Traffic congestion in Halifax is worse than before the pandemic

Driving to work in Nova Scotia’s capital took longer in 2024 than in 2019, on average, according to data from road planning company TomTom.

A resident of the Halifax area, Laquisha Wolferecently spent 90 minutes in his car to travel the twenty kilometers that separate the communities of Cole Harbour et Clayton Park.

Five years ago, the trip would have taken half as long, she says.

Laquisha Wolfe and her husband rely on real-time traffic maps for guidance, but that doesn’t help them much, she admits.

All routes are usually blocked, because everyone is looking at the same maps as usshe said.

Journeys that get longer during rush hours

According to TomTom data retrieved by CBCroad traffic is now worse than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus, between August and October 2024, the time spent by motorists on the roads during peak hours was at least 32% longer than during normal times. In 2019, this rate was 29.5% or more.

According to Mike Connorsresponsible for transportation planning at the Halifax Regional Municipality, one of the main reasons is the increase in population.

Indeed, Halifax is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada.

Employers singled out

Traffic jams are more common on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, perhaps because that’s when most employees go to work, he said. Mike Connors.

According to a survey conducted by the municipality last year, 40% of the 3,500 respondents said they worked partially from home.

This corresponds to the obligation of federal employees to go to their workplace at least three days a week and of 3,500 non-unionized provincial employees to return to the office full time.

We are implementing return-to-work policies without thinking that remote work would make it possible to manage travel demandnote Ahsan Habibprofessor at the University Dalhousie from Halifax and a specialist in transportation and travel behavior.

By comparison, the governments of Ontario and British Columbia allow their employees to partially work from home while the Halifax Regional Municipality has had a flexible work program since 2021.

Unbearable days

The increase in population also leads to an increase in construction sites, notes Mike Connors.

All of these factors could explain why Halifax is now experiencing a greater number of days with blocked traffic.

In August, September and October 2024, there were 28 days where the traffic congestion rate varied between 41 and 50% according to TomTom figures.

During the same three months in 2019, such a congestion rate was only observed for 6 days.

Fast buses are still waiting

Pour Ahsan Habibinvestments in public transport have not kept pace with population growth.

Time spent on public transport does not compete [à la voiture]he said. If there is no competition, people will not take public transport.

The federal and provincial governments have committed to funding an electric ferry for the Basin. Bedfordbut remain silent on the rapid bus network that the municipality wants to put in place by 2030.

Everyone is talking about a housing crisis, but at some point we are going to talk about a mobility crisisbelieves Ahsan Habib.

With information from Haley Ryanof CBC