Forest Hills Parkway – Cycling and Walking Enhancements
Consultation has concluded. The Forest Hills Parkway Active Transportation & Street Improvement project was completed in summer 2021.
The municipality is planning walking and cycling enhancements for the Forest Hills Parkway. The road is scheduled for a regular resurfacing in the next couple of years. When this happens, the municipality proposes to make improvements to the infrastructure for walking and cycling.
The Forest Hills Parkway is a 2.8 km “collector” road located in the Cole Harbour area of Dartmouth. The Parkway was originally constructed as an emergency route, but was transitioned to a public road as the community of Cole Harbour developed. The Parkway connects Main Street to Cole Harbour Road and “collects” traffic from adjacent neighbourhoods. Key destinations on the Forest Hills Parkway include Cole Harbour Place, Cole Harbour High School, playing fields, churches and the commercial areas at either end.
Currently the road does not have a cycling facility and the sidewalk is substandard along several sections. As part of the municipality’s Active Transportation Priorities Plan and as part of the Regional Plan direction to develop “complete streets”, the municipality is considering how to make walking and cycling on Forest Hills Parkway easier, safer and more enjoyable.
Options being considered include on-road bike lanes combined with an improved sidewalk or a multi-use pathway, where bicyclists and pedestrians would share a wider asphalt corridor.
As part of the planning process we held an open house March 1, 2017, and collected surveys from March 2-March 14, 2017.
