Getting around Halifax: walking, cycling and transit times
à portée’s map shows the trip on foot, by bike and by transit from every populated block in Halifax to the nearest grocery store, pharmacy, school, park and other everyday places. It is free, with no account.
- residents in 2021
- 439,819
- within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store
- 34%
- typical walk to a grocery store
- 22 min
- of 1,000 communities for groceries on foot
- 359th
Travel times across Halifax
Each block is coloured by the trip from it to the nearest place of the kind you pick, on foot, by bike or by transit. Move the map, or open it in à portée for any address and all 29 kinds of place.
Transit times are for a weekday at peak hours. A free plus account adds a mode and a time limit for each place, and transit at night on weekdays and at midday on Saturday and Sunday.
Getting around Halifax
The share of Halifax residents within a trip of each place, and the typical trip, by each way of getting there the free map offers.
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 22%typical 22 min | 53%typical 10 min | 22%typical 20 min |
| Pharmacy | 23%typical 21 min | 57%typical 9 min | 23%typical 19 min |
| Park | 83%typical 4 min | 93%typical 2 min | 83%typical 4 min |
| Elementary school | 26%typical 18 min | 63%typical 8 min | 26%typical 17 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 34%typical 22 min | 67%typical 10 min | 36%typical 20 min |
| Pharmacy | 37%typical 21 min | 69%typical 9 min | 39%typical 19 min |
| Park | 90%typical 4 min | 95%typical 2 min | 90%typical 4 min |
| Elementary school | 44%typical 18 min | 75%typical 8 min | 45%typical 17 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 47%typical 22 min | 74%typical 10 min | 52%typical 20 min |
| Pharmacy | 49%typical 21 min | 75%typical 9 min | 54%typical 19 min |
| Park | 93%typical 4 min | 96%typical 2 min | 93%typical 4 min |
| Elementary school | 57%typical 18 min | 80%typical 8 min | 61%typical 17 min |
| Place | On foot | By bike | By transit, weekday morning peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 64%typical 22 min | 82%typical 10 min | 72%typical 20 min |
| Pharmacy | 66%typical 21 min | 83%typical 9 min | 74%typical 19 min |
| Park | 96%typical 4 min | 98%typical 2 min | 96%typical 4 min |
| Elementary school | 72%typical 18 min | 86%typical 8 min | 78%typical 17 min |
Transit timetables cover the areas where 92% of Halifax residents live. For the others, a transit trip is the walk.
Cycling and transit follow the street network, hills included. A transit trip includes the walk to and from the stops, at the median departure of a weekday morning peak, and is never slower than walking the whole way. Within 15 minutes means under 16: times are rounded down to the whole minute.
Halifax in numbers
34% of Halifax residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 26% across Nova Scotia and 45% across Canada.
Residents within a walk of each place
| Place | 10 min | 15 min | 20 min | 30 min | Typical walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 22% | 34% | 47% | 64% | 22 min |
| Pharmacy | 23% | 37% | 49% | 66% | 21 min |
| Park | 83% | 90% | 93% | 96% | 4 min |
| Elementary school | 26% | 44% | 57% | 72% | 18 min |
Within a 15-minute walk, beside Nova Scotia and Canada
| Place | Halifax | Nova Scotia | Canada | Rank among the 1,000 communities with a page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grocery store | 34% | 26% | 45% | 359th of 1,00010th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
| Pharmacy | 37% | 27% | 51% | 358th of 1,00011th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
| Park | 90% | 62% | 82% | 249th of 1,0003rd of 49 in Nova Scotia |
| Elementary school | 44% | 30% | 55% | 328th of 1,0004th of 49 in Nova Scotia |
Halifax Nova Scotia
Communities of a similar size
The communities closest to Halifax in population, and the share of their residents within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store. Communities are 2021 census subdivisions (cities, towns, counties and other municipalities), compared within their municipal boundaries.
| Community | Residents | Grocery within 15 min |
|---|---|---|
| Surrey | 568,322 | 48% |
| Québec | 549,459 | 59% |
| Halifax | 439,819 | 34% |
| Laval | 438,366 | 53% |
| London | 422,324 | 50% |
More places across Halifax
Halifax is a census division of its own, with 440,072 residents. The share of them within a 15-minute walk of more kinds of place:
- Convenience store50%
- Café45%
- Bakery31%
- Library15%
- Playground72%
- Childcare36%
- Community centre24%
- Clinic29%
Shares of 2021 residents of populated census blocks, on foot along the street network. How the walking times are computed
Travel times are our best estimates from open data published October 8, 2026 and can contain errors. Walking and cycling times are rounded down, so “within 15 minutes” means under 16. Check before an important decision, and tell us if something looks wrong.
Questions
Is Halifax walkable?
One measure is the share of residents within a 15-minute walk of everyday places. In Halifax, 34% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store, compared with 26% across Nova Scotia and 45% across Canada. On this measure, Halifax ranks 359th of 1,000 communities.
Can you get around Halifax by bike?
By bike, 67% of Halifax residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, 69% a pharmacy, 95% a park and 75% an elementary school. On foot, 34% are within 15 minutes of a grocery store. The typical trip to a grocery store takes 10 min by bike and 22 min on foot. Cycling times follow the street network, hills included; they don’t say whether a street is safe or comfortable to ride.
Does transit help you reach everyday places in Halifax?
By transit at the weekday morning peak, 36% of Halifax residents reach a grocery store within 15 minutes, against 34% on foot and 67% by bike. These times include the walk to and from the stops and the wait. The typical trip takes 20 min by transit and 22 min on foot. Where transit would be slower than walking, the time shown is the walk. Transit timetables cover the areas where 92% of residents live; for the rest, the time shown is the walk.
Is Halifax a 15-minute city?
It depends on which everyday places you count. Within a 15-minute walk, 34% of residents reach a grocery store, 37% a pharmacy, 90% a park and 44% an elementary school. These figures count each place separately; open the map to see how many residents have all four within 15 minutes, for the places you choose.
How does Halifax compare with communities of a similar size?
In Halifax, 34% of residents live within a 15-minute walk of a grocery store; in the communities closest to it in population, the share is 48% in Surrey, 59% in Québec, 53% in Laval and 50% in London.
Where does this data come from?
Walking, cycling and transit times follow the street network, hills included, from each populated 2021 census block to the nearest place of each kind. Transit uses the operators’ published timetables at the weekday morning peak. Places come from OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, with health care and schools checked against Statistics Canada’s open databases. Shares are weighted by 2021 population. Data published 8 October 2026. How the times are computed
Halifax in brief
- Province
- Nova Scotia
- Census division
- Halifax County
- Census subdivision code
- 1209034
- Residents in 2021
- 439,819
- Data published
- 8 October 2026
Sources: places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and the Overture Maps Foundation; census blocks, 2021 populations and municipal boundaries adapted from Statistics Canada under the Open Government Licence – Canada; transit times from the operators’ published timetables; elevation from Natural Resources Canada; province outlines from Natural Earth; links from Wikidata (CC0), Wikipedia and Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Figures derived from OpenStreetMap are under the ODbL. Data sources and licences