Halifax councillors caught off guard by mayors bike lane pushback – Halifax [Video]

Regional councillors in Halifax say they were blindsided by the mayor’s decision to bring a motion forward asking for a pause on all future bike lane construction. 

Mayor Andy Fillmore has indicated in a memo to council that he’s looking to put a pause on future bike lane development until a staff report on road congestion can be completed. The matter will be discussed at Tuesday’s meeting.

Coun. Sam Austin says the news came as a surprise.

“I mean, this is not a small thing the mayor is proposing,” he said.

“This isn’t a, ‘Well, let’s go look at this question and bring back a report.’ It’s to stop work that’s literally planned that we voted on in our budget just two months ago now. So that’s pretty significant.”

Coun. Kathryn Morse takes issue with the idea that cyclists and biking infrastructure are causing congestion in the city.

“We certainly …