The Halifax firefighters union is sharing a video of traffic blocking a fire station on University Avenue.
“The vehicles are backed up and blocked in front of the tarmac where the truck has to leave the station,” says Brendan Meagher, Halifax Professional Fire Fighters Association president.
Meagher says it’s not just the morning and evening rush blocking the driveway of Station 2 in the city’s south end – it lasts all day.
“From 8 a.m. until late in the evening. Cars are backed up on that street so turning right out of the station on University Avenue and turning east, we know there is a heavy population and a lot of people, a lot of our responses are in that direction,” says Meagher.
The mayor’s office acknowledged the area around Station 2 is impacted by multiple factors.
“Including the ongoing hospital construction and increased vehicle traffic,” a statement reads.
“I spoke with HRM staff and they are exploring options to address the issue around this station,” says Mayor Fillmore in a statement.
“We know that up near the Halifax Infirmary there is construction up there, then there is the construction up by the IWK, which is University Avenue,” says Meagher.
University Avenue is a main artery for Halifax Fire and they are often forced to take detours.
“It slows us down. It’s further and it increases our distance to travel. If the truck turns left going out of the station, it can go south on Robie and then east on South but again you are adding additional city blocks to the distance we are travelling,” says Meagher.
Gary Jones works at the university and says he tries to plan his travels around the peak travel times to avoid getting stuck in it.
“Normally I either duck out before or I’ll stay at school until after the rush is kinda passed just because if I leave or if I stay, I get home at the same time,” says Jones.
“You have to be prepared to deal with the traffic, that’s just the nuts and bolts of it, especially if you’re coming to the hospital, sadly,” says resident Kelly Mampe.
HRM said the Halifax is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada and provided ways they are combating traffic congestion.
“We are implementing the Integrated Mobility Plan, which aims to make our transportation system more efficient and sustainable by providing better mobility options for residents. We’re also working to implement a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Strategy, which recommends a new Bus Rapid Transit system and harbour ferry service expansion to significantly boost transit capacity and efficiency," says Laura Wright.
But traffic is just one of the several challenges Halifax Fire faces.
“We are seeing a lot of motorists that are not yielding to emergency vehicles, we are having people pass us on highways and people just not letting us out into traffic, we even have pedestrians walking out on crosswalks while we have trucks out with lights and sirens,” says Meagher.
These are all issues that cost fire crews time when every second matters.
“It’s very crucial. Fires grow quickly and seconds matter in these responses and so for fire responses, it is extremely important that we are able to get to where we are going quickly,” says Meagher.
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