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Originally Posted by new kid in town
I remember posting here several months back when Moncton city was doing surveys on how to move forward with downtown density revitalization, and nobody else commented about it. I do agree it would be nice if we can somehow make actual visible support for projects we like to see, even at least as a counterbalance to unwarranted NIMBYism.
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In the spirit of my previous post, I will give you my vision of what downtown Moncton should become:
1) - The downtown should be centred south of Gordon & Queen Street, with a focus on Main Street and Assumption Blvd.
2) - The downtown should be bookended by two defining districts. An entertainment/events district to the west, and an arts and cultural district to the east, centred around Downing Street.
3) -
Entertainment/Events District. This is already developing nicely thanks to the prescient vision of locating the Avenir Centre in the city core. There are already three hotels in the neighbourhood (Crowne Plaza, Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Pace) and a smattering of new high quality restaurants (Carrabbas, Monk 10, and the soon to come Baton Rouge). The new Bunker golf simulator and bar adds a unique entertainment option to the neighbourhood. Between The Bunker and Baton Rouge, there will be a large contiguous area of outdoor patio and dining space immediately across from the Hyatt Place, I think this will be quite lively on long sultry summer evenings.
There is more to be done however. In particular, something needs to be done with 1222 Main and the adjacent vacant lot on the west side of the Avenir Centre. As I previously envisioned, I think there is a tremendous opportunity coming with NB hosting the Canada Summer Games in 2029. Moncton is well placed already for this event with many sports facilities already available. The Achilles heel in any Moncton proposal to be the host city is our lack of an appropriate 50 metre pool and diving facility. I have done the measurements, and, such a facility could fit in the space between the Avenir Centre and 1222 Main.
By colocating the aquatic facility next to arguably the nicest arena in the region, we would have the best concentration of athletic facilities in Atlantic Canada. It would further an events focus for the downtown west end. 1222 Main could be renovated in the meantime as well for more hotel space. A hotel connected to the aquatic facility would be a great inducement for major sports organizations to consider Moncton as a host city. I also think there is room on Main Street between the Avenir Centre and the proposed aquatics facility for a large sports bar such as
Le Cage aux Sports.
4) -
Arts and Culture District. The rudiments of such a district have already been discussed by city planning and presented to city council. We just need to flesh out the details and focus the vision. This district would be centred on Downing Street.
Downing Street is already envisaged as a pedestrian plaza with limited vehicular access. The renderings are very promising. The city market will relocate to Downing. There are discussions ongoing as to the need for a downtown convention centre, and how the convention centre might incorporate the city market. I think great care must be taken as to how any such colocation occurs. Personally, I think the two spaces should be almost entirely separate, but, perhaps allowing for some overflow use if necessary. I think there should be two components to the market. I think there should be a dedicated space for permanent vendors (like the Saint John city market), and a flex space where weekend vendors can set up. The permanent vendors should have the greatest visibility (window frontage for example). The flex space could be shared with an adjacent convention centre.
There has also been talk about moving the city library out of Blue Cross into a new more modern space. I think this a good idea, especially if it incorporates many of the ideas used in the new downtown library in Halifax, such as a lecture auditorium, meeting rooms, computer labs, a cafe or two, and large comfortable and airy reading rooms.
Finally, Moncton needs a major museum. Saint John has the New Brunswick Museum. Fredericton has the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Moncton needs something similar. I know some people have speculated in the past of a
New Brunswick Museum of Modern Art. I support this concept, and, this could be the final addition needed for our Arts & Culture District - a district that would include the city library, city market, a convention centre and a museum of modern art.
5) - High rise development should be primarily limited to south of Main Street. This does not mean that high rise developemtn elsewhere is completely excluded, and, in particular, I think there are several options for high rises around Botsford Street and along east Main Street. North of Main however should primarily be reserved for mid rise mixed use buildings with streetfront retail/commercial.
6) - If the residential population of downtown Moncton is to expand exponentially, then it becomes obvious that we need to think about additional schools in the area. The only downtown school is Edith Cavell, and, this will be completely inadequate if suddenly there are thousands more people living in the core. There are many new schools being built in the city, but, they are all kilometres away in the distant reaches of the suburbs. This is not an acceptable solution for a burgeoning downtown population.
I firmly believe that the old Moncton High School should be recommissioned as a public high school. Locating the replacement school out by the city limits was a tremendous mistake, but, it is not too late to redress the situation. A new primary/middle school will also be necessary. I would keep Edith Cavell for the downtown west end, and build a new school in the east end. I think there are options for land assembly around Rabbi Lippa Medjuck Street. I think this should be explored. A downtown francophone primary/middle school might also be necessary, but I am less certain about this. I will leave this to others to comment about.
7) - I firmly believe that Moncton deserves a campus of UNB in the city. There is a constituency of over 100,000 anglophones in the metro area that are not being served by the provincial university. Crandall does not have adequate programs. Mount Allison is just a little too far away on treacherous winter roads. UdeM is entirely francophone and does not meet the needs of anglophone Monctonians. A junior campus of UNB is required, and, if located downtown, would give added vibrancy to the core as the students would frequent nearby coffee shops and cafes. There is enough developable land south of Main Street to locate a small campus.
I hope this little treatise will spark some conversation.
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, and it's quite obviously very health-centric as that is where I primarily work. 
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