Reimagining Downtown Halifax for Sensory Accessibility.

When we talk about accessibility in cities, the conversation often stops at the visible ramps, elevators, curb cuts, and tactile strips. But there is another side of accessibility that is less visible yet profoundly impactful: sensory accessibility. This is the kind of access that addresses how environments feel, sound, and stimulate the senses, a dimension that is often ignored in urban planning.

As a graduate planning student at Dalhousie University, I’ve worked on the impact of truck traffic on downtown Halifax during my first semester. What began as a logistics and mobility project gradually revealed something deeper after I joined PEACH Research lab – a pattern of urban inaccessibility rooted in sensory stressors. This shift in focus was sparked by observing how truck noise and movement affected everyday pedestrian experiences, especially for people with sensory sensitivities.

However, revisiting this work through the lens of accessibility planning reveals something deeper. The movement of heavy container trucks through core areas like Hollis Street and Lower Water Street is not just a traffic issue; it creates conditions that are overwhelming, disorienting, and unsafe for many residents.  

Noise levels from diesel trucks can reach between 90 and 110 decibels (dB), which is far above safe hearing thresholds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to noise above 85 dB can lead to hearing damage after prolonged exposure. But for individuals with autism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sensory processing disorder, or other sensory sensitivities, even short-term exposure can trigger anxiety, confusion, and physical pain (CDC, 2022).

Image showcasing the difference between Normal Truck (on the left) and Electric Truck (on the right).
Image showcasing the difference between Normal Truck (on the left) and Electric Truck (on the right).

Accessibility Planning: Beyond Physical Infrastructure

Accessibility planning is often framed around compliance with building codes or meeting minimum design standards. While these standards are an important starting point, they often fall short of addressing the full range of accessibility needs, particularly for neurodivergent individuals and those with sensory sensitivities. A truly accessible city must go beyond structural compliance to create environments that are navigable, understandable, and welcoming for everyone.

Sensory overload, an excessive amount of noise, light, smell, or movement can be disabling. In downtown Halifax, truck traffic compounds this overload. Beyond sound, the presence of large, moving vehicles adds visual and spatial unpredictability, while diesel emissions contribute to poor air quality, another sensory factor that affects breathing, focus, and comfort.

Halifax’s Integrated Mobility Plan (IMP) does include commitments to sustainability, active transportation, and public health, but sensory accessibility has yet to be centered within these goals. This gap in planning vision has direct consequences: when a person cannot walk safely down the street without feeling overwhelmed, that public space has failed them.

Lessons from the World: Best Practices in Sensory Urbanism

Cities around the world are beginning to realize that sensory accessibility is not an optional feature but a matter of equity and inclusion. Several leading examples show how it can be done.

1. Paris, France

Paris has implemented “quiet zones” known as Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) near schools and hospitals, where heavy vehicle braking and idling are banned.

Image of various signage regarding ZTL areas in Paris. The signs depicted is a sign showing the sign for leaving the ZTL, and the sign showing a ZTL entrance after an intersection.
Image of various signage regarding ZTL areas in Paris. One sign depicted is the sign indicating when one is leaving a ZTL. The other sign depicted is the sign indicating a ZTL entrance after an intersection.

The city is experimenting with noise-sensitive traffic signals that adapt to decibel levels and alert drivers or alter flow. These measures aim to protect vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and people with anxiety disorders (City of Paris et al., 2020).

2. London, UK

The Greater London Authority has developed inclusive design standards that specifically address sensory barriers. These include using materials that dampen footstep echo in pedestrian tunnels, reducing visual clutter in public signage, and ensuring lighting is consistent and not over-stimulating. London has also developed guidance for developers on creating autism-friendly environments in public infrastructure (Smith et al., 2014).

Image of sculpture installed by organ of Corti in July 2011 in Carter Lane Gardens near St Paul’s Cathedral, London. The sculpture is a four-metre-tall installation that absorbed the City’s traffic noise and transformed it into music.
Image of sculpture installed by organ of Corti in July 2011 in Carter Lane Gardens near St Paul’s Cathedral, London. The sculpture is a four-metre-tall installation that absorbed the City’s traffic noise and transformed it into music.

3. Melbourne, Australia

The city of Melbourne has piloted “sensory mapping” tools to assess which parts of the city are overstimulating or disorienting. These maps help identify noise hotspots, flashing lights, and high-traffic areas, allowing planners to redesign those spaces for accessibility. The initiative is co-designed with people who experience sensory challenges, giving real weight to lived experience in policymaking (Social Spaces: Designing Public Space with Data, n.d.)

4. Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki has invested in acoustic urbanism, including the installation of noise-absorbing pavements and plant buffers along busy streets. The city actively monitors street noise and incorporates it into planning decisions, treating noise as a public health issue rather than an aesthetic concern (Air Quality and Noise Abatement Plan (ILME) 2024–2029, n.d.)

Image of people sitting in a semi-shaded area provided by a "green wall" -- a human-cultivated wall of vegetation in an urban environment -- in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki has adapted the Green Wall concept. The purpose of the green wall is to create an oasis with a pleasant soundscape and seating. The vegetation and the shade provided by the wall also offers a cooler place to sit down on a hot day. Most of the various plants are pollinator friendly.
Image of people sitting in a semi-shaded area provided by a “green wall” — a human-cultivated wall of vegetation in an urban environment — in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki has adapted the Green Wall concept. The purpose of the green wall is to create an oasis with a pleasant soundscape and seating. The vegetation and the shade provided by the wall also offers a cooler place to sit down on a hot day. Most of the various plants are pollinator friendly.

5. Vancouver, Canada

Closer to home, Vancouver has embraced multimodal logistics to reduce truck volume in residential areas. Short-sea shipping routes, inland container terminals, and appointment-based port operations help minimize urban freight chaos. Electric truck infrastructure also plays a role in reducing street-level noise (Metro Vancouver, 2021)

Image of Seaspan ship in Vancouver harbour. Seaspan ferries provides commercial ferry service from Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland.
Image of Seaspan ship in Vancouver harbour. Seaspan ferries provides commercial ferry service from Vancouver Island to the Lower Mainland.

These cities recognize that accessibility is not only about mobility but about comfort, safety, and autonomy in public space.

What Halifax Can Do

While the primary goal of my truck traffic study was to reduce downtown congestion, many of the proposed solutions serve accessibility goals as well. For example:

  • Electric trucks operate at 60–70 dB compared to diesel trucks’ 90–110 dB, drastically reducing noise pollution.
  • Terminal appointment systems reduce erratic truck movement and allow for more predictable traffic flows.
Image showcasing the ideal workflow of an Appointment System.
Image showcasing the ideal workflow of an Appointment System.
  • Cross-harbour ferry routes and rail shuttles reduce the number of trucks moving through sensitive areas like the downtown core
Image Showcasing the potential Cross-Harbour Ferry system at the South Terminal, Halifax.
Image Showcasing the potential Cross-Harbour Ferry system at the South Terminal, Halifax.

But technical solutions are not enough. Halifax must integrate sensory accessibility audits into every planning process. Sidewalk design, street lighting, public seating, and even landscaping decisions should be evaluated through a sensory lens. Planners and engineers should receive training on sensory equity, just as they do on structural design or stormwater management.

Most importantly, the city must meaningfully involve people with disabilities, particularly those who experience the city differently because of how they hear, see, feel, or move through space. Lived experience is not just useful feedback; it is essential expertise.

The next time we talk about infrastructure, let’s remember that silence – intentional, gentle, designed silence is also infrastructure. A quiet street, where a child with autism can walk comfortably or a senior can hear their own thoughts, is just as vital as any new highway.

As we reimagine Halifax’s future, let us do so with accessibility, including sensory accessibility at the centre of our vision. Because when we design for those, most affected by urban inaccessibility, we design a better city for everyone.

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