News Release
Mayor, Councillor Thank Federal, Provincial Governments
(Friday, May 21/2004)-- The Province of Nova Scotia has deeded over land that Halifax Regional Municipality requires in Dartmouth as part of the Harbour Solutions Project.
Mayor Peter Kelly today expressed his thanks and appreciation to Transportation and Public Works Minister Ron Russell for his assistance in expediting the land transfer. The Province is donating 3.446 hectares (8.5 acres) of land, valued at approximately $2 million, as part of its contribution to the Harbour Solutions Project. In addition, it is committed to providing a total of $30 million over 15 years towards the project cost.
"On behalf of Halifax Regional Council, I would like to publicly thank the Minister and his staff for their tremendous spirit of cooperation and effort in helping HRM and the Province to conclude this transaction. The land is a valuable contribution to the Dartmouth phase of the project," Mayor Kelly said.
The Mayor said an access road for the Dartmouth sewage treatment plant is scheduled for construction in May 2005. Once the plant is constructed, the access road will be converted to a combined plant driveway and public multi-use trail leading to a new public access way on the water front.
Of the total 8.5 acres of Provincial land donated, approximately 7 acres will be used for recreation/parkland. Approximately 1.5 acres will be used for the plant driveway and multi-use trail leading to the plant site. The entry point off Pleasant Street at Acadia Street will keep construction traffic from using existing residential streets during plant construction. The access off Pleasant Street will become the main entrance to the new campus of the Nova Scotia Community College (Dartmouth Campus) project.
The multi-use trail across this land will be co-ordinated and linked with the Waterfront Development Corporation's trail to the south on the Nova Scotia Hospital lands and a trail to be built to the north on land acquired from the federal government. This trail will form part of a Dartmouth public waterfront trail system, that eventually will stretch from the Woodside Ferry to the Macdonald Bridge.
"This phase of the project will not only help us clean-up our harbour, but also make the Dartmouth waterfront that much more accessible to the residents of HRM," Mayor Kelly concluded.
Councillor Bruce Hetherington (District 8-Woodside) also expressed his thanks to the Province, as well as to the federal government for the 11 acres of land it sold to HRM for the sewage treatment plant site (3.5 acres) and surrounding buffer zone (7.5 acres.)
"These lands are a welcome asset to the Woodside area. HRM will be seeking public input early next year regarding the new trails system, which will provide a valuable recreation area for Woodside and the neighbouring communities," the Councillor said.
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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010
Councillor Bruce Hetherington
(902) 488-4808
