'This will assist work crews with their clean-up efforts by reducing the number of vehicles on the roads,' says HRM

NEWS RELEASE

HALIFAX REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY

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Restoration efforts across the region are well underway, with transit operations returning to normal tomorrow morning, and most municipal offices opening for business, depending on access to power.

The first Halifax Transit bus to pick up passengers will be Route 320, beginning at 4:40 a.m. Access-a-bus and ferry operations will also be up and running as per their normal weekday schedules.

The municipality is asking residents for their help by considering taking the bus over the coming days. This will assist work crews with their clean-up efforts by reducing the number of vehicles on the roads.

Municipal clean-up operations are running around the clock, with the aid of extra contractors and the Canadian Armed Forces. Residents can expect to see members of the military in numerous locations across the region as they assist municipal works staff, Halifax Water, and Nova Scotia Power in their efforts to restore services.

Residents are also asked to remain out of municipal parks until further notice while staff assess each property’s condition from a public safety perspective. Citizens are also asked to call ahead to municipally owned and operated recreation facilities to see if they are open. As power is restored, facilities will open.

There will also be some Solid Waste adjustments over the coming weeks to address post-storm related issues.

Regularly scheduled collection for Monday, Sept. 9 has been cancelled for those residents who live on the Halifax peninsula only. Collection for all these residents will occur the following Monday (Sept. 16), and will include a full collection of garbage, organics, and recycling.

The reason for the cancellation is two-fold. First, there is still considerable tree and debris clean-up in the area and the municipality cannot guarantee collection trucks will be able to make it to all residents. Secondly, the municipality doesn’t want extra material at the curb while doing tree and debris clean-up.

There will be no disruption for all other residents in the municipality who receive Monday collection.

For residents across the municipality who are busy cleaning up their properties, branches should be tied in armload-sized bundles, to a maximum of 10 bundles, for collection day over the next two weeks.

Please visit Halifax.ca or follow @hfxgov on Twitter for all post-storm-related updates.

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