The Official Saint John, NB Project Thread

[sailor734]

https://tj.news/saint-john-south/16-rise...s-into-neighbourhood?itm_source=trending

"Saint John police have seen a 16 per cent rise in calls for service in the area around the out-of-the-cold shelter since the centre opened its doors on the city’s east side late last year, according to new data obtained by Brunswick News."

I'm actually surprised it's not much higher. I wonder if people have become so numb to some types of behaviour that many don't bother calling police for things they would have 20-30 years ago? I suspect there is also a certain about of "cops won't do anything so what's the point"


also from the article....

Housing Minister David Hickey recently told media that he doesn’t dispute that there are valid public safety concerns, but he suggested it’s a broader city-wide problem, pointing to recent data on the crime rate – a calculation of the number of crimes per 100,000 people.

According to that Statistics Canada data, Moncton’s police-reported crime rate fell 11 per cent while Fredericton’s rate dropped 20 per cent in 2024 compared to the year prior. Meanwhile, Saint John’s crime rate saw no change.

“Moncton has way more homeless people than we do. Fredericton tracks similar to us,” Hickey told media in late August. “There’s not a direct correlation between folks living on the street and the public safety challenges we’ve had.”

Seriously?

[MonctonRad]

I think a lot of people in Moncton have given up calling police in the event of petty crime or vandalism (unless a police report is necessary for an insurance claim). It has become a "catch and release" program. The perp is apprehended, but is not charged since the system is overloaded and would not be incarcerated in any event. They are also indigent, therefore no point in fining them. They are just given a stern talking-to and let go. They are back on the street the same day (with no consequences).

If crime is not reported than the "crime rate" will appear a lot lower than it actually is.

The stats are skewed and unreliable.

[bingun]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

It’s also terrible for pedestrians, and there are an increasing amount of us that cross there, so I’d love to see improvements - although being a partially provincial responsibility I have extremely low expectations.

Yeah, neither the Somerset Street overpass nor the Crown Street overpass is pedestrian-friendly; you are walking on a thin strip of concrete between a railing and a busy road.

I thought the original Harbour Passage plan had it eventually going up Crown Street to Rockwood Park, but I have no idea how they'd make it work without reducing it to one lane.

On a similar topic, has anyone noticed the new lights installed as part of the Main Street work? They are at the merge of the highway exit coming off the bridge and Main Street. They are not active yet, but I assume they will be shortly.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

Yeah, neither the Somerset Street overpass nor the Crown Street overpass is pedestrian-friendly; you are walking on a thin strip of concrete between a railing and a busy road.

I thought the original Harbour Passage plan had it eventually going up Crown Street to Rockwood Park, but I have no idea how they'd make it work without reducing it to one lane.

On a similar topic, has anyone noticed the new lights installed as part of the Main Street work? They are at the merge of the highway exit coming off the bridge and Main Street. They are not active yet, but I assume they will be shortly.

Well, if the city's traffic department has anything to do with it I expect they will further obstruct and delay traffic while reducing it's efficient flow and the ease of moving around town.

Speaking of our wonderful city traffic/engineering department, (or as I like to call them, our traffic obstruction department) .....Has anybody else experienced the new speedbumps on Boar's Head RD or Churchill Blvd? Three sets very close together and aggressive enough to almost throw a car into the air if you don't come virtually to a full stop and ease over them.

I foresee lots of suspension damage and/or rear-end collisions.

Edit......I just drove Churchill 10 minutes ago. One of the bumps already has big scrapes/gouges on the top of it. Looks like a low slung car got hung up.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by bingun

Yeah, neither the Somerset Street overpass nor the Crown Street overpass is pedestrian-friendly; you are walking on a thin strip of concrete between a railing and a busy road.

I thought the original Harbour Passage plan had it eventually going up Crown Street to Rockwood Park, but I have no idea how they'd make it work without reducing it to one lane.

On a similar topic, has anyone noticed the new lights installed as part of the Main Street work? They are at the merge of the highway exit coming off the bridge and Main Street. They are not active yet, but I assume they will be shortly.

I've seen them, and I look forward to their activation, the sigh lines for the yield off the bridge are terrible (only made worse in the winter when DTI puts those plywood snow guards on the railings), and now with pedestrian and bike lanes in place on that side the lights will be sorely needed to avoid a rather awful collision for those not in a vehicle.

Speaking of lights and the Crown St. overpass, the lack of pedestrian signals at the bottom of the overpass [the Haymarket Square ends of things] is atrocious, the posts and lights for the signaled crossings have been missing for over a decade now and never replaced (you can still see the hole in the ground where they used to be), not to mention the fact that there is no crosswalk at all to go east-west across the intersection. Poor infrastructure just means that people end up crossing anywhere they can and it creates hazards for everyone involved.

[darkharbour]

Going by the site this morning, the foundation forms are going in for this six-floor apartment building on Crown Street between Princess and Leinster.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

Going by the site this morning, the foundation forms are going in for this six-floor apartment building on Crown Street between Princess and Leinster.

I'm sure the residents will enjoy the charming views across the mud flats to the oil terminals and the refinery stacks beyond them.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

Yeah, neither the Somerset Street overpass nor the Crown Street overpass is pedestrian-friendly; you are walking on a thin strip of concrete between a railing and a busy road.

I thought the original Harbour Passage plan had it eventually going up Crown Street to Rockwood Park, but I have no idea how they'd make it work without reducing it to one lane.

On a similar topic, has anyone noticed the new lights installed as part of the Main Street work? They are at the merge of the highway exit coming off the bridge and Main Street. They are not active yet, but I assume they will be shortly.

I wonder how they will work being so close to the lights at the Union St-Patrick St intersection? Potential bottleneck or backups on the bridge in the AM rush hour?

[bingun]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I wonder how they will work being so close to the lights at the Union St-Patrick St intersection? Potential bottleneck or backups on the bridge in the AM rush hour?

Yeah, that was my concern too. They need to be set up to work well with the following set of lights.

The other issue with that merge is navigating to the far left lane to turn onto Union. It can be quite a dangerous maneuver if there is plenty of traffic.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by bingun

Yeah, that was my concern too. They need to be set up to work well with the following set of lights.

The other issue with that merge is navigating to the far left lane to turn onto Union. It can be quite a dangerous maneuver if there is plenty of traffic.

Yes, getting across to the lane to turn up Union from the bridge exit always has been a problem.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I'm sure the residents will enjoy the charming views across the mud flats to the oil terminals and the refinery stacks beyond them.

I like the view personally, it feels very unique and Saint John

[nwalbert]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

I like the view personally, it feels very unique and Saint John

I agree, I think its a great view and a bit dynamic with all of the ships, trains, traffic, water, etc..

This is another fantastic infill project for the uptown.

[CharlotteCountyLogan]

https://www.country94.ca/2025/09/22/sain...otion-for-fewer-members-higher-salaries/
Council votes against raising their salary and reducing the number of councilors
The 2 yea votes were Harris and Killen

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I'm sure the residents will enjoy the charming views across the mud flats to the oil terminals and the refinery stacks beyond them.

I think it's a tremendously interesting view, and at least with the way the wind works here, pollution from the refinery usually blows inland, and rarely blows towards the bay. The refinery is actually quite a spectacular site at night, especially from further away. From a distance, it sort of looks like a city skyline all lit up.

The mudflats are pretty nice. They'll also have a nice view Red Head, the rolling hills, and ships coming in and out of Courtenay Bay. A similar type view in Vancouver would be marketed as something highly desirable. Maybe one day the stacks of the Bayside generating station will come down, but some would say they are an important part of the Saint John skyline... just like many in Ireland argue the Poolbeg Stacks are an integral part of the Dublin skyline. Other than the bridges, and the floating tall ship, I wouldn't say the Dublin skyline is even much more impressive than the Saint John skyline, which is kind of ridiculous considering Dublin's size and global prominence.

Dublin has a lot of ambitious housing developments popping up through formerly industrial only areas. I think Saint John has a lot of potential for similar projects in some of our more liminal areas between industry, commercial, and residential neighbourhoods. There's a lot of very interesting views that could be unlocked in Saint John if developers and the city could get a bit more creative when it comes to the limits and possibilities of zoning.



I'd say that's a nicer view than most people in this city and region have from their homes, and a more interesting view than almost anywhere else in the region. The only places with more "interesting" views than this would be places with a great vantages of the West Side Docks and/ or the cruise ship terminals.

Funnily enough, the only ships I can actually see from a window at my house on the West Side are ships going in and out of Courtenay Bay.

[bridgeoftea]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

Going by the site this morning, the foundation forms are going in for this six-floor apartment building on Crown Street between Princess and Leinster.

Excited to see this start! Feels like it's been in the development works since around early covid times.

[gtsoc]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Speaking of our wonderful city traffic/engineering department, (or as I like to call them, our traffic obstruction department) .....Has anybody else experienced the new speedbumps on Boar's Head RD or Churchill Blvd? Three sets very close together and aggressive enough to almost throw a car into the air if you don't come virtually to a full stop and ease over them.

They were also installing speedbumps along Gault Rd today ... seems any road that has any type of traffic will be getting these..they are a pain because they are not all the same size.

[DyAm00394]

I see councillor Norton's motion, "City-Wide Encampment Abatement and Emergency Powers", didn't pass this evening's meeting. Only 2 councillors were in support, (Norton and Lowe). Everyone else opposed.

Info on his motion:https://pub-saintjohn.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=23575

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

I see councillor Norton's motion, "City-Wide Encampment Abatement and Emergency Powers", didn't pass this evening's meeting. Only 2 councillors were in support, (Norton and Lowe). Everyone else opposed.

Info on his motion:https://pub-saintjohn.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=23575

No surprise. That would be too much like taking prompt, decisive action

[adamuptownsj]

Sullivan was bragging about receiving speedbump complaints-- "that's how you know they're working."

The attitude these people have towards citizens is bizarre. They need to be taken down a peg of twenty.

Re: Norton's motion, the rest of council was patting themselves on the back for kneeling to Fresh Start and 'standing for human rights'.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

I see councillor Norton's motion, "City-Wide Encampment Abatement and Emergency Powers", didn't pass this evening's meeting. Only 2 councillors were in support, (Norton and Lowe). Everyone else opposed.

Info on his motion:https://pub-saintjohn.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=23575

Interesting.

Also, Good to see the city has got the council meetings live streaming on YouTube again:

• Video Link

I hear the council say that consent will be required for tenting on private land, but not on public land. I wonder what their policy is for removing people from tenting without permission on privately owned land within the yellow zones? Is the SJPD really going to be able to respond to every instance of people camping out on private, vacant land without permission?

Also, as was mentioned in here before, what could the police do regarding vacant properties owned by absentee land owners? It would be hard for the police to verify claims of permission in the case of absentee owners, and such habitation of vacant land could possibly get into the area of squatters rights.

There's a lot of publicly owned land within residential neighbourhoods that the city simply should not have let be designated yellow zones. While, I don't think many, if any people experiencing homelessness would actually chose to tent out on the island of a cul-de-sacs, or land directly adjacent to people's homes, it's ridiculous that this plan technically allows such locations for tents throughout many suburban areas within the city limits.

I believe councillor Norton lives in Duck Cove and is a member of the tennis club that plays at the private court seen here, which I guess does not get any sort of buffer.



I wouldn't blame Norton being against the red zone plan, when it would allow people to set up tents in places like Duck Cove without permission. I think Duck Cove would be one of the more pleasant locations to tent in Saint John in the middle of summer and well into the fall. There's some strong winds, but even into the winter, it would be one of the milder places in the city to tent due to the oceanic influence on Saint John's coastal microclimates.