The Official Moncton, NB Project Thread

[MonctonRad]

Documents for the August PAC meeting for the city of Moncton have been released:

https://www.moncton.ca/planning-advisory-committee

Nothing too overwhelming.

[MonctonRad]

How far away is Moncton from being a '15-minute city?' We tested it
Watch how long it takes to reach daily needs without a car in a new neighbourhood

Alexandre Silberman · CBC News · Posted: Aug 10, 2023 6:00 AM ADT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moncton-15-minute-city-test-1.6931383

Answer is: It depends.

A well done piece however.

[DyAm00394]

An interesting new article from Saltwire.

"Conference Board: Moncton's cooling economic growth sustained in part by influx of immigrants

Although the pace of growth is slowing, immigration, construction, manufacturing and other sectors are helping to boost GDP as the province’s largest city tries to attract more French-speaking newcomers.

While Moncton’s economic growth rate is slowing, it’s continuing to rise and much of that increase is being driven by a flood of immigrants who want to call Canada’s only officially bilingual city home.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, Moncton’s gross domestic product is expected to climb by 1.7 per cent in 2023 and another 0.6 per cent in 2024.

The city’s favourable situation is being propelled by strong population growth, due in part to international migration, along with an uptick in construction, manufacturing, public administration and healthcare, the Conference Board stated in a news release.

GDP is a measuring stick for the monetary value of final goods and services.

While Moncton's GDP forecast represents a drop of 1.8 per cent from last year, Kevin Silliker, the city’s director of economic development, said the latest research still represents positive news for the city.

“This is about where we expected to be,” Silliker told New Canadian Media. “We know we are coming through a very intense growth period and there is always a little bit of a (drop]) afterwards but it allows a little bit of catch-up time. We don’t really consider it a downslope. It is probably more of a levelling off kind of thing.”

Based on the 2021 census, contributing countries to Moncton’s population surge include the Philippines, India, Nigeria, Syria, France, China, Morocco, Ukraine, Vietnam, and South Korea.

French immigration remains a key part of the overall strategy.

John Wishart, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton, said the bilingual nature of the area has always been a strong part of its economic growth.

“With the number of native-born French speakers dropping slightly, it puts the onus on the region to attract French speakers from other countries,” Wishart said. “Our local immigration strategy has a target of 30 per cent francophone immigration. We aren’t quite there yet but are making strides. The federal government's decision to create a centre on francophone immigration in Dieppe should help in those attraction efforts.”

In its report, the Conference Board said Canadian cities will see muted growth throughout the remainder of 2023 and into 2024 as inflation and higher interest rates persist, weighing down consumer activity.

After a weak 2022, Moncton’s labour market is forecast to gain about 1,360 jobs this year, an increase of 1.6 per cent, the board noted.

Taylor Gadde, manager of integrated communications for the Conference Board, said the organization doesn’t do reports for Fredericton, Saint John or Charlottetown and that Halifax is part of a different group which will be released in the next month or two.

According to the conference board, Moncton’s population is expected to rise 3.4 per cent in 2023, “benefiting from increased international migration,” after jumping by 6.1 per cent in 2022.

Silliker said the city’s immigration strategy calls for between 2,400 to 3,500 per year.

“We have been hitting and exceeding those targets in recent years.”

Before the population boom, Silliker said Moncton was receiving around 2,000 persons per year with that growing to as many as 8,000 before leveling to around 3,500.

In a May interview, Mayor Dawn Arnold said newcomers and students are choosing Moncton for the economic opportunities coupled with the benefit of short commute times, relatively affordable cost of living, and a welcoming and safe community.

Silliker said the city will continue to address the infrastructure needs within the community, especially related to the population growth.

“Right now, it’s tight, there is no doubt about that, but people are finding [housing] units.”

Silliker said people are adapting with two single individuals sharing a unit, instead of being on their own. Multigenerational families are also living together.

“I wouldn’t say that everything is perfect in that sphere,” Silliker said. “We still need continued housing developments and more growth. There is a lot of new construction that is happening, which is positive.”

Silliker said the city is doing some studies and bringing forward applications to other levels of government for housing opportunities and opportunities to create more housing supply in the area.

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada...n-part-by-influx-of-immigrants-100886683

[MonctonianSentinel01]

This lady has the right ideal, as I've said before that smaller cores or centers around the city rather than everything being in just one is definitely the way to go and that stopping the building out of house would impede growth to the largest demographic there is which are house owners.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/sh...d=7a55a6fffd3447c6b9dfe1080504cd81&ei=30

Realistically cities won't just be able to grow up but will still need to build out as well, creating new centers as they do. Growing while also using more dense buildings as we go and also making houses closer together like we see in this video rather than banning growth outwards.

[MonctonRad]

Agreed. I have long been a fan of the so called "neighbourhood town centre" concept. In fact, I would go even further and suggest that "microcentres" within a 10-15 minute walk from your house is an ideal we should be striving for.

The idea of SFH monotonous tracts in the suburbs has been falling out of favour (and rightfully so). New suburban developments should be considerably denser, contain a variety of housing styles (SFH, duplexes, townhomes, small apartment buildings), and, contain retail and commercial nodes appropriate for a primarily residential neighbourhood (convenience stores, cafes, daycares, hairdressers, clinics and small commercial offices). You should be able to walk to these nodes from your house. Transit routes could be centred on these nodes and transit should be internodal, and, interconnected also to the city centre.

It would be ideal if each neighbourhood also contained recreational land and a school. The street grid should make sense (this does not absolutely preclude cul-de-sacs BTW), and, there should be dedicated bicycle trails that actually take you where you want to go. The idea is livability, walkability and decreasing your reliance on the car.

There is a lot of rhetoric and fearmongering out there regarding the concept of the "15 minute city", but these conspiracy theorists seem to feel that the evil totalitarians who meet every year in Davos want to imprison us in our homes. Nothing could be further from the truth. And, people will still require personal motor vehicles to go places not convenient for transit, and, for outings, and frequently to go back and forth to work. But, just maybe, you will only have to use your car 25% of the time rather than 100% of the time.

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Agreed. I have long been a fan of the so called "neighbourhood town centre" concept. In fact, I would go even further and suggest that "microcentres" within a 10-15 minute walk from your house is an ideal we should be striving for.

Thanks for commenting.

I agree with the entirety of your post but wanted to highlight this. I feel that this is the way it should go. I believe that people think that a 15 minute city means that it's anywhere in the city to the downtown core or any where's else which is ridiculous. I also think that extremists are pushing for that not knowing how foolish it is, but from your house to the nearest core rather than "the" core is how a 15 minute city should be.

[MonctonRad]

Here's a good Youtube video outlining the virtues of infill development and the creation of suburban town centres:

• Video Link

The video was created with California in mind, but, the principles are universal. He takes particular aim at vacant lots and underused surface parking lots, but also talks about upzoning residential areas from R1 to R2, creation of village or town centres and enhancement of transit.

His presentation is not particularly scary, and he doesn't seem to be an anti-automobile zealot. He is perhaps a little more anti parking lot than I am, but I think almost everyone can appreciate how much the ocean of surface parking in downtown Moncton has adversely affected the character of the city.

[josh_cat_eyes]

West Lethbridge is a good example of an area that is dense, walkable (they actually have sidewalks or multi-use paths on both sides of every street as far as I can tell) and has a variety of housing types along with small neighborhood retail areas. They also seem to be good at leaving extra room on their ROW’s to account for future growth.

[MonctonianSentinel01]

I think Moncton is pretty good at infilling already but of course there is always room for improvement. Old abandoned spots are usually bought up, then bulldozed/torn down and then redeveloped. There are some houses here and there but not much. More than anything there are some empty lots of grass and bush that still needs to be developed for infill projects. So over all not too bad. Now on the downtown parking though......I see that your point rings very true. Good thing that city council and private developers have made that a recent target for change, all for the better.

[Monctoncore]

Truthfully, I think it’s all about the right developer, who has an eye for that.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Agreed. I have long been a fan of the so called "neighbourhood town centre" concept. In fact, I would go even further and suggest that "microcentres" within a 10-15 minute walk from your house is an ideal we should be striving for.

The idea of SFH monotonous tracts in the suburbs has been falling out of favour (and rightfully so). New suburban developments should be considerably denser, contain a variety of housing styles (SFH, duplexes, townhomes, small apartment buildings), and, contain retail and commercial nodes appropriate for a primarily residential neighbourhood (convenience stores, cafes, daycares, hairdressers, clinics and small commercial offices). You should be able to walk to these nodes from your house. Transit routes could be centred on these nodes and transit should be internodal, and, interconnected also to the city centre.

It would be ideal if each neighbourhood also contained recreational land and a school. The street grid should make sense (this does not absolutely preclude cul-de-sacs BTW), and, there should be dedicated bicycle trails that actually take you where you want to go. The idea is livability, walkability and decreasing your reliance on the car.

There is a lot of rhetoric and fearmongering out there regarding the concept of the "15 minute city", but these conspiracy theorists seem to feel that the evil totalitarians who meet every year in Davos want to imprison us in our homes. Nothing could be further from the truth. And, people will still require personal motor vehicles to go places not convenient for transit, and, for outings, and frequently to go back and forth to work. But, just maybe, you will only have to use your car 25% of the time rather than 100% of the time.

Yes I find one thing Moncton is missing is those small community/commercial areas where a neighbourhood can gather, and find its identity and the way to know how in demand these places are just look at how excited people in Riverview were when Holy Whale opened its doors on the waterfront (walkable from many areas in Riverview) or Tireshack opened on John St, or even Tide & Boar opening next to the old west end.

These examples are all breweries but they don't have to be. The North End has an excellent trail system which is used but residents every night (I'm one of them), but I find lacks a small community node of businesses to walk to. While Mountain Rd has lots of options, it doesnt have the attachment to the community necessarily, and can be abit far depending where you are located. Hopefully the Horsman Centre has some options that could fill some of this, whether it be a pub, a cafe or something else. I was abit disappointed the Thrive development didnt put in a first level retail. With proximity to the YMCA & the school plus all the of the houses in the neighbourhood I'm sure it would have worked.

[MonctonRad]

I wonder if enrollment is up at NBCC?

When I drove into work today, there was a traffic jam on Mountain Road because traffic was stalled getting into both entrances of the NBCC campus. There were also a lot more pedestrian students walking to the campus than I am used to seeing.

This could just be because of the fact this is the first day of term, but still..............

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I wonder if enrollment is up at NBCC?

When I drove into work today, there was a traffic jam on Mountain Road because traffic was stalled getting into both entrances of the NBCC campus. There were also a lot more pedestrian students walking to the campus than I am used to seeing.

This could just be because of the fact this is the first day of term, but still..............

More carpenters, electricians, and plumbers starting their courses today!! We need them.

[MonctonRad]

Student overflow spills into even more portables as enrolment surges in southeast N.B.
Districts with schools in Moncton region expect 1,800 more students than last September
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2023 8:00 AM ADT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moncton-schools-enrolment-1.6952068

The (anglophone) district will need nine new schools and is awaiting word from the province.

Seventeen new portable classrooms were being set up last week to add space at full schools (in the anglophone district) in addition to the 65 it already had.

[MonctonRad]

Moncton resident calls for reduced speed limit on neighbourhood streets
City considered idea as part of speeding strategy

Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Sep 11, 2023 8:00 AM ADT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/speed-limit-moncton-road-safety-1.6960459


Michael Roy with Active Transportation Coalition Moncton is calling for the city to lower speed limits on residential streets to improve safety. (Shane Magee/CBC)

This activist is calling for speed limits on residential streets to be 30 km/hr rather than 50 km/hr.

My answer is maybe, but only if said street has no feeder or collector function whatsoever.

[MonctonRad]

Here is the agenda for the upcoming September meeting of the Moncton PAC:

https://www5.moncton.ca/docs/pac/PAC/Sept_27_2023/1_Agenda_Ordre_du_jour_Sept_27_sept.pdf

Again, just five small sized infill projects and small residential developments.

The chill on major new projects in the city continues........

[MonctonianSentinel01]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Moncton resident calls for reduced speed limit on neighbourhood streets

This activist is calling for speed limits on residential streets to be 30 km/hr rather than 50 km/hr.

My answer is maybe, but only if said street has no feeder or collector function whatsoever.

A rather dumb ideal if you ask me. They are really trying to kill the car aren't they? I bet that if you reduce the speed limit to 30, then they are going to try and enforce that all around. Mt questions is why aren't they trying to do that now to keep city streets safe then?

This is only going to punish law abiding citizens that follow the speed limit. Those who speed are going to speed just as much no matter what the speed limit is. Have ever seen people being pulled over in Moncton for speeding? Never, on the highways maybe? That's it.

When it comes to ticking people, they don't do a very good job at it. It should be more of a focus if it's that bad then. Yet again the 1% tries to dictate to the 99%.

The problem is, is that reports and studies can be a whole lot of BS. Especially if you look at who is financing it, there usually is a agenda being pushed in favor of who is doing the spending.

[MonctonRad]

The feds are going to remove the 5% federal component of the GST from new construction of residential apartments.

This move will effectively negate the current prime lending rate.

Will this revive some of the moribund construction projects around the city???

[jnaygull]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The feds are going to remove the 5% federal component of the GST from new construction of residential apartments.

This move will effectively negate the current prime lending rate.

Will this revive some of the moribund construction projects around the city???

But does it negate inflation? It's a two-fold depression to projects of this magnitude. But, it is a great start. If the province does it's share and cuts its tax, then I think it would negate the inflationary pressures.

[MonctonRad]

Public consultation starts soon for Moncton's revamped Vision Lands plan
City, consultant updating plans for huge undeveloped area
Shane Magee · CBC News · Posted: Oct 04, 2023 7:00 AM ADT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/moncton-council-vision-lands-planning-1.6985631



My own personal prediction is that in 20 years time, there will still be nothing substantive built on the Vision Lands.