The Municipal Design Guidelines (MDG, previously referred to as the “Red Book”) provides standards for the design of infrastructure within the Halifax Regional Municipality. The MDG is enabled by the Provincial Subdivision Regulations, the HRM Charter, the Regional Subdivision By-law, and By-law S-300 Respecting Streets.
Current and past versions of the guidelines are available at: halifax.ca/transportation/streets-sidewalks/municipal-design-guidelines-red-book
The municipality is committed to maintaining the Municipal Design Guidelines (the guidelines) to support safe, accessible and coordinated development throughout the Halifax region. The guidelines are periodically updated to reflect Regional Council direction, municipal policies, legislation, accepted industry standards and current municipal practices.
Developers, engineering consultants, contractors, industry associations and other professionals who regularly use the guidelines are invited to share suggestions, identify areas for improvement and propose changes for future consideration.
All submissions will be reviewed by municipal staff and may be considered as part of future updates to the guidelines.
2026 Proposed Update
The municipality is currently updating the guidelines for consideration by Regional Council in 2026. This update was planned to target the following priorities:
- aligning with the Province of Nova Scotia's Accessibility in the Built Environment Regulations under the Accessibility Act and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) B651:2023 Accessible Design for the Built Environment standard;
- improving guidance related to roadway access and egress networks for new subdivisions;
- implementing lower design speeds in alignment with the Road Safety Strategy;
- updating traffic signal and street lighting requirements to reflect current municipal practices; and,
- making minor edits to improve clarity and usability.
Additional information about the currently drafted proposed updates will be shared following Regional Council consideration.
Note: Your feedback will be considered for future (2027+) updates to the guidelines.
How Your Feedback Will be Used
Feedback submitted through this page will be reviewed by municipal staff and retained for consideration as part of future (2027+) updates to the Municipal Design Guidelines.
Submissions may be used to:
- identify areas of the guidelines that may benefit from clarification or revision;
- inform future reviews of technical standards, design details and specifications;
- highlight emerging industry practices, challenges or opportunities; and,
- support continuous improvement of the guidelines.
If you provide your email address and consent to being contacted above, staff may reach out to you if additional information is required to better understand a proposal.
When future updates to the guidelines are brought forward for Regional Council consideration, the municipality intends to summarize feedback received through this page and report on how it was considered as part of the review process.
For questions about this feedback process, please contact 311 or visit our website for additional information about the guidelines.
