Traffic numbers recover to pre-pandemic levels
New bridge traffic patterns emerging?
Traffic volumes continue to increase on the A. Murray MacKay and Angus L. Macdonald bridges, but new patterns may be emerging as work-from-home arrangements created during the pandemic remain in place.
“Traffic has rebounded strongly from what it was during the Covid-19 pandemic, but we’re only now reaching the traffic levels we used to see,” said Michael McFeters, Chief Financial Officer with Halifax Harbour Bridges. “As that happens though, we seem to see more weekend traffic and rush hours that are spread out over a longer period of time.”
For example, year-end data shows a busy weekday in fiscal 2023-2024 saw an average of up to 110,000 vehicle crossings. Prior to 2020 when Covid restrictions kept most Nova Scotians at home, a busy weekday would see an average of 114,000 vehicles on the bridges.
In 2019, there were 217 days that recorded more than 100,000 vehicles crossing the bridges. In this recent fiscal year, there were 187 days that saw that much traffic.
“The Halifax Regional Municipality population has grown and there’s still lots of activity,” he said. “But on the weekdays, this might be offset by the work-at-home trend. There’s a noticeable decrease in commuter traffic in people going to work five days a week.”
Downtown Halifax businesses have also noticed the effects of a work-at-home trend. And the decrease in commuter traffic seen on the bridges is consistent with the findings of a recent HRM-sponsored survey done by Dalhousie Transportation Collaboratory or DalTRAC, a transportation research facility at Dalhousie University.
“I can certainly see the reduction as the reflection of the new phenomena of working from home,” says Ahsan Habib, a Dalhousie University professor and founder of DalTRAC. The travel survey, known as HaliTRAC, found about 16% of individuals are fully working from home, he says. Approximately 35% of workers have a hybrid arrangement, allowing for flexibility in the times they must be in their offices or at jobsites.
Paul MacKinnon, CEO of Downtown Halifax Business Commission, says members of his group continue to see the reduction of office workers. “What we’ve seen is overall, the numbers are going back up. We’re getting back to 2019 levels in terms of total visitation,” he says, “But we know from talking to our members, especially businesses that cater specifically to the office crowd, we’re nowhere near the numbers we used to be.”