| dc.description.abstract | Anthropogenic sources of air pollution in cities primarily originate from automobile
traffic. Understanding the extent of air pollution from traffic is important for how
governments plan cities, and for maximizing the benefits to human health and the
environment. The main objectives of this project were to design an appropriate sampling
strategy to measure air quality, to collect baseline data of air pollution concentrations from
Spring Garden Road (SGR), Sackville Street (SVS) and Morris Street (MOS), and to
compare pollution data collected among the sampling locations with a reference station
monitored by Nova Scotia Environment (NSE). Measurements of fine particulate matter
(PM2.5) (μg/m3) and ultrafine particle concentration (count/cm3) were collected at three sites
along SGR, SVS and MOS for three time periods, (7am-9am; 11am-1pm; 7pm-9pm) between
October 10 and November 4, 2019. Statistically significant differences for particle
concentration and PM2.5 levels across sampling locations and time periods were found. PM2.5
levels are significantly greater than those measured at the NSE station for the same months
over a five-year period. The PM2.5 levels observed generally are below the Canadian Ambient
Air Quality maximum standards of 10 μg/m3. Although the study is limited by temporal and
spatial bounds, baseline data on air pollution levels is crucial to determining the impact of
road enhancements on urban environments in the future. This air quality study can be
repeated after construction is completed with the aim to inform the Halifax Regional
Municipality on how to proceed with streetscaping projects in the future. | en_US |
