General Updates and News

[Keith P.]

It’s an odd thing - a lot of the traditional types of churches, most notably the Catholics, have been downsizing for years and selling off church properties. I believe some synagogues have also been closed. But other types of churches seem to do a booming business by catering to most anyone interested in attending, not just a single denomination. Life Branch Church on Lancaster Dr. in Dartmouth is packed every Sunday. I wonder if this one will be similar.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

It’s an odd thing - a lot of the traditional types of churches, most notably the Catholics, have been downsizing for years and selling off church properties. I believe some synagogues have also been closed. But other types of churches seem to do a booming business by catering to most anyone interested in attending, not just a single denomination. Life Branch Church on Lancaster Dr. in Dartmouth is packed every Sunday. I wonder if this one will be similar.

I was a little curious as well and did a couple of quick searches to find out more.

According to Google AI, it’s an evangelical church, which I don’t know much about, but presumably of the type in the US that has ties with the Republican Party?

Google AI search result for Nova Church denomination

Nova Church in Halifax is an evangelical, contemporary church affiliated with the EMCC (Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada) family. Located at 283 Thomas Raddall Dr, it is a non-denominational-style, Bible-believing church that emphasizes a personal relationship with God, the Trinity, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

It appears that they are affiliated with Deep Water Church.

https://www.deepwaterchurch.com/blog/2021/11/24/why-nova

So maybe this style of church is on the rise here? I don’t know any more than what I have read in doing this search.

[Keith P.]

I am not a church-goer but obviously many others are. This type of church seems to be popular but I know nothing about what they preach. Aside from, perhaps, regular pleas for cash.

[OldDartmouthMark]

I am not super knowledgeable about the various branches of religions also, but yes they always seem to have the cash aspect. I was always a little curious about how the American evangelical churches had become so intertwined with their government (or more specifically, the Republican Party) and remains so today. Although many years ago in Canada religion and government were very closely intertwined, the two have been mostly separated for a long time now, and hopefully it continues to be that way.

[someone123]

It is not the most flattering view but I thought this was an interesting picture of the construction happening around Peace and Friendship Park:


Source

There have been a lot of smaller construction projects but not much has happened to the more prominent empty lots. Land ownership or remediation questions aside, it might make sense to build some structured parking around the seaport. Development around Vic Suites or on the Superstore parking would make the area feel more cohesive.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by someone123

It is not the most flattering view but I thought this was an interesting picture of the construction happening around Peace and Friendship Park:



There have been a lot of smaller construction projects but not much has happened to the more prominent empty lots. Land ownership or remediation questions aside, it might make sense to build some structured parking around the seaport. Development around Vic Suites or on the Superstore parking would make the area feel more cohesive.

I almost forgot the current name of that park. I wish they could have come up with something more imaginative, but it's a minor complaint... not even a complaint as much as an observation.

I think the eventual outcome for the Superstore lot will be development. Once the building ages out and land prices skyrocket due to supply/demand, Loblaws would likely be open to selling the land and opening an urban-style store located within the new development. It would make sense as the city continues to grow and the prime lots become less plentiful.

Structured parking around the Seaport would be a great idea, I think. Or... commuter rail that terminates at the CN station, so that you don't even need to park your car.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Yes. That last bit. Forward thinking might result in putting dibs on that Superstore parking lot for future use as a terminal building for trams. I've always liked the yellow brick port building next to Pier 21 but I'd sooner see a ferry terminal/train station/tram terminal spanning the area between this building and the Superstore lot. Imagine how efficient it would be to have ferry, national trains, commuter rail and peninsula trams all meeting in one area.

Yellow Brick Port Building by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr


Ferry to Rail by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr

[ArchAficionado]

Would be cool to see an LRT line that uses the existing rail alignment then continues down lower water street. Where that street is quite ineffective at moving vehicles, I'm not sure why such a thing has never been discussed or considered.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Yup...


Ferry to Rail2 by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr


Just don't let me lay the track. I'm not very good at it...

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Yup...


Ferry to Rail2 by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr


Just don't let me lay the track. I'm not very good at it...

LOL your specialty is ideas, not track laying! Nobody is perfect at everything!

[miniborder]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

I've always liked the yellow brick port building next to Pier 21 but I'd sooner see a ferry terminal/train station/tram terminal spanning the area between this building and the Superstore lot. Imagine how efficient it would be to have ferry, national trains, commuter rail and peninsula trams all meeting in one area.
Yellow Brick Port Building by A.J. Forsythe, on Flickr

HPA should be moving out of this space in the medium/long term future, as they have outgrown the (aging) building. From the rumblings I've heard, the vision is to rebuild the space in between Pavilion 22 and 23 to serve as their new offices.

[Colin May]

The rail line and the port facilities are of great strategic importance, much more important than commuter rail. HRM needs to plan for increasing employment off peninsula and avoid the mess of many cities elsewhere in the world.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Colin May

The rail line and the port facilities are of great strategic importance, much more important than commuter rail. HRM needs to plan for increasing employment off peninsula and avoid the mess of many cities elsewhere in the world.

There is already a vacant rail bed that spans from the Ocean Terminal, through the rail cut and out past Bedford, where the rails were torn up some 30ish years ago. Therefore, there should be little to no effect upon functionality, aka strategic importance of the CN rail service, if that ROW were to be used.

From what others have said, CN seems to be the barrier that would have to be overcome to run commuter rail on that unused rail bed, and the City didn't have enough fight in them to get it done. This is where I would hope that the Province and Feds could step in to help 'convince' CN that it is a good idea afterall. Right now it's just wasted capacity, and commuter rail would be a great benefit to the city.

Too much "we can't do this because", and not enough "let's get it done".

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

There is already a vacant rail bed that spans from the Ocean Terminal, through the rail cut and out past Bedford, where the rails were torn up some 30ish years ago. Therefore, there should be little to no effect upon functionality, aka strategic importance of the CN rail service, if that ROW were to be used.

From what others have said, CN seems to be the barrier that would have to be overcome to run commuter rail on that unused rail bed, and the City didn't have enough fight in them to get it done. This is where I would hope that the Province and Feds could step in to help 'convince' CN that it is a good idea afterall. Right now it's just wasted capacity, and commuter rail would be a great benefit to the city.

Too much "we can't do this because", and not enough "let's get it done".

CN removed the other rail line to make room all the way through the cut for double stacked rail cars. Centering the line allowed fully loaded 1+ mile trains make it all the way to Halterm without clipping the bridges along the way.

Its their toy and they won't share.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Cap the cut.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

CN removed the other rail line to make room all the way through the cut for double stacked rail cars. Centering the line allowed fully loaded 1+ mile trains make it all the way to Halterm without clipping the bridges along the way.

Its their toy and they won't share.

Thanks for the info. I hadn’t heard that they adjusted the alignment.

Given how much lower a commuter train would tend to be, I wonder if there would still be room to run one off to the side. It seems to me that the cut is quite wide and even the low point of the bridge arches shouldn’t interfere (by my guess only as I am not intimately familiar with the cut dimensions and layout).

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Arrdeeharharharbour

Cap the cut.

I found that running through my head while I was typing. Maybe it’s time…

[someone123]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

CN removed the other rail line to make room all the way through the cut for double stacked rail cars. Centering the line allowed fully loaded 1+ mile trains make it all the way to Halterm without clipping the bridges along the way.

Its their toy and they won't share.

I wonder if there's room for the province and feds to invest in infrastructure improvements (like better bridges, spur lines, sidings, etc.) in exchange for scheduling rights. It could be a win-win for everyone and allow for better intercity passenger rail service (Halifax, Truro, Moncton, Saint John, airport connector).

That being said, that rail corridor makes for a mediocre or niche transit route. A service like Robie BRT with a transit mall on Spring Garden Road is likely to be much more useful for a lot more trips, and the significant investment dollars that would be needed to bring the South End line farther into downtown could be used for a lot of other transit improvements.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

I found that running through my head while I was typing. Maybe it’s time…

Wanna buy a t-shirt?... lol. It is a catchy phrase but I don't really have a firm vision of how utilization of the cut would look or be accomplished. For instance, one vision/option in my head is to go into the railcut wall sideways (grind it out) in from the existing rail bed elevation to create more width for new rail lines separate from CN's rail bed. It'd be like having a subway tunnel with one half underground and one half sticking out of the wall.

[Arrdeeharharharbour]

Originally Posted by someone123

I wonder if there's room for the province and feds to invest in infrastructure improvements (like better bridges, spur lines, sidings, etc.) in exchange for scheduling rights. It could be a win-win for everyone and allow for better intercity passenger rail service (Halifax, Truro, Moncton, Saint John, airport connector).

That being said, that rail corridor makes for a mediocre or niche transit route. A service like Robie BRT with a transit mall on Spring Garden Road is likely to be much more useful for a lot more trips, and the significant investment dollars that would be needed to bring the South End line farther into downtown could be used for a lot of other transit improvements.

As much as I'd like to see inter-city rail return, I see it as a much less burning issue than commuter trains and city transit in terms of solving the city's congestion issues. I agree that as a transit route the railcut makes for a less than ideal route. However, I do think the railcut makes a good commuter rail route into the heart of the city. Two or three light rail tram surface routes from the commuter rail landing point would likely provide sufficient and timely coverage of the peninsula. I don't really see either commuter rail or a city tram system 'working' independently of each other.