Peninsula South Complete Streets project: Contributing to safer, friendlier Halifax streets

Recently, the Englobe Atlantic transportation team delivered a unique, complex project to make the busy streets of a popular Halifax neighbourhood safer and easier to navigate for all users.

In partnership with Upland Planning + Design and our client, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), our project team collaborated with many experts from multiple disciplines. The result was a challenging transportation plan that both meets the needs of the community and its users, and also considers the requirements of an exceptionally broad range of stakeholders.

Background: A Halifax neighbourhood in need of updating 

In 2019, HRM initiated the Peninsula South Complete Streets (PSCS) project to develop a functional plan and future vision to improve conditions for people walking, cycling, and transiting throughout the Institutional District and its adjacent neighbourhoods. 

This vibrant, diverse area includes four university campuses, two major hospitals, and historic mixed-use neighbourhoods, all of which border on a central business district and Halifax’s busy commercial port. Given this diversity, the area is heavily frequented by a mix of users who walk, cycle, drive, and take public transit to move through the area.

These groups are remarkably diverse: they range from employees and university students to patients of the two nearby hospitals, vacationers and tourists, local residents, and truck drivers carrying goods to and from the nearby Port.

Challenges and collaborations on the Peninsula South Complete Streets project 

Englobe’s primary objective in executing this project was to create a detailed, functional plan and add a variety of transportation treatments and elements. The functional plan centred on the development of an all-ages-and-abilities (AAA) bicycle network providing an east-west connection between the Halifax Urban Greenway and Lower Water Street, and a north-south connection from University Avenue to Saint Mary’s University.

The physical constraints of the corridors, the busy nature of the community, and the differing needs and competing interests of its many stakeholder groups posed complex and serious challenges.

Devising solutions for the complexities of the Peninsula South Complete Streets project 

To overcome these challenges, the Englobe Atlantic transportation team considered a broad spectrum of transportation treatments, particularly emerging trends in bikeway facilities and complete street design, before making its final recommendations. 

The Englobe team also relied on an innovative and far-reaching engagement program with a comprehensive approach to community and stakeholder engagement. This approach resulted in over 9,000 engagement interactions with the public, as well as online focus groups and 12 stakeholder groups.

Details of Englobe’s functional plan for Halifax’s Peninsula South neighbourhood 

The completed plan included the following transportation and safety elements:

• A continuous, protected two-way bikeway along University Avenue and Morris Street
• Protected intersection treatments at major intersections, including bicycle signals
• A multi-use pathway on Robie Street
• A street bikeway connecting University Avenue and the Halifax Urban Greenway
• Features to widen sidewalks and make them more accessible
• Enhanced pedestrian crossings
• Improved transit stops
• Preservation of on-street parking in the hospital and institutional districts
• Traffic control improvements at intersections
• Preservation and accommodations made for critical truck routes travelling to and from the Port of Halifax.

These functional plan elements achieve HRM’s objectives of modernizing the Peninsula South area’s dated infrastructure, reduce its car-centric vocation, and ensure the many users of this mixed-use community could safely navigate its streets.

Following receipt of Englobe’s proposed plan, HRM sought and obtained Municipal Council approval in 2024. The municipality has now advanced this plan to the detailed design phase.

Collaboration at the heart of our success on the Peninsula South Complete Streets project 

This project demonstrated that successful outcomes can be achieved through a commitment to technical excellence and an inclusive, all-encompassing commitment to collaboration. 

Our Englobe team values this close collaborative approach with our partners, clients, and colleagues from a variety of different disciplines and practice areas. The unique perspectives and fresh eyes they bring to the table spurred us to deliver a resilient and innovative design that will benefit all Peninsula South user groups.

In 2025, this project was honoured with the Pinnacle Award. This Award is conferred by the ACEC-NB Judging Panel on the top-ranked project submission deemed to demonstrate consulting engineering excellence.