Personal Rapid Transit for Halifax, Nova Scotia

Abstract

As auto-dependent development has forced the urban limits of the city to sprawl, it has put considerable pressure on the transportation corridors that serve the city center. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, this condition is exacerbated by the downtown being bounded by water on three sides. Thus, there are a limited number of transportation corridors onto and off of the peninsula. This thesis examines how transit stations for a proposed public transportation line, within an underused rail corridor, can actively support and engage the communities they serve. A personal rapid transit network is proposed as a mobility-on-demand public transit system within this corridor. This introduction of a new transportation strategy is seen as a paradigm shift for the way transportation is conceived of in Halifax. Thus, the typology of the station will be studied in three different social and topographic environments, to form prototypes for the potential of transit stations throughout Halifax.