Took a walk around Fredericton...(photos)

[mmmatt]

Yeah...so me and the GF took a little walk around beautiful downtown Fredericton today, figured I'd share a few pics I took.

an interesting bridge setup
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0249.jpg

70's style steeple :P
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0250.jpg

church bells
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0251.jpg

church door
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0252.jpg

some nice new (ish) townhouses
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0254.jpg

this little guy wasn't scared at all :)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0256.jpg

light beaming off Frederick Square
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0257.jpg

nice little alleyway
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0258.jpg

NB Power bldg (with a brand new BMO sign on it haha)
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0261.jpg

another nice alcove
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0262.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0263.jpg

city hall
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0265.jpg

bldg beside city hall
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0266.jpg

NB sports hall of fame
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0267.jpg

regency and Barker...cannot understand the logic in Fredericton...major repairs on a building thats only 13 years old...and tear down a 10 year old mcdonalds to build another from scratch...its like people have money to burn.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0272.jpg

Trinitea's...ever in freddy get tea here :D
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0277.jpg

old school turned into apartments/condos
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0281.jpg

detail from previous bldg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f232/stu_pendousmat/DSCN0282.jpg

[mylesmalley]

Great shots, man. I was just down there this evening for an excursion to Pita Pit. Fredericton has a great downtown for a city its size.

[shane44]

Those townhouses are at least 10 years old.

[mmmatt]

Great shots, man. I was just down there this evening for an excursion to Pita Pit. Fredericton has a great downtown for a city its size.

Thanks! yeah I love it, except all the one way streets...really annoying to drive through at times haha. Pita Pit rocks :D

[mmmatt]

Those townhouses are at least 10 years old.

wow really? seems like just recently they were built...wow

[kirjtc2]

They were one of the first (if not the first) sets of townhouses built in the city over the past several years, and it seems like there are new ones going up everywhere you look. I think they date from ~1998.

And now I'm hungry for a BBQ steak pita. (Speaking of which...anyone notice the word "HARDWARE" in the sidewalk in front of the Pita Pit entrance? I don't recall a hardware store being there in at least the last 15-20 years...wonder how long that's been there.)

[mylesmalley]

Thanks! yeah I love it, except all the one way streets...really annoying to drive through at times haha. Pita Pit rocks :D

You can say that again.

Its not so much the one-ways that bother me. I hate the two-way streets that become one way streets.

[kwajo]

cannot understand the logic in Fredericton...major repairs on a building thats only 13 years old...and tear down a 10 year old mcdonalds to build another from scratch...its like people have money to burn.

Yeah, Saint John and Moncton's money.... :P

[Smevo]

regency and Barker...cannot understand the logic in Fredericton...major repairs on a building thats only 13 years old...and tear down a 10 year old mcdonalds to build another from scratch...its like people have money to burn.

2007 is the year of the facelift it seems. Sure, it was '06 when the Legislature became the "copper top", but this year, they "copper topped" the whole building, Crowne Plaza (Lord Beaverbrook) got a makeover, and now Regency Park, Fredericton Mall (becoming Uptown Centre), Regent Mall renovating to try and distribute foot-traffic more evenly, the road/sidewalk/entry gates work at UNB, and the rebuilding of McDonalds (original building was built in the 70's, only the playplace addition was approximately 10 years old). And the "money to burn" comment is definitely the right one, which isn't a good thing with the Legislature and UNB, since it's public money (UNB put up another apartment building this year, the same year they planned to close a second residence because "they had no money to run it"...anyone else see a problem here?)

Anyway, back on topic, great pics stu_pendousmat2

[mmmatt]

2007 is the year of the facelift it seems. Sure, it was '06 when the Legislature became the "copper top", but this year, they "copper topped" the whole building, Crowne Plaza (Lord Beaverbrook) got a makeover, and now Regency Park, Fredericton Mall (becoming Uptown Centre), Regent Mall renovating to try and distribute foot-traffic more evenly, the road/sidewalk/entry gates work at UNB, and the rebuilding of McDonalds (original building was built in the 70's, only the playplace addition was approximately 10 years old). And the "money to burn" comment is definitely the right one, which isn't a good thing with the Legislature and UNB, since it's public money (UNB put up another apartment building this year, the same year they planned to close a second residence because "they had no money to run it"...anyone else see a problem here?)

Anyway, back on topic, great pics stu_pendousmat2

Thanks! :)

I was wondering about that resience thing. and those gates were a stupid waste of money...they look EXACTLY the same as before and the old ones werent even crumbling or anything they were still in great shape.

[mylesmalley]

Thanks! :)

I was wondering about that resience thing. and those gates were a stupid waste of money...they look EXACTLY the same as before and the old ones werent even crumbling or anything they were still in great shape.

I think that had more to do with sewer upfitting than anything. I came by here mid summer and they had the whole hill torn up from about the bookstore down. They fixed that god-awful intersection and installed new pipes all the way down.

The new apartment buildings do seem a bit silly. However, they charge a ton of money for them...much more than regular rez rooms. I think they're trying to raise revenue by charging with higher margins.

Let's face it. Most of the residences are in pretty bad shape...

[kirjtc2]

Here's my question...why the heck didn't they widen the road by the gates while they were at it? Leaving campus at 4:30 in the afternoon could be the worst bottleneck in the city.

[mylesmalley]

Here's my question...why the heck didn't they widen the road by the gates while they were at it? Leaving campus at 4:30 in the afternoon could be the worst bottleneck in the city.

For a city its size, Fredericton has ungodly traffic. North end Moncton is pretty bad at times, especially around Wheeler, but the traffic going up Regent street after 4pm is just unbelievable. I've been stuck at Dundonnald in a line that ends at Prospect. Madness!

[Smevo]

Money to burn attitude = 1 person/car (that and the sprawling layout of the city for its size, meaning any family where people need to go to more than one stop realistically need to take more than one car to avoid driving around for an hour to their final destination...I'm unfortunately guilty of it myself :( ).

[mmmatt]

For a city its size, Fredericton has ungodly traffic. North end Moncton is pretty bad at times, especially around Wheeler, but the traffic going up Regent street after 4pm is just unbelievable. I've been stuck at Dundonnald in a line that ends at Prospect. Madness!

Yeah I was wondering about that because I drive in both Moncton and Fredericton and I can tell you traffic is MUCH worse in freddy, but there are 41,000 LESS people in the metro area...it logically makes no sence. is it possible moncton has a better street layout?

[mylesmalley]

Yeah I was wondering about that because I drive in both Moncton and Fredericton and I can tell you traffic is MUCH worse in freddy, but there are 41,000 LESS people in the metro area...it logically makes no sence. is it possible moncton has a better street layout?

I think it has to do with the fact that Moncton is a lot more compact than a lot of Fredericton. We have a good semi-orbital highway that keeps cars out of the city, and most importantly, we don't have such a large population living in outlying towns like Oromocto, Hanwell etc.

I hope they fired the guy who laid out the North end though. Trinity Drive, Plaza Blvd., Mountain Road, Mapleton Road, and Wheeler Blvd., all passing through the same spot-in the middle of four malls... now that's an area that's going to get a lot worse.

[mmmatt]

I think it has to do with the fact that Moncton is a lot more compact than a lot of Fredericton. We have a good semi-orbital highway that keeps cars out of the city, and most importantly, we don't have such a large population living in outlying towns like Oromocto, Hanwell etc.

I hope they fired the guy who laid out the North end though. Trinity Drive, Plaza Blvd., Mountain Road, Mapleton Road, and Wheeler Blvd., all passing through the same spot-in the middle of four malls... now that's an area that's going to get a lot worse.

Yeah that must be it...Moncton has no far outlying mid size communities like freddy. That must mean traffic in SJ is terrible what with all its burbs like 10-15 mins away.

[Smevo]

SJ traffic get's pretty bad in the rush hours. Grand Bay side isn't really that bad until you hit the bridges, but the Rothesay, Quispamsis side is notorious for heavy traffic, not surprisingly since, combined, that's 25,000 people connected to the city via Hwy 1 and the slower route Rothesay Ave (Hwy 100).

Fredericton definitely has far too heavy traffic for its size. Regent gets screwed up because there's too many traffic lights, and once you hit Sobey's, they're all traffic actuated heading up the hill...which is good for light to moderate traffic flow but terrible for rush hour especially at Regent and Prospect which is the busiest intersection in the city. They've made Prospect St pretty bad too with the additional lights (it used to flow a lot more smoothly 7 years ago when I came to town). The other issue is the drivers themselves, but I won't get into that right now. :cheers:

yeah I love it, except all the one way streets...really annoying to drive through at times haha.

I never really found the one-ways that bad, except where Queen becomes a two-way and King becomes a one-way. Those always took getting used to. Brunswick is a driver's (and city planner's) dream, with the rare exceptions of course.

[mylesmalley]

I never really found the one-ways that bad, except where Queen becomes a two-way and King becomes a one-way. Those always took getting used to. Brunswick is a driver's (and city planner's) dream, with the rare exceptions of course.

Amen to that! Brunswick is easily the best street to drive on in town.

It occurred to me once that they could make Regent and Smythe streets one way, in opposite directions. It would take a lot of re-aligning, widening of Smythe to at least three lanes, and the construction of a better intersection at Smyth and the old Trans-Canada, but it would give traffic a nice circular flow around town...and a lot more convenient for me :p .

[shane44]

Nice pics.
But i find theres to many trees in fredericton.

[mylesmalley]

Nice pics.
But i find theres to many trees in fredericton.

Wow. Usually, you hear people commenting on how cities lack trees.

[kirjtc2]

They don't call us the City of Elms for nothing...

[mmmatt]

They don't call us the City of Elms for nothing...

Those Elms are so nice...why you could almost call them "Stately" :P

[kwajo]

SJ traffic get's pretty bad in the rush hours. Grand Bay side isn't really that bad until you hit the bridges, but the Rothesay, Quispamsis side is notorious for heavy traffic, not surprisingly since, combined, that's 25,000 people connected to the city via Hwy 1 and the slower route Rothesay Ave (Hwy 100).


I personally haven't found Saint John's traffic to be that bad in comparison to other cities in Atlantic Canada. Agreed that rush hour to KV is horrible (that stretch of Route 1 is statistically the busiest highway in the province), and you can hit bad traffic in the East Side sometimes, but overall driving is pretty easy. The other cities I've lived in (Halifax and St. John's) both had far worse traffic, and my initial impressions of Moncton and Fredericton were the same.

Actually, I'd say that the core of KV has worse traffic congestion than Uptown Saint John itself. It's pretty horrendous along the Old Hampton Road sometimes.

[Smevo]

I never found the rest of Saint John bad for traffic at all...confusing layout for an outsider - yes - but not bad for traffic. And for the time I was there, the construction on the harbour bridge definitely made the traffic bottleneck worse coming from Grand Bay-Westfield. I've never experienced the rush-hour to/from KV, but it's got quite the reputation (as Regent/Prospect does here).


It occurred to me once that they could make Regent and Smythe streets one way, in opposite directions. It would take a lot of re-aligning, widening of Smythe to at least three lanes, and the construction of a better intersection at Smyth and the old Trans-Canada, but it would give traffic a nice circular flow around town...and a lot more convenient for me :p .

I can just imagine the public outcry now. lol. "You mean I have to drive an extra 2 minutes to get home?!?! @#!& THAT and everybody in that planning department of yours." :haha: If they could make Regent a semi-progression (kind of like Westmorland coming off the bridge) it could ease things up a bit. Or even better, make it a progression down the hill in the AM rush-hour (for NM and Oromocto commuters), actuate it during the middle hours, then a progression up the hill in the PM rush-hour. Never will happen, and tricky involving not only programming the timing but developing a light that could be actuated or timed and programming in when it would work in which way, for how long, then daylight savings, etc...it's a dream. :shrug:

And now, back to regularly scheduled programming...:notacrook: