HRM updating safety standards for temporary sidewalks
Now’s the time to improve how pedestrians move through or around construction sites in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
A staff report on updating the standards for pedestrian travel paths through work sites landed at HRM’S transportation committee on Thursday. This includes construction work being done by HRM crews, crews hired by HRM and developers.
Last year, the province drafted new standards under the Accessibility Act that include minimum requirements for temporary sidewalks. When these are adopted, it will apply to construction and developments as of April 1, 2026.
Besides these new standards and guidance from the Canadian Standards Association, HRM staff proposed that the municipality can go further. Establishing more minimum standards will “provide consistency to the travelling public, clarity for contractors, developers, internal staff, and efficiency within HRM design and approvals,” staff wrote in their report.
Proposed standards in the provincial legislation include:
■ A firm and level surface.
■ Slip resistant.
■ Not impede pedestrian traffic movement or safety.
■ Be a minimum of 1.6 metres in width.
■ Guarded by a traffic barrier between 0.81 and 1.05 metres in height, installed at ends exposed to vehicular travel.
■ Incorporate reflective elements on the traffic barriers.
If these requirements cannot be met, construction crews would need to install a crosswalk to a barrier-free sidewalk before the obstruction.
HRM staff suggest there are opportunities for the municipality to go further with standards around:
■ New minimum pedestrian route widths and heights.
■ Signage and barricades that are cane detectable.
■ High visibility and continuous channelization to guide pedestrians through temporary routes and around hazards.
■ Ramp criteria to improve accessibility and detectability.
The staff report said the updated standards would have a “minor initial and ongoing cost” to HRM crews, traffic control companies, contractors and developers.
“It is anticipated that this will result in less than five per cent increase in costs to any existing temporary condition requirements,” the report said.
Coun. Waye Mason (Halifax South Downtown) said he’s heard from Canadian National Institute for the Blind staff who said that improvements are needed, including gentle grades going into or around a work site. He said the paths need to be easily navigable by someone in a wheelchair or walker.
“I think this will get us there,” Mason said. “It will be like anything; there will be misses and hits as it rolls out, especially because we’re going to educate all the contractors and developers around it, but I feel that this is really good work.”
The transportation committee voted to recommend Halifax regional council direct staff to move ahead and update design and construction guidelines.