[Moncton] Downtown Developments

[Franco401]

I drew up a similar plan quite a while back, yours is better. The one thing I want to add is the opportunity for a road diet on Main, since Assomption will be built as a controlled-access boulevard that people will give you a lot more vehicle capacity in and out of downtown, you reduce Main to three lanes with a centre turning lane instead of the insanely dangerous four-lane design (which is literally the most dangerous road you can build). This is a very long-term project, but by reconstructing the street to have sidewalks on both sides, including crosswalks at every block, and rezoning for mixed-use you could have exactly the type of urban corridor the city should be imagining. This may seem unrealistic now, but the existing land use (auto shops, motels, car dealerships, gas stations, fast food) is not only unfit for the location but dependent on car traffic that will be transferred onto Assomption. These businesses are exactly the type that don't need to be anywhere near downtown. The corridor also already has 30-minute bus frequency all day, which is pretty much exactly what you would try to implement to encourage development on a corridor. There are also vacant lots which could be rezoned immediately to kickstart things. This is pretty far-fetched right now, but as a long-term plan it's something Moncton needs to plan for if the city is serious about sustainable urban development.