helipad is located at Point Pleasant Park is owned by the Halifax Port Authority, and they have other plans for the space," Flynn said in the statement.

A spokesperson for the port said the area where the helipad is located at Point Pleasant Park will be reconfigured as part of the port's rail solution project that will see containers loaded onto rail cars at each of the terminals for transfer between the two sites.

"This step will remove most trucks with containers from the streets of the Halifax urban core," Lori MacLean said in an email.

"The rail solution project has been developed over the last number of years and has reached the next stage of land-use planning."