FALL RIVER: The first step to bringing transit into Fall River along Highway 2 may have been taken Thursday afternoon July 25.
At Transportation and Standing Committee, a motion was made by Councillor Waye Mason, who is a mayoral candidate, requesting HRM staff make a report involving the Halifax Transit Route 320 bus and the soon-to-open Aerotech Connector.
The motion is regarding potential re-routing of the 320 to stop in the core of Fall River on Highway 2 near the Fall River Road intersection using a new route via the soon to open Aerotech connector and Highway 118.
Deputy Mayor Cathy Deagle Gammon is not on the committee so that’s why Mason had to make the motion.
It’s something the two have been discussing about for some time, said Deagle Gammon in an interview with The Laker News at supper time on July 25.
“As everyone knows, I’ve been advocating for transit to come into Fall River since I was elected in 2020,” she said.
“But then we found out that the transit service boundary wasn’t up for review and so we were just gathering our data, gathering as much information as we can for when the review is open to make sure that we do something.”
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While the Transit Service Boundary is not yet open, it’s still a part of a much bigger picture, Deagle Gammon said her thought process is that if they can get a stop for the Route 320 bus to come into Fall River, that’s a stepping stone to the service they want brought into the community.
“We will be able to see what the next step will be after the service boundary comes up,” she said. “I don’t really think that people want to see transit buses through all the subdivisions. I don’t really think that that’s what the community is looking for.
“But we need to figure out how do we connect between Fall River and even like Cobequid Road and the station in Lower Sackville,” said Deagle Gammon. “Is there a way to connect these communities a little bit better to a transit hub? That’s what we need to see.”
Deagle Gammon was able to speak at the Transportation Standing Committee meeting . She said people were wondering what happened with it and why this motion was coming forward now.
“Councillor Mason and I had been looking at the different routes, the timings, all of that kind of stuff,” she said. “We were looking at what kind of a motion makes sense.
“At the last community liaison meeting of the Aerotech Connector group we were advised that the Connector should be finished by January, hopefully by Christmas, but to be sure by January.
“That was a game changer.”
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She said it’s not known when exactly the report would come back, but feels staff understand the situation.
“I do think that the staff understand the urgency on behalf of the community,” she said. “There is a second motion that I have actually through regional council. That is on the expansion of Access-A-Bus and in some ways for this community there’s a tie in there because we have some people who use Access-A-Bus, but it will only go to the park and ride.
“So additionally this would support people who use Access-A-Bus to be able to come down into Fall River and make life just a little bit easier there as well.”
Deagle Gammon said once she knows which HRM staff is on the file, she will be advocating to them to ensure a timely report.
“The next thing that I will have to do is to find out what staff will be assigned to it and to put the pressure on that staff to find out when we are going to see this, when will it come, etc.” she said. “That’s on me to make sure I see what they come up with in the timeline.”
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Deagle Gammon said that’s why this motion was able to come through now because it’s not asking to open up the Transit Service Boundary because the bus route does go by.
“The 320 does go by from Perrin Drive at the park-and-ride, but it has to come down into the roundabout and then it has to go down to the highway,” she said. “Now with the Wellington Connector there and when it opens it could potentially come along Highway 2 and then out.
“This is the beginning. It’s a first step to see if we could bring it down into Fall River and still keep within the time frames.
“That’s why this motion was so important to get the staff report to do the work.”
She said there’s about six months before the end of the year to get the ball rolling on this.
“Previously to today, we didn’t know when the Aerotech Connector might be finished,” said Deagle Gammon. “That again was a reason for bringing the motion forward.
“I’m hopeful that we can see something, but it will be dependent now on what our staff come back with in their report.”
