Regional Transportation Plan

The JRTA is addressing transportation issues associated with the rapid growth taking place in Halifax and surrounding communities. To achieve this, we're developing a Regional Transportation Plan.

The Regional Transportation Plan will create a long-term, coordinated vision for our regional transportation system. The plan will guide integrated transportation and land use decision-making and infrastructure investments for all modes of transportation. Improving the flow of people and goods in and out of Halifax and surrounding communities is vital to all Nova Scotians.

To achieve this, we need to work together, cultivating new and existing partnerships and building solid long-lasting relationships locally, regionally, and nationally. Collaboration is one of the key values of the JRTA, and collaborative decision-making will be critical to the success of the JRTA and the development and execution of the Regional Transportation Plan.

Past Engagement

What We Heard

Thank you to those that visited our drop-in sessions on the Regional Transportation Plan. Our What We Heard report that summarizes our conversations throughout Stage 2 Engagement is now available.

Virtual Information Session

Watch our Virtual Information Session. The Joint Regional Transportation Agency provides an update on plan progress and answers questions about the plan.

Vision, Goals, and Principles

We’re pleased to share the finalized Vision, Goals, and Principles for the plan. The version you see here has been updated to include feedback from our working groups and the public survey.

While respondents overwhelmingly believed that the Vision (82%), Goals (86%), and Principles (86%) reflected the people that live and work in the study area, we heard requests for a greater focus on people, more emphasis on climate and environment, addressing car dependence, and inclusion of specific targets.

We’ve made changes to reflect these requests and will include specific targets later in plan development. These are more than guidance as we prepare the plan. The JRTA is using the goals to measure the effectiveness of different projects and policies during plan development.

You can find the final Vision, Goals, and Principles on our website.

What's being considered in the Regional Transportation Plan?

The plan will review all modes of transportation that move people (walking/rolling, cycling, buses, ferries, trains, vehicles) and goods (trucks, trains, ships, planes) as well as the infrastructure (streets, active transportation facilities, highways, bridges, rail corridors, ports) to make that movement possible.

Halifax and surrounding communities

The area being considered for the Regional Transportation Plan includes most of Nova Scotia’s population and one of the most important economic hubs in Atlantic Canada. This will play a critical role in advancing broader Provincial Government initiatives to tackle climate change, support growth and economic development, and improve Nova Scotia’s health, well-being, and quality of life.

The above map shows the areas included in the Regional Transportation Plan. The focus is on Halifax Regional Municipality, but the plan will also include communities that are around a one-hour travel time to Halifax as they have also experienced growth.

This area includes 14 municipalities in addition to Halifax Regional Municipality:

Land acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1726.

We acknowledge that people of African descent have been in Nova Scotia for over 400 years, and we honour and offer gratitude to those ancestors of African descent who came before us to this land.