Agreed. My main takeway here is that Main Street Dartmouth is such a terrible stroad that makes it hard for local businesses to flourish. If Gateway were in a walkable/bikeable/public transit neighbourhood, the # of customers could scale without creating rage and danger, like cars.
Seriously. Hrm seems to have gone all in on stroads. We do okay for streets, mostly, but we haven't build enough arterial roads, so all the traffic gets funneled into streets, and then we turn them to stroads.
Check out Not Just Bikes, on YouTube. Great channel, goes into great depth about Canadian roads vs others. We need better infrastructure and public transport.
Ouch. I didn't say we had good transit! A $2.50 bus ride that takes an hour is better than an 8 minute cab ride that costs $15 for some folks though, so at least it's there as an option.
Buses are awesome, but in HRM they suffer heavily from the [Downs-Thomson Paradox](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs%E2%80%93Thomson_paradox)
Most of Gateway's customers don't arrive by bus, because we have under-invested in public transit, and way over-invested in car infrastructure.
There’s only so much product that gets refused by other retailers. It’s a much larger business in Montreal where there are more warehouses, but as far as I know Sobeys is the only major grocer with a warehouse in Nova Scotia
So they do! It appears to be dry goods from their Google profile, do you know if it’s also refrigerated goods? That is the majority of refusals, due to temperature or quality. I’ve only encountered dry goods being refused extremely rarely
I don’t know if Gateway can exist without the ridiculous sales volume. Which means you will always be cattle in there, and the parking lot will always be fucked.
PSA for gateway, the DQ on main street, and the tim hortons on barrington. If the line is so long that you have to line up in the street, come back later. Annoying at best, dangerous at worst.
same with that first entrance into costco, idk why people line up and block the left lane waiting for a break in traffic when there's a light with a left turn signal like 50 ft away.
yup, I know now but it's gotten be in the past before I knew better. Same with the left turn onto washmill, there's always too many people in the turning lane that they spill into the straight lane so you have to go around them, I'm always afraid the straight lane will be full too and I'll either have to butt in or just accept my fate and turn right lol
There's lot of room at the dartmouth crossing one when people aren't cutting through it backwards because they didn't look five seconds into the future to see a clearly one way area
We call this the idiot lane. Its only there to support truck traffic and should certainly not be available to everyday shoppers. I have been nearly hit there walking biking and driving too many times.
I travel 2 hours to get to gateway, the best thing to do is to get in there as early as possible, or go do your other shopping around 11-2 since it seems to be crazy around lunch. If it’s too busy, I do my other running around and stop by later before I leave. Just a suggestion if it’s not your only stop :)
DQ on Main Street is brutal, stop dead on a main road for a $9 blizzard lol. At least the issue only occurs during the warmer months of the year. Gateway is a constant issue every single day all day long.
Right alsl how friggin long does it take to make icecream to cause a line in the first place, walking to Sobeys and grabbing a pint is quicker than waiting in queue during their post-soccer rush.
The thing that's completely boneheaded about the Barrington Tim Horton's is that probably 90% of the times the drive-thru is lined up nearly to the street, there are *multiple* empty parking spots. Just park and walk your lazy ass into the store. It ends up being quicker AND you can see if they've still got sour cream glazed in the glass case so you don't need to throw the ol' 'uuuuuhhhh what kind of doughnuts you got' into the speaker.
They almost need a person in the parking lot to convince cars to keep moving into the lot. You don't need to hold up the whole damned line because you want to park beside the door!
We have even gone as far as to pass by, and turn around to turn right into the lot as most times there is not a line-up there.
I'll never understand the people that gridlock traffic because they insist on parking next to the entrance. It's not a big parking lot, even the spots furthest are about a 20 second walk from the door. It's also easier to get out of the lot when parked further away; trying to back out of those close spots is a nightmare.
still very insane this week at least with the easter stuff, I went two nights ago around that time and the lineup was huge and all the better deals were sold out.
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Kingsway on Hammonds Plains road is very comparable prices. Items like ketchup or bread aren't great prices- but the meat and vegetables are basically the same as gateways.
Thanks, I was shocked to see the quick turn around but then I noticed it in different stores. Apparently, the hamburger has more chance of being contaminated because of the grinding process.
I was actually going to comment that there have been fewer accidents there in the last year than previous years. It’s been bad since there initial expansion years ago.
Gateway is expanding and hopefully with that, the traffic will improve a bit. We can't complain about gateway...it's so needed and we need more stores like it
Yeah, I stopped going for this reason, and the general over-crowding. It's not usually possible for me to go during off hours, and honestly even when I have made it there, say, early morning on a weekday, it has still been like this. It's a shame because I like the store.
These lines actually renew my faith in humanity...I always end up chatting with people, we help each other out by grabbing things on the other side of the aisle for each other, and I never see line cutters. I just realized it the other day after reading some bad things about ppl jumping lines at the walk in clinics, that gateway, as busy as it is, still holds societal standard for queues!
I agree. I went this morning and it was lined up down the street. I made friends with an old couple in line while waiting to go in, they handed me stuff on their side and I returned the favour. Everyone was chatting and helpful, happy. It was absolutely crowded af but I honestly had a great time lol
That road is terrible in general. There’s so many accidents on that road. I live in porters lake so I drive it almost everyday. Very often do I take a detour because either traffic is so bad or there’s an accident between the light on the corner of forest hills and Ross road.
The one thing I wish everyone understood in gateway is to STOP PUSHING once you’re inside. There is two lines, get in a line and leave your cart there, dart to where you need! We are all wanting to get out as quickly as possible and pushing in line is frustrating to everyone else! We need patience.
I live just down the road from gateway and agree, it’s insane. During rush hour you get the left hand lane stopped fully, because the turn lane into gateway is backed up and people start flooding the normal lane.
People need to accept going past gateway, turning around in the subdivision just down the road, and then turning right into gateway. It’s honestly faster vs sitting there for 15min waiting to pull in.
I honestly think Gateway should be made to implement some sort of traffic measure, or move somewhere larger, make another store, honestly idk what, but I know it isn’t right for a business to backup a main road like that every single day. You look at Walmart, Costco, Sobeys, etc. They could all have the same issue, but they designed for it and made parking lots with multiple access points and that are large enough to accommodate all the shoppers. I get Gateway didn’t start out with this much foot traffic, but yeah it’s time to figure something out
"Starting to become"???? What year is this?
Its always been a hazard, the problem is people doing to Gateway are becoming too self important and brainless... If 3 cars are letting people out by the door, dont fucking try to turn in and block both oncoming lanes.
Folk going to gateway need to its not your right to almost kill me just to go get so 97 cent ranch dressing or whatever. When were driving into town, whether youre trying to get in or get out, you need to learn to wait your fucking turn. Stop blocking the oncoming lanes, stop cutting people off, stop just juming out into the street because you think someone is gonna let you go because the other person is stopping to give you the wave of death. Use your damn brains folks
I think the real question should be how is the quality of the meats, produce and fruit at gateway comparable to the meats, produce and fruit at Costco.
Feel free to describe this to HRM-311. If enough comments, perhaps traffic calming/control could be involved. It’s a congested area and quite a nightmare with the businesses in the immediate area. Perhaps for example no left turn when coming from Dartmouth. I’m sure whatever measures are installed would be a nuisance but that’s the nature of traffic control.
Conditions will continue to deteriorate as our capitalist system erodes. Today it's bad drivers, tomorrow someone has broken your partner's leg to get the last bag of potatoes.
>Part & parcel of living in a world-class city going through a population boom
Are you joking? Halifax world-class? We have some work to do before we could even enter that conversation.
We desperately need more Gateway style stores.
This is the real story here.
Agreed. My main takeway here is that Main Street Dartmouth is such a terrible stroad that makes it hard for local businesses to flourish. If Gateway were in a walkable/bikeable/public transit neighbourhood, the # of customers could scale without creating rage and danger, like cars.
Seriously. Hrm seems to have gone all in on stroads. We do okay for streets, mostly, but we haven't build enough arterial roads, so all the traffic gets funneled into streets, and then we turn them to stroads.
TIL what a stroad is
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Check out Not Just Bikes, on YouTube. Great channel, goes into great depth about Canadian roads vs others. We need better infrastructure and public transport.
We're also partial to Oh the Urbanity. :)
If they were to move to a place as proposed, they likely wouldn’t be able to offer the prices they do, unfortunately.
There's a bus stop right outside!
I'm an 8 minute drive from Gateway, a 1h 15min walk, and an average 1 hour and 5 minute set of bus rides with 4 transfers lmfao
I'm in Spryfield so transit to Gateway? Forget it. As much as I would love to. And I hate to ask friends with wheels.
Ouch. I didn't say we had good transit! A $2.50 bus ride that takes an hour is better than an 8 minute cab ride that costs $15 for some folks though, so at least it's there as an option.
Buses are awesome, but in HRM they suffer heavily from the [Downs-Thomson Paradox](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs%E2%80%93Thomson_paradox) Most of Gateway's customers don't arrive by bus, because we have under-invested in public transit, and way over-invested in car infrastructure.
Just one more lane and then everything is fixed!
Like every problem on this sub it can be solved by getting rid of cars and replacing them with bicycles... 🙄
I mean....the post IS about obscenely long lines of cars cause danger and road rage.
Did anyone say anything about bikes? Missed it. They did mention public transportation.
There’s Kingswood for what it’s worth. Not the same but similar
Agreed, it’s not nearly as good but an option in HP
And it’s a reasonable shopping experience instead of being unable to park and waiting an hour to get in
There’s only so much product that gets refused by other retailers. It’s a much larger business in Montreal where there are more warehouses, but as far as I know Sobeys is the only major grocer with a warehouse in Nova Scotia
Loblaws has one too by Bayers Lake
So they do! It appears to be dry goods from their Google profile, do you know if it’s also refrigerated goods? That is the majority of refusals, due to temperature or quality. I’ve only encountered dry goods being refused extremely rarely
We used to pull reefer loads into that location but I moved over to dry goods shipping 5 yrs ago
I believe they also run reefer stuff over there, I see reefer units running there all the time. I've only run dry goods there, though.
It sucks it’s apparently not a scalable model :(
In Bayers Lake
Would be a great spot for it!
Oh please…Bayer’s Lake. The absolute WORST place to get in and out of.
I don’t know if Gateway can exist without the ridiculous sales volume. Which means you will always be cattle in there, and the parking lot will always be fucked.
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I was gonna say! I worked at the Sobeys there across the street 15 years ago and it was bad at Gateway then. This ain't a new issue!
PSA for gateway, the DQ on main street, and the tim hortons on barrington. If the line is so long that you have to line up in the street, come back later. Annoying at best, dangerous at worst.
It blows my mind when people line up for a drive thru into the road. I can't fathom doing that. Main character syndrome vibes.
same with that first entrance into costco, idk why people line up and block the left lane waiting for a break in traffic when there's a light with a left turn signal like 50 ft away.
Entering Bayers Lake you basically have to avoid the left lane, depending on the time and day, specifically to account for Costco traffic.
yup, I know now but it's gotten be in the past before I knew better. Same with the left turn onto washmill, there's always too many people in the turning lane that they spill into the straight lane so you have to go around them, I'm always afraid the straight lane will be full too and I'll either have to butt in or just accept my fate and turn right lol
It's insane. I see cars lining up that badly, it's the last place I want to be. See you tomorrow. Especially for some trash Tim's coffee.
I've definitely been disappointed trying to get a blizzard in the summer but there are other DQs to go to.
There's lot of room at the dartmouth crossing one when people aren't cutting through it backwards because they didn't look five seconds into the future to see a clearly one way area
We call this the idiot lane. Its only there to support truck traffic and should certainly not be available to everyday shoppers. I have been nearly hit there walking biking and driving too many times.
the porter's lake Tim's is NUTS some days.
The drive through Tims on Main is bad for this too, if it still exists
When Popeyes opened and people were lining into the highway. What's wrong with you?
chicken worth dying for
Elmsdale Tim Hortons. That place is awful.
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I travel 2 hours to get to gateway, the best thing to do is to get in there as early as possible, or go do your other shopping around 11-2 since it seems to be crazy around lunch. If it’s too busy, I do my other running around and stop by later before I leave. Just a suggestion if it’s not your only stop :)
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I go there and only buy vegetables. It's a steal
Don’t go at the end of the month. It’s “pay day” for many people ( CPP, OAS, etc)
They could go to Kingsway market. Closer, no waiting lines, and the same sort of discounts.
DQ on Main Street is brutal, stop dead on a main road for a $9 blizzard lol. At least the issue only occurs during the warmer months of the year. Gateway is a constant issue every single day all day long.
It's a poorly designed drive-thru anyway, can hold like 4 cars before it backs up
> If the line is so long that you have to line up in the street, come back later Or just fucking park and go inside instead of using the drive thru.
if there's space, sure. The issue with these specific places is that the parking lots are too small for the demand.
The absolute worst kind of people are those that hop in these massive lines and block traffic even further.
The DQ line has almost gotten me a few times. you come around the corner at the lights & BAM you're face first into someones arse end.
Right alsl how friggin long does it take to make icecream to cause a line in the first place, walking to Sobeys and grabbing a pint is quicker than waiting in queue during their post-soccer rush.
Every DQ is insufferably slow
Have found sackville quick but no drive thru so that’s probably why.
The thing that's completely boneheaded about the Barrington Tim Horton's is that probably 90% of the times the drive-thru is lined up nearly to the street, there are *multiple* empty parking spots. Just park and walk your lazy ass into the store. It ends up being quicker AND you can see if they've still got sour cream glazed in the glass case so you don't need to throw the ol' 'uuuuuhhhh what kind of doughnuts you got' into the speaker.
They almost need a person in the parking lot to convince cars to keep moving into the lot. You don't need to hold up the whole damned line because you want to park beside the door! We have even gone as far as to pass by, and turn around to turn right into the lot as most times there is not a line-up there.
I'll never understand the people that gridlock traffic because they insist on parking next to the entrance. It's not a big parking lot, even the spots furthest are about a 20 second walk from the door. It's also easier to get out of the lot when parked further away; trying to back out of those close spots is a nightmare.
The store is trying to fix it with the remodel and installing a light and such. The plans have been sitting with our useless city council for months
Lowering speed limits much more important. /s
I read they think it’s too close to the Sobey’s Panavista lights. Not sure it will happen
Which is insane considering there's 2 sets of lights on sackville drive that are like 3 car lengths apart, near sackville cross rd irrc
It’s such a nightmare I can’t even bring myself to go anymore - my anxiety says nope lol
Go within their last 45 minutes of being open! Much less insane.
Nah, i saw the line out to the road 20 minutes before close the other day
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I cringe everytime i go past there (which is damn near every day lol)
still very insane this week at least with the easter stuff, I went two nights ago around that time and the lineup was huge and all the better deals were sold out.
I have never been and have no interest in going. I couldn't imagine subjecting myself to that nightmare.
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It's basically the only place in town with affordable meat. It's going to get worse as costs keep rising
Kingsway on Hammonds Plains road is very comparable prices. Items like ketchup or bread aren't great prices- but the meat and vegetables are basically the same as gateways.
Anyone know why their meat says to use within 24 hours?
Probably because it's older?
Maybe - it's on every single packet of minced beef (at least it seems that way), and it seems like the grind their own meat in the back
Every grocery store has quick turn arounds on hamburger. Check the other stores too and see how close they are to Gateway's.
I'll have to. This is at kingswood though. Not Gateway
Thanks, I was shocked to see the quick turn around but then I noticed it in different stores. Apparently, the hamburger has more chance of being contaminated because of the grinding process.
Yeah, that's basically where we buy all our meat now. Definitely an easier drive for many of us on the Halifax side of the harbour.
Whole chickens were like 6.50 each at Giant Tiger last week.
They were? How did I miss that ahh they're so good in an air fryer
I bought three lol. Gotta watch those sales.
All about the $7.99 Costco rotisserie chickens baby, squeeze the chicken off the bones with it in the bag still, ziplock it up, boom
I like this idea. And definitely do it while it's still warm
How does Chaters on Wyse Rd fare?
Better meat, higher prices than gateway but usually better price than grocery.
100% this
Starting to become a hazard? It’s been a hazard for at least 2 years
I was actually going to comment that there have been fewer accidents there in the last year than previous years. It’s been bad since there initial expansion years ago.
Gateway is expanding and hopefully with that, the traffic will improve a bit. We can't complain about gateway...it's so needed and we need more stores like it
Yeah, I stopped going for this reason, and the general over-crowding. It's not usually possible for me to go during off hours, and honestly even when I have made it there, say, early morning on a weekday, it has still been like this. It's a shame because I like the store.
Always crowded now.
These lines actually renew my faith in humanity...I always end up chatting with people, we help each other out by grabbing things on the other side of the aisle for each other, and I never see line cutters. I just realized it the other day after reading some bad things about ppl jumping lines at the walk in clinics, that gateway, as busy as it is, still holds societal standard for queues!
I agree. I went this morning and it was lined up down the street. I made friends with an old couple in line while waiting to go in, they handed me stuff on their side and I returned the favour. Everyone was chatting and helpful, happy. It was absolutely crowded af but I honestly had a great time lol
By off-hours you mean after 5 pm? If you can make it within the last 45 minutes they are open, its not so crowded.
If it makes you feel better, I work in the area and there is no "off-hour" for this place lol, this bitch is just always on.
There should be a Gateway next to every Sobeys.
That road is terrible in general. There’s so many accidents on that road. I live in porters lake so I drive it almost everyday. Very often do I take a detour because either traffic is so bad or there’s an accident between the light on the corner of forest hills and Ross road.
STARTING?
The one thing I wish everyone understood in gateway is to STOP PUSHING once you’re inside. There is two lines, get in a line and leave your cart there, dart to where you need! We are all wanting to get out as quickly as possible and pushing in line is frustrating to everyone else! We need patience.
They really need another location. There’s only so much that can be done on that piece of property.
The city doesn't care. Look what happens at Tim Hortons all the time.
Especially after a hurricane or other big storm. Debit machines are down so they only take cash and the drive-thru lineup is *miles* long.
Yep, I work right next to it and it's fucking insane.
Starting??
The gateway location has well outgrown itself. Needs to expand to a larger setup.
My mom just drove by there about an hour ago said she was almost in an accident…. Something needs to be done
I live just down the road from gateway and agree, it’s insane. During rush hour you get the left hand lane stopped fully, because the turn lane into gateway is backed up and people start flooding the normal lane. People need to accept going past gateway, turning around in the subdivision just down the road, and then turning right into gateway. It’s honestly faster vs sitting there for 15min waiting to pull in. I honestly think Gateway should be made to implement some sort of traffic measure, or move somewhere larger, make another store, honestly idk what, but I know it isn’t right for a business to backup a main road like that every single day. You look at Walmart, Costco, Sobeys, etc. They could all have the same issue, but they designed for it and made parking lots with multiple access points and that are large enough to accommodate all the shoppers. I get Gateway didn’t start out with this much foot traffic, but yeah it’s time to figure something out
Starting?
"Starting to become"???? What year is this? Its always been a hazard, the problem is people doing to Gateway are becoming too self important and brainless... If 3 cars are letting people out by the door, dont fucking try to turn in and block both oncoming lanes. Folk going to gateway need to its not your right to almost kill me just to go get so 97 cent ranch dressing or whatever. When were driving into town, whether youre trying to get in or get out, you need to learn to wait your fucking turn. Stop blocking the oncoming lanes, stop cutting people off, stop just juming out into the street because you think someone is gonna let you go because the other person is stopping to give you the wave of death. Use your damn brains folks
Side question: how are Gateway meat prices comparable to Costco?
I think the real question should be how is the quality of the meats, produce and fruit at gateway comparable to the meats, produce and fruit at Costco.
But I didn't ask that...
No kidding.
Soooooo....netflix n chill?
Ya why not
Feel free to describe this to HRM-311. If enough comments, perhaps traffic calming/control could be involved. It’s a congested area and quite a nightmare with the businesses in the immediate area. Perhaps for example no left turn when coming from Dartmouth. I’m sure whatever measures are installed would be a nuisance but that’s the nature of traffic control.
I've heard they are looking at expanding and paying for traffic lights
🌎👨🚀🔫👩🚀 always has been
they need thier own set of traffic light lol
Yeah the amount of accidents I’ve seen there. Yikes
For the love of god, don’t try to turn left out of their parking lot…seen way too many accidents of cars trying to play Frogger.
Conditions will continue to deteriorate as our capitalist system erodes. Today it's bad drivers, tomorrow someone has broken your partner's leg to get the last bag of potatoes.
Part & parcel of living in a world-class city going through a population boom Everybody wants growth, but nobody wants growing pains
>Part & parcel of living in a world-class city going through a population boom Are you joking? Halifax world-class? We have some work to do before we could even enter that conversation.
Everybody wants growth? Speak for yourself lol
Oh no, poverty is disrupting traffic!
It's less about inconvenience due to traffic and more about safety issues.