WHY
Where we build matters. Where we don't build matters, too.
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​The proposed Sandy Lake - Sackville River Regional Park area was first identified as a priority for protection because of its outdoor recreation potential and its important natural attributes, which were unique in Halifax—even back in 1971.
It doesn't make sense to throw away over 50 years of local, municipal, and provincial planning when the facts have never supported building here.
But with nature rapidly disappearing, floods becoming more frequent and severe, ​and local traffic already at its limits, it has become increasingly clear that this is an unsuitable place for development—let alone the 6,000 new units that are proposed along the Hammonds Plains Road.
Time is running out for Sandy Lake—will you help be part of the solution?
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Honk If You Love Traffic
Based on the city's cost of servicing study for the area, we conservatively estimate that building a large housing development at Sandy Lake would mean 4,000 more cars on the Hammonds Plains Road by 2040. This huge increase in vehicles on an already-clogged road would mean slower commutes, more delays, and significantly more time sitting in traffic for those who live or work here.
The Hammonds Plains Road was never designed for this amount of traffic and once the units are built, there would be next to nothing that could be done to relieve the gridlock.
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Floods and Floodplains
Life can change in an instant, as Nova Scotians saw first-hand during the floods of 2023. The historic damage in Bedford and Sackville after the Sackville River flooded two years ago shows that we must take floodplains, watersheds, and site selection more seriously.
Floods are becoming increasingly common as climate change intensifies. But when they're kept intact, critical ecosystems like lakes and wetlands help to protect our homes, businesses, and communities from the worst of these effects, by absorbing large amounts of rainfall and later releasing it during water shortages. Expanding the Sandy Lake-Sackville River Regional Park would help to safeguard Bedford from disastrous flooding in the coming years.
However, the proposed development in this area would lead to significant settlement within the Sandy Lake watershed and could increase flooding downstream, a dangerous (and expensive) situation that we'd do well to avoid.​​​
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A "Crown Jewel" Park
For nearly five decades, this area has been recognized as a priority for protection. Originally proposed as one of the "crown jewel" parks to be created in 1971, multiple reports and studies have continued to show that Sandy Lake is a unique landscape worth protecting.
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Over 50 Years Invested
Citizens have worked since the 1970s to protect this area and to finally achieve a comprehensive Sandy Lake - Sackville River Regional Park. Plans were developed for the full Sandy Lake Regional Park. As the planning documents show, the intention was for all of the Sandy Lake area to be protected, along with a section of the Sackville River (see map on the right).
Part of the Sandy Lake Area was identified for protection in 2006 as Jack Lake Regional Park, but that has yet to be designated (legally protected).
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It doesn't make sense to throw away over 50 years of local, municipal, and provincial planning when the facts have never supported building here.
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Time is Running Out
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​Did you know that 1,800 acres of rich ecosystems that were identified as priorities for protection are missing from Sandy Lake Regional Park? If the government forges ahead with the Sandy Lake Special Planning Area, these old-growth forests and salmon rivers could be lost forever.
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Good City-Building
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The ability to escape into nature inside their own city attracts countless people to Halifax Regional Municipality. In an age where jobs are more portable, quality of life can drive immigration to the city and keep people here. But nature is quickly disappearing around us. As one of the last three large green spaces in urban Halifax, Sandy Lake is beloved for its year-round recreational opportunities that help keep the local communities happy and healthy.
Halifax is ready and waiting for a "greenbelt," so we can enjoy the benefits that cities like Ottawa and Toronto have seen from this planning approach. The Halifax Green Network Plan (HGNP) identifies the Sandy Lake area as a hotspot in need of protection, making it a priority for bringing the Halifax Green Network Plan and Our HRM Alliance to life.
Focusing development where it is best suited, and protecting greenspaces where merited (ahem, Sandy Lake!) makes for a better city.
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Take it Outside
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The original objectives from the Metropolitan Area Planning Committee Report for this area were:
- To optimize the use of natural resources in an urban context.
- To maintain and develop a prototype Metropolitan park system that simultaneously provides valuable open space, protects natural assets that are unique in the Metropolitan area, and that provides a unique site for an active outdoor sports program.
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The area proposed for Sandy Lake - Sackville River Regional Park is already used unofficially by citizens of HRM for recreational purposes through a network of existing trails. Currently, a wide variety of outdoor activities are conducted on these lands, including mountain biking, bird watching, swimming, paddling, fishing, dog-walking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing, to name a few.
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More and more, cities (and health authorities) are coming to understand the extensive health benefits of providing people with access to nature. HRM is talking about the benefits of nature, but here's a chance for the city to secure this piece of "green" health infrastructure. Free, easy access to nature can prevent and treat mental and physical health challenges, and make communities more attractive.
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The area is also fantastic for education, lending itself well to classroom field trips, environmental education, and hands-on science education. However, all of these characteristics would be damaged with extensive development around the lakes and rivers.
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The Real Deal, Nature-wise
Not only was this area identified as a future "Crown Jewel park" for its many attributes, but it's likely even more ecologically important today because nature is disappearing all around us. For decades, dedicated local stewards have protected this area, which is now one of the last three large green spaces in urban Halifax.
From old-growth forests to wetlands and species at risk, it's clear that this area should be protected. The Sandy Lake area is home to over 100 species, including Atlantic Salmon, Wood turtles, and Snapping Turtles, which are all Species at Risk.
Sandy Lake is a deep, blue lake (many lakes in this part of Nova Scotia are “tea lakes”). Its "sweet" water chemistry allows certain plants, invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians to thrive in its waters. It also provides the correct conditions for trout, gaspereaux, eel, and now - after years of absence - Atlantic Salmon!
The Sackville River is making an extraordinary recovery, thanks to a lot of help from the Sackville Rivers Association. The group's extensive habitat restoration work is showing that Atlantic Salmon can return to the waterways in which they used to flourish.​ But we can't protect these species without protecting their habitat.​​
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For more of the ecological case for Why Expand Sandy Lake by 1,800 Acres, check out Dr. David Patriquin’s talk: The Natural History of Sandy Lake and Environs: http://goo.gl/ipYCR2
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Making the Connection
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The suite of forests and waterways in the Sandy Lake - Sackville River area provide critical habitat connectivity at the neck of the Chebucto Peninsula. These “pinch points” are the few remaining areas for connecting wildlife from the Chebucto Peninsula lands to the mainland – a priority of the Halifax Green Network Plan and a necessity to halt the rapid decline of biodiversity.
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Expanding protection at Sandy Lake and Sackville River is a perfect way to actualize the idea of landscape connectivity. For example, far-ranging endangered Mainland Moose have traditionally inhabited the area, and they continue to be sighted. The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables considers the proposed Sandy Lake Regional Park as “important mainland moose habitat”. The area needs to stay largely undisturbed to allow passage of moose on and off of the Chebucto Peninsula.
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Every Drop Counts
The Sandy Lake watershed is the largest sub-watershed of the Sackville River. Aquatic studies point to a deterioration in oxygenation and increased salt loading of Sandy Lake since the 1970s, related to urbanization and some clear-cutting. Significant further settlement within the Sandy Lake watershed would make the lake inhospitable to the migratory fish, reduce wildlife diversity, as well as increase flooding downstream (= Sackville River). An expanded Sandy Lake - Sackville River Regional Park would help to safeguard Bedford from increased flooding and keep the lake suitable for wildlife and people.
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The forests and waterways west and north of Sandy Lake were part of the original park “gem” concept from the 1971 planning study for Halifax. They are all that is left of this essential sub-watershed of the Sackville River. The headwaters of Sandy Lake need to be saved to protect the water quality of Sandy Lake itself, but also so the areas downstream of the lake - Peverill's Brook, Marsh Lake, and Sackville River - are not put in peril.
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